Best Strategies for Choosing Cards to Take Out in Spades

There’s more than one way to play spades. In some versions, you’ll have the option to pass some cards to your teammate, and some even allow giving them to the opponent. It’s always best to check which version of spades is being played because when used correctly, removing some of your cards can have a big impact on the eventual outcome. After all, the cards you and your teammate have in your hand will ultimately determine how many tricks you can win.

There are also other situations where you can discard cards from your hand. We’ll outline some of them, as well as plenty of other useful tips about getting rid of your cards, below. Note that passing cards to your teammate (or opposition) does not form part of the rules for most versions of spades, including the one that you’ll find at 247spades.com. However, if you’re planning to play regularly, then it’s something that you’ll need to know about since you’ll come across it sooner or later.

Essential Tips for Spades Players

If you’re playing a version of Spades that allows you to pass cards to your teammate, then keep in mind that this isn’t just a gimmick that keeps things interesting. It can have a significant impact on the eventual outcome of the game. Through passing, you’ll have the ability to strengthen your partner’s hand or even weaken your own hand, which will make it more likely that you can win tricks.

The process of passing any good cards to your partner can also make it more likely that you can succeed with a ‘nil’ bid, which can be worth a lot of points. Nil bids are famously risky since they can essentially win or cost you the game. If you take even one trick, then you’ll lose a lot of points — usually one hundred. By getting rid of any mildly strong cards, you can make your hand weaker, which in turn will increase the likelihood that your nil bid is successful.

Let’s imagine a scenario where your partner has a relatively strong hand, but you have a very weak hand that only contains one high-ranking card. By passing that high-ranking card to your teammate, you’ll make it more likely that they’ll win tricks — and thus points — while simultaneously weakening your hand. Your ‘nil’ bid only applies to your hand. Through passing, you could snag your team 100 points, which you would never have achieved if you made a standard bid, while your teammate could earn even more points now that their hand is stronger.

It takes time to figure out how to use passing correctly. As with most things, it’s one of those things that you’ll learn through doing, but it’s worth playing around with. Done correctly, you’ll find that it can take you and your partner’s gameplay to the next level.

Note that there’s a big difference between ‘nil’ bids and ‘blind nil’ bids. With the latter, you don’t get to look at your hand first.

Strategy: Removing Cards in Spades

There’s more than one way to get rid of cards that don’t serve your gameplay. Depending on the variation you’re playing, you may even be able to give them to your opponent. Some variations allow for a set number of cards (usually three) to be passed to an opponent.

You can also discard some of your unwanted cards during gameplay, albeit not in the way you might think. While you can’t simply get rid of cards, you can use them strategically. For example, when you were making your bid, you probably didn’t factor in winning any tricks with your low-ranking cards. Playing them early in hands that you know you won’t win can prevent them from unexpectedly winning you a trick later down the line, which might negatively impact your final score.

Maximizing Your Hand in Spades

OK, so now that we’ve figured out the situations in which you can pass your cards, let’s think about how you can figure out which cards to pass and how to maximize your final hand when playing spades.

Get To Know Hand Rankings

The first step for improving your gameplay is to get to know the spades hand rankings. For one thing, spades are always trump cards. The highest spade card that’s played in the round will be the winner — so, yes, a 2 of spades will beat an ace of clubs. You generally wouldn’t pass or discard a spade card, but keep in mind that low-ranking spade cards (2 - 5) are unlikely to win tricks unless higher-ranking spades have already been played.

You’ll want to keep your aces, kings, queens, and jacks (unless specifically trying to weaken your hand) since they have a good chance of winning you tricks.

Analyze Your Hand

Knowing the card rankings in spades is one thing; understanding how to use the cards that you have in your hands is another. Ultimately, your spades performance will come down to your ability to analyze your hand and use it correctly. The best players can figure out the strength or weakness of their hand with a quick glance. Again, this is something that you’ll learn just by playing regularly — remember that you can always visit247spades.com to practice!

Use Your Spades Wisely

Having high-ranking spades puts you in a powerful, controlling position. However, simply having them in your hand doesn’t mean that you’ll win — that’ll depend on how you use them. It’s best to keep your top-tanking spade cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack) until they’re needed. Don’t waste them on a round that you could have won with a lower-ranking card.

The Art of Discarding in Spades

Most versions of spades you’ll play won’t allow for the passing of cards. When you do come across them, the above tips will help you. Ultimately, you’ll pass your cards to help the overall team, even if that means weakening your hand. You can also get rid of weak cards by playing them in rounds that you know you won’t win.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.