7 Strategies To Conquer The Thrilling World of Spades

No wonder Spades is one of the most popular trick-taking card games you can play with friends and family. This card game gives the thrill of predicting the tricks you can call by simply looking at your cards. It is all about anticipating the moves and outsmarting the opponents. Things become more enjoyable when you play Spades online for money. A high-stakes Spades game pumps more adrenaline through your veins. You think twice before applying your strategies. You take every step cautiously! We always wonder whether there is a solid game plan to follow and win in Spades online. Every player follows the same rules, but the outcomes are always different. Let us look deeper into the strategies of this card game and make a difference.

7 Best Strategies to Win in Online Spades 

1.   Bagging a few extra tricks will help

In most versions of Spades online, bagging tricks extra may penalize a player. In some, there are no negative points of bagging extra tricks. First, consider the versions that don’t penalize players for extra tricks. You can learn about this by going through the specific app’s how to play Spades section. You can use it in the following ways. A total of 13 cards are dealt in every round to every player. It means the total number of tricks called will not exceed 13. However, players don’t know each other’s hands and tend to call tricks following their own cards. So, bagging tricks more than you called can make the other players fall short of their tricks. If they can’t bag tricks they called, they gather negative points and fall behind on the scoreboard.Check the limit of extra tricks you can bag when there is negative scoring in a Spade variant. You can take risks to ensure your opponents cannot reach their targets. Be cautious, as your sure win can turn to despair if you lose. 

2.   The ‘Nil’ strategy

Don’t bag tricks when you have called nil. Remember, most online variants of this card game offer more points if a player does not bag a single trick after calling nil. If you are confident that your hand will not give any tricks to collect, here is what you can do.Bid ‘Nil’ and focus on the higher cards of every suit you have. For example, you have a Queen of Hearts. There is a slim chance of winning a trick, but you don’t want to take a risk. So, pass the queen when a higher card of the same suit is played. When you have five cards in a suit in your hand, try to get rid of them as fast as possible. Why? Every turn witnesses four cards of a suit being dropped. After three turns of the same suit, two cards of that suit will remain in your hand. These standing cards will become potential tricks if all the trump cards are down. So, pass them as ‘sluff’ to avoid taking a trick.

3.   Freeing your trump cards

Another excellent strategy to win more tricks is to free your trump cards. Imagine you have the Queen of Spades, the Jack, and number cards. You can only play the Queen of Spades when the King and Ace are out of the scene. So, freeing your trump cards gives you a better hand to win more tricks. For this, play the low cards and make your opponents play the high-value trump cards. In this way, your trump suit in hand will have the standing or highest value. Don’t use this strategy when you have less than three trump cards. Try using them skillfully to win tricks before the trump suit gets exhausted. Don’t play the Queen of Spades before the Ace and King hit the face-up pile.

4.   Using more than four trump cards

If you have more than four trump cards, save the fourth and fifth cards to take tricks. Other suits will have fewer cards due to the five Spades cards in your hand. Here is what you need to do.

• Follow the game and find out how many cards are left in each suit in your hand. 
• Try using the extra trump cards when a suit is off after playing a few turns. This way, you don’t have to wait and free your trump cards.
• Focus on the game and check how the other players are dropping cards on the table.
• Check whether there is a chance of overtrumps or not. If yes, use your trump cards cautiously or go for a sluff.
• You can skip using a trump card and use it later by sloughing. Hence, keep counting the cards in hand and cards played to use all the trump cards exceptionally.

5.   Proper bidding matters the most

It all depends on how you initially call tricks after getting a hand. Count the cards in every suit and arrange them nicely. Check the high-value cards in each suit. Count the trump cards and look for higher-value cards. Now, follow the steps below.

• Call a trick for ace cards of all suits. They will surely bring tricks in.
• For a king, you can consider calling a trick. Count the cards and guess the chances of trumping the same suit play.
• If you have 10 or higher in the Spades suit, call a trick for each one. With these cards, you can take the chances of trumping other suits.

6.   Avoid leaving a trail

Pro Spades players often track down cards on the face-up pile. Hence, avoid leaving a trail by playing cards from different suits. Try to bring a variety when you are winning tricks. How? You have high-value Hearts and Diamonds cards. Play the King of Hearts to win a trick and change the course of the game by playing a diamond card. Don’t be predictable.

7.   Always compare others’ bids with their gameplay

Comparing the tricks called by opponents with their gameplay will give you excellent insights. You can guess the high-value cards a player has. Hence, prepare for the next moves and play your cards wisely.

Design your Winning Strategy for Online Spades

Follow these pro tips for designing a winning strategy to play Spades online. Remember to count cards of all suits to win more rounds. Be unpredictable and play your cards wisely. Use all the trump cards and remain flexible to change your strategies. Amp up your Spades game and be an undisputed winner.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff Chief editor

Bernard Van Isacker is the Chief Editor of Side-Line Magazine. With a career spanning more than two decades, Van Isacker has established himself as a respected figure in the darkwave scene.

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