Advanced Spades Techniques
There will come a time when your skills at Spades take you to the next level. This will happen gradually, and you may not even notice it until you recognize that you are using advanced Spades techniques. This is when the game really becomes fun for you and your spades partner.
We've put together a list of 10 pro Spades tips that can improve your chances to win. They will also let your opponents know that you are a force to be reckoned with.
1 – Lowball Your Bids to Set Your Spades Opponents
In the game of Spades the winning team is the first one to achieve an agreed-upon score, usually 500 points. That score is earned by making bids. When a team fails to make a bid, their score goes down. When you are able to prevent a team from catching books, this is called a set.
There are a few different ways that you can set your opponents. One is that they have simply overbid. What smart players know is that sometimes a team can be prompted to overbid its hand by an opposing team. To do this you will need to have the first bid, which means that the other team has dealt.
There are 13 total books in any Spades round. If you bid a total of 5 when your team really has a chance to get 7, your opponents may re-evaluate their hand. Doing that may cause them to bid higher on an inferior hand. You will set them and their points total will decrease.
2 – Master the Nil Bid
Very good players are those who have mastered making the Nil bid in Spades. When you bid Nil you are betting that you will not catch a single book. Your partner can take books, but you cannot. It may sound simple, but making a Nil bid is hard. The rewards are great at 100 points, so that makes the risk worthwhile.
The best way to master the Nil bid is to practice strategies with your partner. The two of you can get together and discuss how you will play hands when one of you declares Nil. Your effort has to be perfect. Catching just one book will mean you fail, and you will go back 100 points.
3 – Always Bid the Minimum You Need to Go Out
When you get close to the end of the game you may find that you only need 4 books or so to go out. Do not be a hero in this situation. There is no need to bid 7 books when you only need 4. In that situation always bid the least amount that you need to win. Remember, the overall minimum bid in Spades is 4.
You will also have to take into consideration how many sandbags you have. It can be very dispiriting for your opponents when you reach the final hand and only need 3 books to win. In most cases it is very hard to prevent a team from catching 4 books.
4 – Go For Three Sets in a Row
Another rule of Spades that is often overlooked is the so-called Mercy Rule. This rule states that if a team is set three times in a row the game is over and that team loses. It is very hard for a team to recover from three sets.
If you have set your opponents twice in a row, put on your best game face and try to get them a third time. Try to entice them to overbid with a small bid of your own. Be aggressive in this situation.
5 – Try 10 for 200 Hands Early
Every Spades team lives for the chance to make a 10 for 200 bid. This means catching 10 books and receiving 200 points. In most cases, this is a death blow to your opponents. Don't pass it up, but try to go for it early in the game.
Risking a losing 10 for 200 bid later in the game is not smart, especially if you only need a few books to win. The temptation to go for it will be overwhelming, but you will lose 100 points if you don't make it. Making this hand is rare, even when you have a strong set of cards.
6 – Target One Weak Player on the Opposing Team
If you sense that one of the players on the opposing team is weak, you should try to target that player and isolate them into situations they might be unprepared to handle. Play fast if you are the one going right before them to break their concentration, lead cards that you know they cannot beat, and otherwise try to frustrate them at every turn.
This may sound brutal, and it is. You should use this tip in moderation when you are engaged in friendly games with your family. No game is worth hard feelings.
7 – Play a Hand With No Spades
The average player immediately wants to throw back a hand that contains no Spades, but that isn't always the very best play to make. There are times when you can actually play such a hand to great effect. Such hands can be wonderful opportunities to make a bid of Nil. You may also have a hand that contains Aces from other suits.
The best practice in this situation is to discuss things with your partner. Do this within the rules of what is allowed. The two of you should determine together whether you want to play the hand or not. It might actually work out better for you than a misdeal would.
8 – Give Your Opponents Sandbags
If you happen to be playing with the sandbags rule and your opponents have started to near ten sandbags, adjust your bidding so that you can give them the extra bags and send them back 100 points. It is often a simple matter when your opponents have 8 sandbags to give them 2 more. Just be sure that you don't cause your own team to be set when using this strategy.
9 – Create Locked Bids
A locked bid in Spades is when all the books have been accounted for. In other words, the total of your bid and the bid of your opponents equals 13. That's how many books there are in Spades. When the bid is locked there is no room for error. You must catch every single book that you can.
Locked bids put a lot of pressure on each team. Your job will be to rise above the pressure and catch just one more book than you have bid. This will cause your opponents to be set and they will go back in points.
10 – Surrender the Lead Early
This is a risky play, but you can also try to surrender the lead early to your opponents. Sometimes this can work to create a false sense of confidence and your opponents will tend to play sloppy in the later part of the round. You can then trump in and get your books while having an excellent opportunity to set the other team.
Other advanced Spades techniques will become apparent to you over time. It can be helpful to make your own list of pro tips as you acquire experience in the game of Spades.
