Card Games
Rules for spades with partners
This phrase describes the rules that apply when Spades is played with two fixed teams of two players each, where partners sit opposite and cooperate.
- Team size
- Two fixed teams of two players each.
- Bid range
- Each player bids 0–13; partners' bids are added for the team contract.
- Scoring
- 10 points per bid trick plus 1 point per overtrick for a made contract.1
Key points
- Players sit opposite their partner and cooperate during play, tracking suits and avoiding taking tricks that would cost the team.2
- Spades remain trump, and the usual trick-taking rules of the base game still apply.3
Where this term is used
Related terms
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Spades
Covers the base game of Spades, including its standard rules and gameplay.
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Spades bidding rules
Explains how bidding works in Spades, including individual and partnership bids.
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Nil bid in spades
Describes the nil bid variant in Spades, where a player bids zero tricks.
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Ace of spades
Covers the role and significance of the ace of spades in card games.
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Cribbage rules
Details the rules and scoring system of the card game cribbage.
Sources
- Spades - card game rules pagat.com Provides the standard partnership rules for Spades, including bidding and scoring.
- Card Games: Spades Tips pagat.com Offers tips on partnership play, such as tracking suits and avoiding overtricks.
- Spades bicyclecards.com Confirms that Spades remain trump and standard trick-taking rules apply.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.