Bidding Boston in Spades - What is Boston?

> One of the most elusive bids in all of spades is known as the Boston.

This exciting bid involves bidding and catching all 13 books in a single hand. In most variations of spades rules, making a Boston hand is an automatic winner for the team that accomplishes the feat.

How did this spades bid get its name? How do you know when to make the Boston bid? These are questions that we will strive to answer in this discussion.

How the Boston Bid Got Its Name

Spades is a game that falls into the Whist category of games. While Whist has been around for many years, spades is actually young compared to other games. It is especially popular in North America. Many unique names have been given to various spades hands over the years. They are colorful and often humorous ways to describe a specific bid.

Boston is said to have been named in honor of the 13 colonies which initiated the American Revolution. The name fits because the bid involves bidding and catching all 13 books in a single hand. Just as the colonists faced overwhelming opposition and odds, so must the spades team that is bold enough to make the Boston bid.

Other names have been given to a Boston bid in spades. One of these is a Lexington. This name was given for the same reason as the Boston. Another name for the bid is Wheels, as in “putting the wheels on it.”

No matter what you choose to call a bid of this kind, be prepared for it to inject some excitement into your friendly spades game.

How the Boston Bid in Spades Works

A Boston Bid in spades operates on a pretty simple principle. It is an all-or-nothing bid that can win or lose the game for a team. The bid can be made at any time during the contest. It matters not if the team making the bid is behind by hundreds of points. A successful Boston bid will raise that team to victory.

The team making the bid must first determine if they have the hand required to succeed. The team must be able to catch all 13 books. There is no reward for failure. If the bid succeeds, the bidding team wins the game. If it fails, the team loses. There is no middle ground.

A Boston differs from some other hands like the Bid Itself because it requires the team to state before the hand begins that they intend to catch all 13 books. In a 10 for 200 bid the team can lose up to three books in a hand and still win the bid. This is not the case in a Boston spades bid. Just one book lost is enough to lose the bid.

When to use the Spades Boston Bid

This is not a spades bid that you can make on a whim. It is not one that happens every game. In fact, you would be lucky to have a Boston hand once in every 100 hands. The odds are probably worse than that. In order to win the Boston bid you have to be skillful as well as lucky. It is a lightning strike.

There are some strategic situations where a Boston Bid can be useful. One of these is when your team is far behind and has no chance of catching up without the bid. In this case you make not be convinced that you have the hand, but what do you have to lose? A few mistakes by your opponents could cause the bid to go in your favor.

We would not recommend making this bid unless you have a need to come from behind. Otherwise, the risks are just too great. The exception to this could be when you are playing a series of matches. In a two out of three contest you might be able to go for broke and make the bid in the first match. Even if you lose, you still have a chance to win the two remaining games.

The Best Hand for a Boston Bid

You can use any hand to try and make a Boston bid in spades, but the best hand is going to be the one that contains a lot of trump cards. In an ideal scenario, your partner will also have a hand with a lot of spades.

Trying to make a Boston hand without very many spades is doomed to failure. You will not be successful. We would only advise you that you go for a Boston bid when you have a hand that includes 5-7 spades.

You will then need to use strategy in the way in which you play your spades. You and your partner cannot kill one another with spades. If you are drawing them from each other you will then wind up with lower cards to finish the hand, and your opponents may set you.

Bidding Boston in Spades - What is Boston?

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