To bid in Spades, estimate how many tricks your hand can win, then bid that number from 0 to 13. Count guaranteed winners first, add likely winners carefully, and subtract risky cards. Your partner's bid is added to yours to create your team's contract.

Source date: June 12, 2023.

Spades Bidding at a Glance

Bid Meaning Typical result
1 to 13 The number of tricks you expect to win Your partner's bid is added to yours
Nil or 0 You expect to win no tricks Often +100 if successful, -100 if you take a trick
Blind Nil You bid Nil before looking at your cards Often +200 or -200, if allowed
Overtrick A trick won above your team's contract Usually 1 point, called a bag
Failed contract Your team wins fewer tricks than it bid Usually -10 points for each trick bid

Rules vary between games. Agree on Nil, Blind Nil, minimum bids, bags and scoring before the deal. The World Spades Championship allows Nil but does not allow Blind Nil. Other rulesets make Blind Nil optional.

How Do You Count a Spades Bid?

Count your bid in this order:

  1. Count guaranteed tricks.
  2. Add strong probable tricks.
  3. Evaluate your spades by rank and length.
  4. Check whether short suits can create extra trump tricks.
  5. Remove cards that are more dangerous than they look.
  6. Consider the score and the bids around the table.

Base the bid on the cards in your hand, not on the number your team wants to make.

Which Cards Count as Guaranteed Winners?

A guaranteed winner is a card that should win when you play it at the right time.

Usually, start with:

  • An ace in a side suit
  • The ace of spades
  • The king of spades
  • High spades supported by lower spades
  • A king with the ace in the same suit
  • A queen or jack with enough support to make it safe

An ace in a non-spade suit is often a reliable trick. It can still lose if an opponent is void in that suit and can trump before you play the ace.

Use these as starting estimates:

Holding Initial estimate
Ace of a side suit 1 trick
Ace of spades 1 trick, with extra value as trump
King with the ace 1 trick
King without the ace 0 to 1 trick
Queen without strong support Usually 0 tricks
High spade with several lower spades 1 or more tricks
Small singleton or void A possible future spade trick

These numbers are not fixed. A king may be safe in one hand and lose immediately in another.

How Should You Evaluate Your Spades?

Evaluate spades by both rank and length. High spades can win immediately, while extra spades give you control after other players run out of them.

Strong spade holdings include:

  • The ace, king or queen of spades
  • The ace and king of spades together
  • Several medium or high spades
  • A long spade suit that can outlast the opponents' spades
  • A high spade with a void or singleton in another suit

Low spades need more care. Five low spades do not automatically mean five tricks. The opponents may hold the higher spades, and you may need to spend your low spades defending against their winners.

A useful beginner rule is:

  • High spades are possible winners.
  • Low spades provide control.
  • Long spades improve when opponents run out of spades.

The ace, king and queen of spades are usually worth at least three tricks. The 9, 8, 6 and 3 of spades may be worth only one or two unless your side suits give you extra chances to trump.

Can Voids and Singletons Create Extra Tricks?

Yes, but a void or singleton creates a trick opportunity rather than a guaranteed trick.

A void means you have no cards in a suit. A singleton means you have one card in that suit. After using your only card in a suit, you can trump a later lead in that suit with a spade.

For example, suppose you have one diamond, several spades and no clubs. If an opponent leads diamonds, you can play your diamond. If diamonds are led again, you may be able to play a spade and win.

That plan depends on several things:

  • An opponent must lead the suit again.
  • You must still have a spade available.
  • Your spade must beat the other cards in the trick.
  • Your partner must not win the trick first.

Do not count every void or singleton as a full trick before the hand begins.

How Should You Treat Borderline Cards?

Separate your cards into sure tricks, probable tricks and risky cards.

Sure tricks

Count these with confidence:

  • The ace of spades
  • An ace in a side suit
  • A king protected by the ace
  • A high spade with enough support to control the suit

Probable tricks

Count these only when the hand supports them:

  • A king without the ace
  • A queen with the ace or king
  • A high spade surrounded by lower spades
  • A side-suit winner that an opponent may trump

Risky cards

Usually leave these out of your first estimate:

  • An unprotected queen
  • An unprotected jack
  • A king in a short suit
  • Low spades
  • A high card in a suit where an opponent may be void

A practical formula is:

Bid = sure tricks + some probable tricks, but not every possible trick.

