Can you break spades on the first hand

The Deal The first dealer is chosen by a draw for high card, and thereafter the turn to deal proceeds clockwise. The Bidding Each player decides how many tricks they will be able to take. The Play The game is scored by hands, and the winner must make a certain number of points, which is decided before the game begins.

How to Keep Score For making the contract the number of tricks bid , the player scores 10 points for each trick bid, plus 1 point for each overtrick.

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Go Boom Gather your friends and family and learn how to play Go Boom. Beating the Odds in Poker Find out the odds of getting four Aces or a royal flush in a game of Poker. Ship, Captain, and Crew. Going to Boston. Left, Center, Right. For a normal non-blind bid from 4 to 9 to succeed, the team must win the number of tricks bid, and may win one or two overtricks sandbags , but not more than that.

For a successful bid they win 10 times the number bid, with nothing extra for overtricks. If the team wins fewer tricks than they bid, or wins three or more sandbags, they are set and in this case they lose 10 points per trick bid. For a non-blind bid of 10, the team scores points if they take 10, 11 or 12 tricks.

If they bid 10 and win all 13 tricks they win the whole game. If they take fewer than 10 tricks they lose A team that takes all 13 tricks, known as a Boston , also gains "bragging rights".

That is the case even if they bid less than 10, in which case they are set and score minus their bid for taking too many overtricks. For a blind bid, the team scores double the amount for the corresponding non-blind bid if they take at least as many tricks as they bid, and there is no limit on sandbags.

This a successful blind 10 wins , though a team that bids blind and then comes out for a non-blind bid of 10 scores only A blind bid fails if the team takes fewer trick than they bid, and in this case there is no double - they lose just 10 points per trick bid for a blind bid of 6 to 9, or for a failed blind The first hand of a new game is normally played without any bidding. The teams just play to win as many tricks as possible and score 10 points per trick.

If a team is set twice in succession "shot back to back" , they lose the whole game , irrespective of the scores. If both teams are set on two consecutive deals, the team with the higher score wins. Redd reports that in some groups, a team survives two consecutive sets but loses the whole game if they are set three times in succession. If the game is not ended by a Boston or a team losing twice in a row, the first team to score or more points, or the team with the higher score if both achieve this on the same deal, wins the game.

If there is a tie at or more points, further deals must be played until the tie is broken. Here are some further variants, mostly contributed by Theodore Hwa. In some versions of Spades, some or all of the four twos are elevated to the top of the spade suit, are ranked in some specified order, and are considered to be spades. The rest of the cards rank as in normal. Spades can also be played with a 54 card pack - the standard pack of 52 plus 2 distinguishable jokers.

In this case the two jokers are elevated to be the top two cards of the spade suit, with a particular order of the jokers specified. If jokers are used and no cards are eliminated, then there will be two cards left over at the end of the deal, and these are given to the dealer. Having looked at all 15 cards, the dealer discards any two cards face down.

Some play that the two extra cards are given to the holder of the two of clubs, rather than the dealer. Some play that the discard takes place after the bidding. Jeffrey Jacobs reports a variant "Widow Spades" which uses a pack with two jokers, but in this case the two cards remaining at the end of the deal are set aside unseen - no one may look at them until after the play. This adds an element of uncertainty, since sometimes a high trump is unexpectedly out of play.

Michael Mitchell reports a variation with 54 cards in which the two cards remaining after the deal are taken by the team that bids the greater number of tricks. They may agree to take one card each, or for one player to take both cards. If the teams bid equal numbers of tricks - for example six each - then each team gets one of the remaining cards - they decide between themselves which member of each partnership should take it.

In either card, the player s who have taken the extra cards discard unwanted cards face down to bring their hands back to 13 cards before the play begins. Some play that before the bidding, each player passes three cards face down to partner. The cards are passed simultaneously - players must decide what to pass before knowing what cards they will receive. Some play that instead of the players bidding strictly in turn, each partnership agrees on a bid, through a process of discussion.

First the non-dealer's side agrees on a bid. Each partner on that side communicates the amount of tricks they expect to take, based on their cards. A certain amount of unspecified bantering about "halves" and "maybes" is permitted, but not specific information about cards held. For example you are allowed to say "I know I can take 4 tricks, I might be able to take 6"; you are not allowed to say "I have a couple of high hearts and a singleton in clubs".

The agreed upon bid is then written down. The other side then agrees on a bid in the same manner. Some play that each team must bid a minimum of 4 tricks. If a player bids Nil, that player's partner must bid at least 4.

Some play that after each partnership has agreed its initial bid, each side, beginning with the side that made the first bid, is then given the opportunity to increase its bid. Some play that the bids of the two sides must not add up to exactly 13 tricks. This makes it impossible for both teams to win their bid exactly. The type of bidding described in the main account of Spades above is known as "round the table" bidding. In this type of bidding table talk is usually not permitted.

A player may only state a number. Some play that the dealer, rather than the player to dealer's left begins. There is also variation as to whether a bid of "zero" must necessarily be construed as bid of nil. In round-the-table bidding, some people allow a second round of bidding, in which each side may increase its bid. In this second round, the bidding proceeds exactly as in partnership bidding, beginning with the same side as the player who began the round-the-clock bidding sequence.

Some play that in the first deal of a spades game there is no bidding. The cards are played in the usual way and each team scores 10 points for each trick taken. When a player cannot follow suit, he may choose to play spades, but is not required to.

Note: Spades are also broken if a player has no option and leads with spades. If a player cannot follow suit, they may play a trump or discard. The trick is won by the player who plays the highest trump or if no trump was played, the player who played the highest card in the suit led. The player who wins the trick leads next.

Play continues until none of the players have any cards left. The penalty for reneging varies. In some cases, reneging results in a three-trick penalty, meaning the team may still make contract but must take three additional tricks to do so.

In Spades, all four players bid a number of tricks. However, if he wins one or more tricks, his partnership receives a point penalty. If a player bids Nil and his partner bids a number, then his partner must still try to win that number of tricks. Charlie, her partner, bids Nil. Charlie will play the hand trying not to win any tricks. However, Alex needs to win at least four tricks. Note: It's legal for partners to both bid Nil.

If both are successful, the partnership earns a point bonus. However, if both partners fail, the partnership receives a point penalty. If one partner succeeds and the other fails, the bonus and penalty wipe each other out; the net effect is 0 points. Before looking at his cards, a player may bid Double Nil, also known as Blind Nil.

After bidding Double Nil, the player looks at his cards and exchanges three cards with his partner. However, if he fails, his partnership receives a point penalty. When this happens, no cards are exchanged. The player to the dealer's left plays first "leads". He may not lead with a spade unless his hand only includes spades. In fact, unless a player has no option, spades may never be led until the suit is "broken" see below. Play continues clockwise.

Each player must follow suit i. Generally, each trick is won by the player who played the highest rank of the suit led. However, if one or more players played spades, the trick is won by the player who played the highest rank of spades.

When a trick is won, the winning player sets the trick in front of himself so that it's easy to tell how many tricks each player has won.