Spades Cheat Sheet

Everything you need at the table, and nothing you don't. Print it, fold it, leave it by the deck. For the full explanation of each rule, see the spades rules. To get a printable copy, use your browser's Print option and pick Save as PDF if you want a file on your phone.

The rules in 60 seconds

• Players: 4, in two teams of 2. Partners sit across from each other.
• Deal: 13 cards each. Deal rotates to the left every hand.
• Trump: spades always beat the other suits.
• Bid: each player bids how many tricks (books) they'll take, 1 to 13, or nil. Your bid plus your partner's is the team contract.
• Play: the player left of the dealer leads first. Follow suit if you can. If you can't, play anything, including a spade.
• Win a trick: highest spade played, or if none, highest card of the suit led. Winner leads next.
• Breaking spades: you can't lead a spade until one has been played on another suit, unless you hold only spades.
• Win the game: first to 500, or 300 for a shorter game.

Card order

Classic (no jokers): A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ ... 3♠ 2♠. Other suits: A high, 2 low.

Jokers and deuces (Spades Night House Rules): Big Joker > Little Joker > 2♦ > 2♠ > A♠ > K♠ ... 3♠

• 2♥ and 2♣ are removed. Deck stays 52.
• The jokers and the 2♦ count as spades for everything.

Other orders exist: some tables put the 2♠ above the 2♦, or promote only one deuce. Agree first. Details in spades card order.

Bidding quick guide

• Count sure tricks: aces, kings with a guard, top trump.
• Add length: one per spade beyond the third.
• Add a void: +1 if you have three or more spades to trump with.
• Round down when in doubt. A bag costs 1 point, a set costs 10 per book.
• Board: a team contract under 4 is raised to 4.
• Nil: bid it with no high cards and only low spades.
• Blind nil: bid before looking at your cards. At Spades Night it's offered only when your team is behind by 100 or more.

Full method: how to bid in spades.

Scoring at a glance

Notes that settle arguments:

• Nil is scored separately. The nil bidder's partner still has to make their own bid.
• Failed nil tricks count as bags at Spades Night, not toward partner's bid.
• Double nil: no team contract; any tricks the pair takes are bags.
• Boston: at our table it's a +200 bonus, not an automatic win.

Worked examples: spades scoring.

Common table terms

• Book: a trick.
• Bag (sandbag): a book over your contract.
• Set: missing your contract.
• Board: the minimum team bid of 4.
• Cut: playing a spade when you're out of the suit led.
• Boston: taking all 13 books.
• Renege: failing to follow suit when you could. Online, the game won't let you.

The rest are in the glossary.

Printable score sheet

One row per hand. Fill in both bids, the books taken, the hand's points, the running total and the bag count. Print this section on its own if you only want the sheet.

How to fill it in:

1. Write both partners' bids together, like "3+4" or "N+5" for a nil. The team contract is the sum of the number bids (4 minimum if you play board).
2. After the hand, write the books your team took.
3. Work out points: contract × 10 if made, plus 1 per bag. Or contract × −10 if set. Add or subtract nil results on their own.
4. Add to the running total.
5. Add new bags to the bag column. When it hits 10, subtract 100 from the total and keep whatever's over 10.

A filled-in example:

In hand 2 the nil bidder took no books (+100), and the partner bid 4 and took 5 (+40 plus 1 bag). With board on, a partner of a nil bidder who bid 4 is right at the minimum, so no change there.

Or skip the paperwork

At Spades Night the game deals, keeps the clock, dims illegal cards, and scores every hand for you, bags and all. Four friends, or two and a couple of bots, can play a full game in about 15 minutes, free in your browser or on Discord.