When you are between two bids, the lower number is usually safer if your team is ahead or already carrying several bags.

Does Bidding Position Matter?

Yes. Early bidders have less information, while late bidders can use the other bids as context.

If you bid early

You know only your own hand. Avoid aggressive bids based on uncertain kings and queens.

If you bid late

The other bids do not reveal exact cards, but they can help you judge the hand:

  • A high total suggests that many tricks may be contested.
  • A very low bid may mean several players have weak hands or are considering Nil.
  • A high partner bid may let you bid more conservatively.
  • A low partner bid may leave you responsible for more tricks.

Your team does not need to bid exactly 13 tricks. The goal is to make your contract.

How Should You Bid When Your Partner Bids Nil?

Bid your own hand normally, then help your partner avoid unwanted tricks during play. If you bid 4 and your partner bids Nil, your team still needs to win 4 tricks.

When supporting a Nil bidder:

  • Count your reliable winners.
  • Do not add tricks just to protect your partner.
  • Use your cards to control dangerous leads.
  • Avoid winning tricks your partner is trying to avoid.
  • Be careful when leading a suit that contains your partner's vulnerable high cards.

A strong hand can make this harder, not easier. You may need to win your own tricks while keeping your partner from taking one.

When Should You Bid Nil?

Bid Nil when your hand has a credible chance of taking zero tricks.

Good Nil hands often contain:

  • No ace
  • Few or no high spades
  • No protected king
  • Several low cards
  • Short suits that you can discard safely
  • High cards that can be passed to your partner, if your rules allow card passing

Avoid Nil with:

  • The ace of spades
  • The king of spades
  • Several high spades
  • An ace in a suit you may be forced to play
  • A protected king
  • Several unavoidable winners

One dangerous card can ruin an otherwise promising Nil. A hand filled with low cards is not a safe Nil if it also contains the ace of spades.

Should You Bid Blind Nil?

Bid Blind Nil only when your table allows it and the score makes the risk worthwhile. Blind Nil means bidding zero before looking at your cards. It is not part of every Spades ruleset, and it often scores twice as much as an ordinary Nil, such as +200 for success and -200 for failure.

Consider Blind Nil when:

  • Your rules allow it.
  • Your team is significantly behind.
  • A normal bid is unlikely to close the gap.
  • The possible bonus is worth the penalty.

Needing a few extra points is not enough by itself. Blind Nil is a gamble, not a standard bidding method.

How Do Bags Affect Your Bid?

Bags are overtricks, so you should account for them when choosing between close bids.

If your team bids 5 and wins 7 tricks, the usual score is 52 points: 50 for making the contract and 2 for the extra tricks. Those 2 extra tricks become bags.

Many rulesets apply a 100-point penalty when a team reaches 10 bags.

Result Score
Bid 5, win 5 50
Bid 5, win 7 52, plus 2 bags
Bid 5, win 4 -50

If your team already has 8 or 9 bags, avoid a bid that depends on collecting several extra tricks. At that stage, a precise bid is more useful than an optimistic one.

Worked Spades Bidding Example

Suppose your hand contains:

  • Ace of spades
  • King of spades
  • Queen of spades
  • Ace of hearts
  • King of clubs
  • Four low diamonds
  • Three low clubs
  • Two low hearts

A reasonable estimate is:

  • Ace of spades: 1
  • King of spades: 1
  • Queen of spades: 1, because the ace and king support it
  • Ace of hearts: 1
  • King of clubs: 0 to 1

That gives you a starting bid of 4 or 5. Bid 5 only if the king of clubs looks reasonably safe and the score makes the extra risk worthwhile. Otherwise, bid 4.

What Is the Best Beginner Bidding Rule?

For most hands, bid your sure tricks plus one or two well-supported possibilities.

Before announcing your bid, ask:

  1. How many tricks are completely safe?
  2. Which cards are only probable winners?
  3. How many spades do I have, and how high are they?
  4. Can my voids or singletons create real trump opportunities?
  5. Am I treating bags as guaranteed tricks?
  6. Does the score justify a higher-risk bid?

Accurate bidding beats optimistic bidding, especially when your team is ahead or close to a sandbag penalty.