How you win
You and your partner bid, then try to take at least that many tricks between you. Classic plays to 500. Quick plays to 250. First team to the target wins.
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Spades
How to Play Spades
Bid with your partner, follow suit, and use spades as trump. Make your team contract, watch the bags, and race to 500 points.
Read the full How to Play Spades guide. Also see our How to Play Hearts, How to Play Solitaire, and How to Play Spider Solitaire guides.
Bidding
Each player names a number of tricks. Those two numbers are your team contract. It is not an auction; bids do not have to rise.
Tricks
Follow the led suit if you can. Spades are trump: a spade beats any non-spade when it is legal to play one. If no spade is played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
Bags
Extra tricks over your contract are bags. Ten bags deduct 100 points from your team.
Tips and Tricks
What Are Bags in Spades? Scoring and How to Avoid the Penalty
Bags are overtricks in Spades. Learn how bag scoring works, when the 10-bag penalty hits, when to duck tricks, and how to manage bags without missing your bid.
How to Bid Nil in Spades (And Protect Your Partner)
Learn when to bid Nil in Spades, which hands work, how partners protect a Nil, when bags take a back seat, and the mistakes that turn +100 into −100.
Spades Bidding Strategy for Beginners: How to Count Tricks
Learn beginner Spades bidding strategy: count sure winners, separate hope cards, value spades and short suits, respect your partner’s bid, and avoid overbidding.