Spades with jokers is a four-player trick-taking game in which the Big Joker and Little Joker rank above the ace of spades. Use a 52-card deck plus the two jokers, remove the 2 of clubs and 2 of diamonds, and deal 13 cards to each player.

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Spades with Jokers at a Glance

Rule Beginner-friendly version
Players Four players in two partnerships
Deck 52-card deck plus Big Joker and Little Joker
Cards removed 2 of clubs and 2 of diamonds
Highest cards Big Joker, Little Joker, ace of spades
Trump suit Spades
Cards per player 13
Objective Make your partnership's combined bid
Common winning score 500 points

1. Set Up the Joker Spades Deck

Start with a standard 52-card deck and add two different jokers:

  • Big Joker: usually the full-color joker
  • Little Joker: usually the one-color joker

Remove the 2 of clubs and 2 of diamonds. The deck now has 52 cards, so four players can each receive 13 cards.

If the jokers look identical, mark one "Big" and the other "Little" before dealing.

Partners sit opposite each other. Deal one card at a time clockwise, beginning with the player to the dealer's left.

2. Learn the Card Ranking

Spades are always trump. From highest to lowest, the trump cards rank like this:

  1. Big Joker
  2. Little Joker
  3. Ace of spades
  4. King of spades
  5. Queen of spades
  6. Jack of spades
  7. 10 of spades
  8. 9 of spades
  9. 8 of spades
  10. 7 of spades
  11. 6 of spades
  12. 5 of spades
  13. 4 of spades
  14. 3 of spades
  15. 2 of spades

Both jokers count as spades when players must follow suit. The Big Joker beats every other card. The Little Joker beats every card except the Big Joker.

3. Bid How Many Tricks You Expect to Win

A trick contains one card from each player. With four players, each hand has 13 tricks.

Each player bids the number of tricks they expect to win. The partners then add their bids to create the team bid.

Example

  • Player 1 bids 3
  • Player 2 bids 2
  • The partnership bid is 5

That team must win at least five tricks to make its contract.

A bid of zero is called nil. A successful nil usually earns a 100-point bonus. A failed nil usually costs 100 points. For a first game, you can require every player to bid at least one trick and leave nil out.

4. Play the Tricks

The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick.

Follow these rules:

  1. The opening lead cannot be a spade unless the player has only spades.
  2. Each player must follow the suit led when possible.
  3. A player who cannot follow suit may play a spade, a joker, or a card from another suit.
  4. The highest spade or joker wins the trick.
  5. If no spade or joker is played, the highest card in the led suit wins.
  6. The trick winner leads the next trick.

Spades become broken when a player uses a spade or joker to trump another suit. After that, players may normally lead spades.

Example of a Joker Trick

Suppose hearts are led:

  • Player 1 plays the 10 of hearts.
  • Player 2 plays the king of hearts.
  • Player 3 cannot follow hearts and plays the Little Joker.
  • Player 4 plays the ace of hearts.

The Little Joker wins because it is a trump card. That player leads the next trick.

If another player had played the Big Joker, the Big Joker would have won instead.

5. Score the Hand

A common partnership scoring system works like this:

  • Make the bid: 10 points for each trick bid
  • Take extra tricks: 1 point for each overtrick
  • Miss the bid: lose 10 points for each trick bid
  • Successful nil: plus 100 points
  • Failed nil: minus 100 points

Scoring Example

A partnership bids 6 and wins 8 tricks:

  • Contract: 6 × 10 = 60 points
  • Overtricks: 2 points
  • Total: 62 points

Many groups also use a bag penalty. Each overtrick counts as one bag. Collecting 10 bags usually costs the team 100 points. The first team to reach 500 points commonly wins.

How Jokers Affect Bidding

The Big Joker is usually worth one reliable trick because no other card can beat it.

The Little Joker is also strong, but the Big Joker can beat it. You might count the Little Joker as:

  • One likely trick if you think the opposing Big Joker will not take it
  • A possible trick if an opponent may hold the Big Joker
  • More than one trick only when the rest of your hand contains strong spades or cards likely to win side-suit tricks

Do not treat every ace or king as a guaranteed trick. An ace or king in a non-spade suit can lose when another player is unable to follow that suit and plays a spade.

A Simple Beginner Strategy

Use the Big Joker Carefully

The Big Joker cannot be beaten, so it normally wins one trick. Playing it early gives you control of a trick. Keeping it may help you protect a later bid or take a trick when the result matters more.

Treat the Little Joker as Strong but Beat-able

The Little Joker beats every ordinary card but loses to the Big Joker. Leading it may force an opponent with the Big Joker to use that card.

Count Your Likely Tricks First

Before bidding, count:

  • Big Joker
  • Little Joker, with some caution
  • Ace of spades
  • Other high spades
  • Aces and kings in long side suits
  • Chances to trump when you are short in a suit

Watch Which Suits Opponents Cannot Follow

When an opponent fails to follow a suit, that player can trump future tricks in that suit. This matters when your team is trying to protect a nil bid or avoid taking extra bags.

Avoid Unnecessary Overtricks

If your partnership bids 5 and has already won 5 tricks, do not take a sixth trick unless you need it. The extra trick creates a bag, and bags can later trigger the 100-point penalty.

Important Joker Variations

Groups do not all use the same joker rules. Agree on the details before dealing.

Variation 1: Add Jokers Without Removing Cards

A 54-card deck can be dealt to four players with 13 cards each, leaving two cards. One common rule gives those two cards to the dealer, who discards them face down. Other groups set the cards aside or give them to a designated player.

Removing two cards before dealing is easier for many beginners because each player receives exactly 13 cards and there is no hidden extra hand.

Variation 2: Joker-Joker-Deuce-Deuce Spades

Some groups rank the top trump cards like this:

Big Joker, Little Joker, 2 of diamonds, 2 of spades, ace of spades, king of spades, and so on.

In this version, the 2 of diamonds may count as a spade when players must follow suit. The cards removed from the deck may also differ, so confirm the ranking before play.

Variation 3: Spades May Be Led Immediately

The usual rule prevents players from leading spades until spades are broken. Some groups allow a player to lead a spade or joker from the first trick.

That rule changes the bidding and play, so decide which version you are using before the hand starts.

The Easiest Rules to Use at Home

For a first game, use these choices:

  1. Four players form two partnerships.
  2. Add a Big Joker and Little Joker to a standard deck.
  3. Remove the 2 of clubs and 2 of diamonds.
  4. Deal 13 cards to each player.
  5. Rank the Big Joker above the Little Joker, followed by the ace of spades.
  6. Have each player bid, then combine partner bids.
  7. Require players to follow suit whenever possible.
  8. Let spades and jokers trump the other suits.
  9. Score 10 points per trick bid and 1 point per overtrick.
  10. Play to 500 points.

Agree on the joker ranking, nil rules, bag penalty, and opening-lead rule before the first deal. Those choices cause most disagreements in joker Spades.