How high should I bid?
A good rule of thumb when it comes to placing achievable bids in Spades is to count the high cards in your hand. Aces, Kings and Queens are an excellent starting point and have a very good chance of taking a trick. By default, the game will count your high value cards for you and offer what we deem to be a reasonable bid.
How do I win as many tricks as possible?
There are a multitude of ways to win as many tricks as possible to meet your bid. A nifty little trick is to keep track of the cards that have been played. Ideally you want to wait until the other players play their high value cards that would trump your own.
- For example, you should wait for the Ace of Clubs to be played before attempting to win a trick with your King of Clubs. If you don't, there is a high chance you will lose both your card and the trick.
Fortunately, the game does incorporate a nifty little feature that keeps track of the cards that have been played so far within the round. It can be displayed by tapping on the deck icon on the upper left. Cards that have been discarded have a darker shade than those who have yet to be discarded.
When should I bid nil?
Bidding nil is quite a risky move since winning even one trick will set you back but it has the potential for a big payoff. You should not bid nil under these circumstances:
- You have high value cards like Kings, Queens and Aces.
- You do not have, or have very few, low value cards.
- Your partner places a low bid. This means that they do not have a lot of high value cards to back you up.
- Your partner places a nil bid. This means that they do not have a lot of high value cards. The better play is to cover for them.
- You have the Ace of Spades. It is the best card and nothing can beat it which guarantees that you will take a trick and fail your nil bid. Likewise, it's not recommended to nil bid if you have the King and Queen of Spades.
You should bid nil under these circumstances:
- You do not have a lot, or any, high value cards. Especially Spades cards.
- Your partner places a high bid. They most likely have a lot of high value cards and can cover for you.
That's all for now! Stay tuned for more tips & tricks and have fun playing Spades!