Spades - Advanced Winning Strategy

· Bidding · General gameplay · Tactics for going nil · Tactics for setting nil · Tactics for covering nil · Tactics for going double nil ·

I. Bidding. Actually, I recommend people avoid using any automatic bidding systems of any kind. Some factors may change your hand's potential, including whether you lead the opening card or if you play the fourth card. Maybe your opponent's playing style is weak or maybe it's all-out aggressive. In general, I will bid one point for the following:

Ace of clubs
King of clubs

Ace of diamonds
King of diamonds

Ace of spades
King of spades
Queen of spades

Ace of hearts
King of hearts

voids
singletons
extra spades

Often times I will subtract a point for a King on long suits, or when I have 2 spades or less. For instance, if I am holding 3-6-8-9-K of clubs, that King could get trumped. In that situation, another player could have a singleton in clubs and they will trump the King.
(Note: Many people bid on doubletons. In my experiences, it is a bad idea to do that. However, if I get two doubletons, a doubleton plus a singleton, or a doubleton with a void, then I'll bid more aggressively.)

Here are some examples of the ways I bid.

1. Recommended bid = Nil or 1. This hand is missing a 5 card in both spades and hearts. However, I checked my partner's bid before making a decision. My partner bid 4, so I went nil.



2. Recommended bid = 5. You have Ace of diamonds, King of diamonds, Ace of spades, and extra spades. Since there is such a strong opportunity to take a bag, I would bid it.



3. Recommended bid = 4. The King/Queen combination solidifies your King. The Queen of spades is weak here, because there are only 3 spades total. However, along with the strong opportunities for this hand to take a bag, I would go ahead and bid that Queen.



4. Recommended bid = 3. This hand has the King of clubs, King of spades, and extra spades.



5. Recommended bid = Nil. This is a strange hand due to the Ace and void. If somebody has the King of clubs or King of diamonds with a long overall suit, there might only be a low number of bids on the table. In fact, when I had this hand, people only bid on 6 tricks overall. Yes, I made the nil.



II. General gameplay.
13 bid = Set hand. Try not to take 2 bags or more. 
12 bid = Set hand. Play to set the other team. Do NOT trump your partner. Do NOT throw away queens, unless you are bluffing.
11 bid = Set or sack. Watch to see if your partner is playing weak, or throwing off.* This is the desirable bid on a nil hand.
10 bid = Sack hand. Trump your partner, if possible. Do NOT trump the other team.
*Note: If your partner is playing weak on an 11 bid, he is signaling that he does not want to set the other team. If you counteract by playing aggressive, your team is more likely to take 2 bags.

III. Tactics for going nil.
1. 3 spades or less.
2. No queen of spades.
3. At least one card 5 or lower in each suit.
4. Cannot have 4 mediums in same suit, between 6 and Q, without one card 5 or lower.
5. Check partner bid first.
There are times when you can break these rules. For example, a) if there is a nil on the table already, b) if you have a void, c) you have 2 singletons, d) if your partner's bid is high.

IV. Tactics for setting nil.
*** 11 bid overall. Pump up the bid to 11 if you can. Put the pressure on the cover man, and forget about the nil player.
*** Get your team bid to 7 or 8 if possible, to put maximum heat on the cover player.
** Change suits often. Alternate suits to confuse the cover player. The cover player will forget whether their partner can duck a particular suit, and may burn their extra spades, or they may take a bag.
* Take early bags. This is an expert strategy, but it will take any pressure off your partner to make their bid. This way, your partner can have options and make choices on trumping or throwing off. Also, if you accidentally set the cover man, the nil is only worth 100 minus the cover bid.
* Attack the cover man, especially if his bid is high. Take all bags, even lame bags with an 8 or 10 card. If nil passes and you set the cover man, that nil is not worth as much. Sometimes the cover man will make a mistake under pressure and set his partner.
* Save spades or fail to trump. If spades are not yet broken, this will often force the cover player to lead a lower card.
* Avoid leading spades with 3 or 4 cards remaining. Many amateurs will try and go nil with 4 trumps. This nil player will set himself for you. Also, if the cover man burned his spades, he could be short on spades if the nil player has 3 spades.

V. Tactics for covering nil.
*** Lock the bid at 12 or 13. The other team will often panic, or forget about their bid.
** Lead highest card.
* Take extra bags. The opposition will cover the nil for you by taking tricks at the end of the hand.
* Overbid.

VI. Tactics for going double nil.
*** Losing by 200 points or more. This is the risk versus reward factor.
** 8 tricks to the right. Preferably 5 and 3 or 4 and 4.
** Last bid, tricks total 11 or more, partner has 3 bid or higher.