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  Spades Tips and Strategies

Spades Column of the Month -- March 2005

By Joe Andrews

Hindsight in Spades, Part 1 of 2

In many ways, the game of Spades mirrors life. Split-second decisions are made at the table, often during the heat of battle. Sometimes, you toss a mental coin in the air and make a guess. In other situations, you go with the percentage play, only to see your strategy fail. Let us look at two case histories this month, and two more next month.

Hand #1 -- Nil Coverage
You are sitting South with this holding; the score is tied 245-245.

The left-hand opponent (LHO) bids 5, partner bids Nil, the right-hand opponent (RHO) bids 3, and you bid 3.

 A 6 5

 K Q 7 4

 Q 9 8 4

 K 2

Exhibit A:
Post Mortem comment: "Why did you duck his ten of clubs, partner?"

The fellow on your right leads the ten of clubs. You duck with the two, and LHO drops the six-spot. Your partner goes through the roof, as his singleton Jack of clubs wins this trick, killing the Nil. (The rest of his hand was safe.) When he later sees your King, he types something about how your King could have covered his lone Jack, and something quite similar to "sunny beach," as he quits the game.

Exhibit B:
Post mortem comment: "Why did you overtake his ten of clubs lead, partner?"

The fellow on your right leads the same ten of clubs. You rise with the King. The left-hand opponent wins the Ace, and your partner drops the Jack. Next comes the four of clubs from your left, and partner plays the six. The RHO ducks with the five, and your deuce falls. Partner thus wins a "cheesy" six of clubs, and he types something about why you wasted your King on the opening lead of the ten, leaving a useless deuce to cover his six spot.

Moral: When a nine, ten, Jack, or similar in your partner's Nil hand is singleton, play your higher card (if you have one) on the first round of that suit. However, if the nine, ten Jack, or similar in your partner's hand is accompanied by a middle card, and the opponent leads a middle rank card, duck with the A 2 or K 2 in order to avoid an upset partner reaction.

Hand #2 - Second seat trumping

Once again, we have a game with a close score. Let's call it 323-321. You open with a 3 bid, and the subsequent bids are 3, 3, and 4. (Yes sir, there are 13 tricks bid, which creates a feisty situation!) Here is your hand:

 Q 10 9

 A 8

 A 6 5 4

 10 9 8 3

Exhibit A:
Post Mortem Comment: "Why did you trump in second seat, partner?"

Partner leads a small club, and you play low after the RHO inserts the King. Next comes a small diamond, as you play the Ace. You now lead your heart Ace and then a small heart (why not a club?), clearing your heart suit, as you want to trump the third round. The eight-spot draws the nine, Queen and King. Now the RHO continues hearts, and you ruff in with your seven of spades. When the LHO drops a low heart, your partner tosses the heart Jack with much disgust, a discernable hesitation, and a comment of, "2nd hand low partner - you just burned my good Jack." You come back with a club, and the Ace is won by RHO, who leads a small spade. The LHO plays the A - K of trump, dropping your now-unguarded Queen and Jack of spades. Partner later wins the K - Q of diamonds -- but nothing else -- as your side is limited to two red Aces, the K - Q of dimes, and one ruff, and a set.

Exhibit B:
Post Mortem Comment: "Why didn't you trump in second seat, partner?"

The same line of play occurs prior to the lead of the third round of hearts. However, when the RHO leads that third round of hearts, you decide to discard. You are afraid of weakening your trump, and you want to allow for the possibility that your partner may have the heart Jack. This time, the LHO has the Jack of hearts, as your partner follows low with the comment, "bagging on a 13 bid, eh?" Partner later shows up with the A - K - J of trump, and nothing else. Your side wins three trump tricks, two red aces, and nothing else. And that is a set.

Moral: When the table bid is 12 or 13, and you have the opportunity to "cut" in second seat, do not play a spade if your partner is going to win that trick; do play a spade if your partner is losing that trick.

Round Robin Spades -- A New Variation

The game of Spades is usually played in a Partners format. There is also a cutthroat version, in which each person plays for himself. Suffice to say, Nil bids are very risky propositions, as there is no partner for "cover". The score limit is often set at 300 and the bag limit at five. Some groups still prefer the longer 500-point game.

Another interesting variation is Round Robin. You do play with a partner; however, you change partners (and opponents) after a Round of three or four hands. It is a total-points contest. If you bid Nil, you and your partner (for that hand) share the bonus of the 100 points plus the cover bid. If you sent the opponents, you receive the value of their bid plus yours. There are no minus scores; a "set" pair for that hand receives a zero. The typical game consists of 20-24 hands. If you have four tables (16 players), you will play with eight different partners, three hands per round.

Standard Howell Bridge movement cards facilitate the game; for larger games, you can set up a system where one player (North) stays stationary, East moves up one table, West moves up two tables, and South moves down one table. This ensures new players (and partners) for each subsequent Round. Players keep their own scoresheets, which are initialed by the opponents. The winner is the person with the most points; there can also be a prize for Most Nils! I have directed/hosted this variation at live events, and the players really enjoy the change of pace.

Live Spades Events

Grand Prix: World Series of Spades VI
September 16-18, 2005 - Cleveland, OH

Check out the Grand Prix World Series of Spades qualifying schedule:
Grand Prix - The World Series of Euchre, Spades & Hearts

Next month, I will be reporting on the results of (and festivities at!) the 5th Annual Spades Connection event in Nashville, Tennessee.

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!