New York City Spades Rules
Anyone that has played spades for real money or just for fun knows that there are many rules variations. One change that you might encounter is known as the New York City spades rule variation. This change to the rules involves using the jokers from a deck of cards to increase the number of trumps. The jokers then become the highest ranking spades in the deck.
Many people feel that New York City spades is a more exciting version of the game. We would certainly agree that it demands a unique strategy and better bidding. Here's a look at this version of spades and some tips for playing it.
Setting Up the Deck for New York City Spades
Before you can play New York City spades you will need to make some slight adjustments to the deck of cards used. You will still be using 52 cards in total, but the composition of the deck will be a little bit different than you might be used to.
The adjustment begins by removing the lowest card of each red suit. These are the two of diamonds and the two of hearts. They are placed back in the pack. In their place you will insert two jokers. You will need to be able to designate which is the high and which is the low joker. If necessary, a simple 1 and 2 on each joker will work.
The key here is that you can only use 52 total cards. This will make it possible for each player to receive 13 cards as usual. If you were to just add two cards to the deck the result would be a misdeal. You are just trading two jokers for any two cards that are not spades. Most players choose to use the heart and diamond 2-value cards because these have little to no value in a spades game.
The Purpose of the Jokers in New York City Spades
The addition of the jokers to a standard spades deck is meant to add a level of difficulty. It gives teams more spades to work with, and therefore the bidding dynamic is different. It can be more difficult to properly bid a hand that has more or less spades.
Adding in the jokers to the mix as the highest spades also opens up the chance that a team will be dealt a powerful hand. Big hands can produce exciting bids like the 10 for 200 or the Boston. These hands can also provide a team with a large amount of points.
Some criticize the use of the jokers in spades by saying that it creates a game that is too loose. Those who prioritize proper bidding and the tallying of sandbags might not find New York City spades to their liking.
Strategies for New York City Spades Bidding
Teams should know that there is more strategy where bidding is concerned when it comes to this variation of spades. You might not think that the presence of two extra spades would make that much of a difference, but you would be incorrect. It actually changes the way you have to reckon each spades hand. The ace and often the king are no longer guaranteed books when it comes to making your bid.
If you are fortunate enough to look down and see that you have the two jokers, ace of spades, and king of spades in your hand, you are guaranteed to catch four books. That is almost half of a 10 for 200 bid. A hand like that in New York Spades can and does happen more often than you would think.
When you have only a few spades you will also need to use caution. It is likely that your opponents hold all the firepower. You are more likely to miss the bid that you have made by just a single book when the jokers are in play.
Is This a Popular Spades Variation?
Even though the name is New York City Spades, you will find that this variation is popular in many different areas. In fact, the argument could be made that this is the most popular spades variation that you will find anywhere.
One of the reasons that New York Spades is so popular is the fact that it can be played without a lot of rule changing. It is basically standard spades with two extra spades added.
