A standard game of Spades has 13 books, also called tricks, per hand.
| Spades Detail | Standard Rule |
|---|---|
| Players | 4 |
| Cards in the deck | 52 |
| Cards per player | 13 |
| Books or tricks per hand | 13 |
A book is one trick. Each player plays one card, and the winning card takes the four-card pile. Since all 52 cards are dealt among four players, each player receives 13 cards, resulting in 13 books per hand.
Some house rules and Spades variants use extra cards or a different number of players. Those games may have a different number of books.