Yes: six-player Spades is a variant of traditional Spades that uses two standard decks, three teams of two, and 17 cards per player. Traditional Spades is normally played by four people in two partnerships.
Six-Player Spades at a Glance
| Rule | Six-player version |
|---|---|
| Players | 6 |
| Teams | 3 teams of 2 |
| Decks | 2 standard 52-card decks |
| Cards removed | One 2 of Clubs from each deck, or one 2 of Diamonds from each deck |
| Cards per player | 17 |
| Tricks per hand | 17 |
| Partner seating | Partners sit opposite each other |
| Spades | Always trump |
Removing two cards leaves 102 cards, which deals evenly to six players at 17 cards each.
How to Set Up Spades for 6 Players
- Combine two standard decks.
- Remove both copies of either the 2 of Clubs or the 2 of Diamonds.
- Deal 17 cards to each player.
- Divide the players into three partnerships.
- Seat each pair opposite their partner.
- Have each player bid the number of tricks they expect to win.
The bidding, trick-taking, and scoring follow normal partnership Spades rules. Add the two bids from each partnership together, then have that team try to win at least that many tricks.
What Happens When Duplicate Cards Are Played?
The copy played later wins when identical cards appear in the same trick.
Two decks mean that the same card can appear twice. For example, two players might play the Ace of Hearts in one trick. If that happens, the Ace of Hearts played second wins.
Agree on this rule before the game starts. Some groups use the opposite rule and let the first identical card win.
Can You Play With Only One Deck?
No, not with the usual six-player setup. A single deck does not provide enough cards for six players to receive traditional 13-card hands.
If you only have one deck, you can:
- Play with four people and rotate the other two players between hands.
- Use a three-player or cutthroat Spades variant.
- Get a second deck and agree on the duplicate-card rule before dealing.