What is Reneging in Spades?

> To play a card improperly and to be caught doing so

 

Spades is an entertaining card game with many interesting rules. The standard rules of play are designed so that players must follow suit. In other words, only certain cards can be played on each round. To play a card that is not allowed is against the rules. Sometimes this foul is not caught until later in the game. This is called reneging in Spades.

What is reneging in Spades? It is to play a card improperly and to be caught doing so. There are several ways that this type of matter can be resolved. Here's a look at one of the most common rules violations in spades.

Reneging In Spades – An Example

The best way to explain reneging is to provide an example. In our example, there are two teams of two players each. We will call them Team A and Team B.

Team A begins a round of play with one player leading the Ace of Diamonds. All other players follow suit and Team A takes the book. The player from Team A leads again, the King of Diamonds. All players once again follow suit. Team A captures a second book.

On the third round of play, Team A leads with the Queen of Diamonds. Team B responds with the next player playing the 3 of Spades. The other two players play a diamond and a heart. Team B takes the book with the Spade.

This is a perfect round of play, except for one problem. Team B played a Spade illegally. The player in question did indeed have a diamond and overlooked the card. No one knows this at the time, but a couple of rounds later when the diamond comes out Team A is quick to call foul. A look back at the books reveals that Team B has indeed reneged.

At this point it becomes necessary to determine the appropriate penalty for the misplayed card. There are a few different options.

Penalties for Reneging in Spades

There is no one right or wrong way to handle reneging in Spades. Several penalties are within the rules of Spades. Before we address those, we should mention that there is also a penalty for wrongfully accusing a team of reneging.

If a team accuses another and no violation is found after looking at the books, the general rule is to penalize the accusers two books. This means taking two books from the accusers and giving them to the accused.

If reneging is discovered, the team that was wronged has the option to:

  • Call a misdeal and scrap the entire hand
  • Ask for the misplayed book and all other books that have followed
  • Agree with the other team to call the hand Books Made and give both teams their bid

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of penalty.

If you are behind in the bid and it does not appear that you can make your books, calling for a misdeal could be the best option. This can also be useful if your opponents are working on a big bid. You can stop them from making the bid by calling a misdeal.

If you think that taking the misplayed book and the others that have followed will cause your opponents to miss their bid, take the books.

If it appears that you will not be able to make your bid even if you take the books, suggest the Books Made option and credit both teams with their winning bid. Your opponents will make their bid, but so will you.

Preventing Reneging in Spades

The only sure way to prevent reneging in spades is to watch the board at all times. You have to pay attention to what your team is playing, and you have to watch what the other team is playing. A mere moment of losing concentration can cause you to play the wrong card.

There is an ethical side to this as well. Remember, reneging in spades is against the rules. If you think you did it and are unsure, suggest it yourself and allow the opposing team to look. In many cases like these, the team will forgive the foul as an honest mistake and the game will continue.