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  Spades Tips and Strategies

Spades Column of the Month -- November 2004

By Joe Andrews

I. Spades Annual Holiday Quiz

Win a copy of The Complete Win At Spades, a hand-carved wooden card box, and a double deck of bicycle custom Spades cards. Three winners will be selected based on the earliest dated e-mail sent with the most correct answers.

BIDDING – A Baker's Dozen of Delights

Scenario # 1 -
Assume a new game, you are the dealer, and three "3" bids come around to you. What is your best bid with each of these hands?

a.   A 5 3 2

 A 10 5 3

 A 8 7 2

 J

b.   K Q J

 None

 K Q 10 9 4 2

 7 5 4 3

c.   K 5 2

 K 9 7

 K 3 2

 K 7 5 4

d.   None

 A K Q J 6 4

 A K J 10 9 6

 10

e.   6 5 3 2

 Q 9 7 3

 J 3 2

 8 3

f.   10 9 7 5 4 2

 Q 7 6

 6 3

 Q J

Scenario # 2 -
Now the score is: 458 - 439 in your favor. It is the tenth hand of a ten hand limit game.  Left hand opponent bids 4, partner calls with 2, and the right hand opponent chimes in with a 3 bid.  What is your bid in last seat?

g.   A K Q 6

 K Q 5 4 2

 J 3

 10 6

h.   None

 A K J 10 8 7

 K Q J 9 8 5

 Q

i.    Q 4 2

 A Q 3

 A Q 10 8

 K J 10

j.    A 10 9 5 3

 None

 A 8 5 4 2

 6 4 2

k.   10 9 7

 Q J 10 8

 A K 10 9

 K Q

l.    K J

 K 9 8 7

 5 4 3 2

 A Q J

m.  A 5 2

 K J 9 7 5 3 2

 A Q

 4

Send your bids and the justification for each bid to heartsmoon@aol.com

Be sure to list each hand by letter (example - Hand b.), and your bid for each hand. The contest closes on November 25, 2004.  Winners will be announced in the next column (December 2004).

II. Spades Events

Sixth Grand Prix World Series of Spades- Chicago, IL - Sept. 17 - 19, 2004

Fifty Spades Teams (100 players) gathered in Chicago for the Annual Grand Prix event. The two-day was very intense, as the six Round Swiss-paired format reduced the field to eighteen playoff teams. When the dust settled, the results were as follows:

1st Place: Mark Lepine and Erin Jackson

2nd Place: Cindy Braatz and Dan Kinney

A Total of $3,500 in cash, as well as trophies and gifts, was awarded to the winners. For more information on the event, please check out the Grand Prix Site.

The Spades Connection - (www.thespadesconnection.com)
A spirited and friendly group of players gathered in the Steel City for three days of fun and games. The food was great, the Spades playing was lively, the Hosts were very accommodating, and everyone had a great time.

The winners were:   (drum roll please…)

1st Place -    SJs  JoeyZ and SJs  PrincessZ
2nd Place -   "Br-Less" (Marcy)  and  SJs Lord Wolf

The next Spades Connection party will be March 10-13, 2005 in Nashville, TN!  More details will be posted in the December 2004 column.

Happy Thanksgiving!