There are 13 ‘tricks’ in a round, with players eventually playing every card in their hand. If multiple spades are played in any hand, the highest card wins the trick. If a player is forced to play a spade out-of-suit, the spade card trumps all others, and the player automatically wins the trick. If a player is forced to play a heart, diamond, or club that does not follow suit, their card is void and they cannot win the trick. If all four played cards are of the same suit, the highest value card wins. Each player is expected to ‘follow suit’ (play a card of the same suit as the dealer) unless they cannot do so. The player that wins each trick of four cards will depend on the cards played. Once the first spade card has been played, the suit is said to be ‘broken’ – meaning any player can then play a spade card at any time. For example, if the dealer plays a heart card and the next player has no heart cards, they are then allowed to play a spade card. To begin, any card can be played other than a spade – until the first instance in which a player cannot play any other card.

Players then take turns clockwise, playing one card each. The first dealer is initially chosen via a draw for the highest card or randomly when playing online. Each of the four players makes a personal bid and each pair’s bids are added together to make a team total. The first step is for each player to ‘bid’ on how many tricks they think they’ll win during the game. The four players then split into two teams of pairs. Spades is a four-player card game that sees a standard deck of 52 cards split between the players – giving each player a hand of 13 cards. One player ‘wins’ each trick, based on the cards played and their values.

Four cards in total are therefore played to the table, making a ‘trick’. In games like Spades and Hearts, a ‘trick’ is the name given to a single turn in which a player bids one card from their hand of 13 cards. Points are then awarded for every trick won – with additional points for those won within the pair’s bid value – and deducted for pairs that win fewer tricks than they bid on. It’s a four-player game contested in pairs, in which each team attempts to earn points by bidding on how many ‘tricks’ they think they’ll win in the game. Spades is a trick-taking strategy card game.

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