Advanced Tips - How to Play Spades: Card Game Strategies for Winning

Spades is a bidding game largely based upon card counting skills and strategies. Players compete in rounds, hoping to win at least as many books or tricks as they bid - and the high card of the coordinate suit of each hand wins a book. True to its namesake, spades trumps all the other suits in any round of play; but there are specific guidelines as to when a spade may be played. The ultimate object of spades is to win the most points; and there are ways to score points other than winning the most books, such as going nil, or bidding that you will accrue no tricks at all that round.

Spades has been played since the early 1940 s, and has remained localized mostly to the contiguous United States. Believed to be closely related to bridge and whist, spades can be played with as few as two people; many times team play occurs. Strategies for teams are often very different from individual play, because of the ability for one player to set an advantage for the other.

In this free card game video series, learn some important winning strategies for playing spades. Our expert will show you techniques such as pulling spades, sandbagging, how to go nil, how to play a hand with too many of one suit, when to cut or throw off, and what to do when you have no spades.
Credit: http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/spades.htm

Author: Expert Village