Standard four-player Spades is a partnership trick-taking game. Two teams of two sit opposite each other, use one 52-card deck, bid how many tricks they expect to win, and score points by meeting those bids.

Rules reference date:

Spades With 4 Players at a Glance

Item Standard rule
Players 4, divided into 2 partnerships
Teams Partners sit opposite each other
Deck One 52-card deck
Cards per player 13
Trump suit Spades beat every other suit
Objective Meet your bid and earn the most points
Typical winning score 500 points

1. Set Up the Game

  1. Form two teams of two.
  2. Have partners sit opposite each other.
  3. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
  4. Deal all 52 cards, one at a time, until each player has 13 cards.
  5. Sort your hand by suit without showing it to anyone.

Within each suit, cards rank from highest to lowest:

Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

Spades are always trump. A spade beats any card from another suit.

2. Bid the Number of Tricks

A trick is one round in which each player plays one card. Each hand has 13 tricks because every player starts with 13 cards.

Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player announces the number of tricks they expect to win. A bid can range from zero to 13.

Add the two partners' bids together to get the team's contract.

Example

  • Player 1 bids 3.
  • Player 2 bids 4.
  • The team's contract is 7 tricks.

The team must win at least seven tricks to make its bid. Players normally cannot discuss their cards or tell their partners what to bid.

3. Play the Tricks

The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. Play then moves clockwise.

  1. The leader may play any card except a spade if spades have not been broken.
  2. Each player must follow the suit led when possible.
  3. A player who cannot follow suit may play any card, including a spade.
  4. The highest spade wins the trick.
  5. If no spade is played, the highest card in the suit led wins.
  6. The player who wins the trick leads the next one.

Example

A player leads the 10 of hearts.

  • The next player plays the King of hearts.
  • The third player has no hearts and plays the 4 of spades.
  • The fourth player plays the Ace of hearts.

The 4 of spades wins because spades are trump. That player leads the next trick.

4. Understand When Spades Are Broken

In most standard games, players cannot lead with a spade until spades have been broken.

Spades are broken when a player plays a spade because they cannot follow the suit that was led. For example, if hearts are led and a player has no hearts, that player may play a spade. Players may then lead with spades on later tricks.

There is one exception: a player may lead a spade before spades are broken if their hand contains only spades.

5. Score Each Hand

The usual scoring system is:

  • 10 points for every trick in the team's bid
  • 1 extra point for each trick above the bid
  • Minus 10 points for each trick short of the bid

Making the Bid

If a team bids 7 and wins 7 tricks:

7 × 10 = 70 points

If the team bids 7 and wins 9 tricks:

70 points for the bid + 2 extra points = 72 points

The extra tricks are often called bags.

Missing the Bid

If a team bids 7 but wins only 6 tricks, it loses 70 points.

6. Apply the Bag Penalty

Many groups apply a bag penalty. When a team collects 10 extra tricks over several hands, it loses 100 points. Its bag count then returns to zero.

For example:

  • The team wins 2 tricks above its bid in one hand.
  • It wins 3 extra tricks in the next hand.
  • It wins 5 extra tricks later.

The team now has 10 bags and receives a 100-point penalty.

Some groups do not use bag penalties, so agree on this rule before the game starts.

Optional Rule: Nil Bids

A nil bid means a player predicts they will win zero tricks.

If the player wins no tricks, the team receives 100 points. If the player wins one or more tricks, the team loses 100 points.

The nil bidder's partner continues to play normally and tries to win enough tricks for the partnership to meet its regular bid.

Some groups also allow a blind nil, which is a nil bid made before the player looks at their cards. Blind nil scoring is a house rule, so agree on it before dealing.

Complete Scoring Example

Team A bids:

  • Player 1: 3
  • Player 2: 4
  • Team bid: 7

Team A wins 8 tricks:

  • 70 points for making the 7-trick bid
  • 1 bag for the extra trick
  • Total: 71 points

Team B bids 6 but wins only 5 tricks. Team B loses 60 points.

How to Win

Continue dealing and scoring hands until one team reaches the agreed target, usually 500 points. The team with the higher score wins.

Before the first deal, agree on these rules:

  • Whether nil bids are allowed
  • Whether blind nil is allowed
  • Whether bags count toward a 100-point penalty
  • Whether a team must reach exactly 500 or only reach 500 first
  • What happens if both teams pass the winning score in the same hand

For a first game, use regular bidding and standard trick-taking. Add nil bids once everyone understands them, and decide in advance whether to use the 10-bag penalty.