| 1 The Bridge Player Takes
up Spades. The South player on the next hand admitted she was really a
Bridge player just visiting the Spades Internet site out of
curiosity. |
| 2 Underleading Aces.
A player with spade length can often explore a position by
underleading an ace. This tactic enables him to keep control of a suit
while also retaining an entry to the suit. |
| 3 "Partner, Lead a Spade,
Dammit!" If it is right to lead spades, then as often as not,
the spade lead must originate from the partner of the long spade
suit. |
| 4 "You trumped my Ace,
Partner!" Sometimes the only way to maximize your side's tricks
is to trump Partner's ace. |
| 5 Submarine Attack.
Sometimes the only way to protect Partner's nil is to open a new
suit not with an ace, but with a deuce. |
| 6 The Crocodile Coup.
When trying to sink a nil bid, it is often critical for the
defender on the frontside of the nil to win the eleventh trick. |
| 7 His Weakness Was Too Much
Strength. It can be tough trying to defeat a nil bidder when
his partner has bid six or more. Try this tip: avoid the spades
break. |
| 8 "Great Lead, Guy."
Sometimes an opening lead can be so marvelous that it pleases all
four players. |
9 Unsafe at any Size.
Is a nil-bidder secure when his spade holding is  542? Watch how the defenders
pull some sleight-of-hand! |
| 10 "So, how did you
play that hand?" If four-handed Spades is not competitive
enough for you, try Duplicate Spades. |
| 11 In the Stratosphere.
A high-level bid will be either your salvation or your doom. It
depends on whether you know the magic formula. |
| 12 Meat and Potatoes.
If there is any type of deal that favors the experts over the
average Spades players, it is those in which they have a 4-4 spade
fit. |
| 13 "Carry Your Bags,
Ma'am?" The typical Spades player despairs if he takes too many
bags. The expert player wants to take even more! |
| 14 Protect the Weak.
It is not merely chivalry to protect the weak; the one you assist
may be your partner. |
| 15 "What shall I bid, O
Master?" A strong player might bid three with the North cards.
"In your case," I replied, "bid no more than two." |
| 16 Anything But That!
When Partner can trump a certain suit, leading that suit is
often the worst play you can make. |
| 17 Run, Suit, Run!
The goal on every Spades hand is to run a long suit after trumps
have been drawn. This is a rare achievement; either the cards or Partner
fail to cooperate. |
| 18 Hold It! The
hold-up play accepts a mild risk. It seldom loses, and often gains in a
big way. |
| 19 There's More than One
Way. You'll not set a pair of conservative bidders. However,
they will help you win in other ways. |
| 20 "What Happened?"
If you play with an expert, you will win more often, but you will
not always know how or why. |
| 21 Face Up At
the mid-way point South knew every card in his partner's hand, just as
though the cards were face up on the table. |
| 22 The Killing Third Round
I Many nils are sunk on the third round of a suit. The catch is
that the defenders must be able to lead that third round. |
| 23 The Killing Third Round
II When your opponents use the effective strategy of playing
two rounds of spades, you can often foil them with the killing third round
of trumps. |
| 24 Anonymous Spades
One of the nice things about Internet Spades is that you cannot see
your anonymous partner scowl when you make a mistake. |
| 25 Ambush. The
right time to underbid is not when you intend to play like a kitten, but
when you plan to pounce like a tiger. |
| 26 A Team Effort.
Spades games are won by teams, not by individuals. A good partner
will deduce your plan and assist you to bring it off. |
| 27 A Bidding
Controversy. How many do you bid on AQJxx? It all depends on
your card skill. |
| 28 The Recipe.
It is seldom easy to set when the table total is 11. It typically requires
a combination of opponents' error, your skill, and some luck. |
| 29 Innocent Discard.
West made the discard that any one of us would likely make. It cost
his side its bid. |
| 30 Give a Man Some
Rope... It is a bad idea to give your opponents a ruff and
sluff. But if they muff it, it was a good idea. |
| 31 Needs a Little
Adjustment. If you usually play with strong partners, you have
to make adjustments when your partner is merely above average, as all
partners claim to be. |
| 32 Stop That Ruff!
Everyone knows there is only one way to stop enemy ruffs. If you
can do it yourself, don't leave it up to Partner. |
| 33 "Well Done, Pard. No
Bags!" Many players take pride in their ability to avoid bags.
I'd rather have such players as opponents than as partners. |
| 34 There's Always an
Exception. When presented with a ruff and sluff, it's usually
best that the ruff is taken by the player who is short in spades. Usually
is not always. |
| 35 The Endgame at Nil.
Study all four hands to see if you can figure out how North's nil
was busted. |
| 36 Spades Literacy.
Want to learn how to read a hand? Start by keeping track of the
'count' cards -- the cards that constitute a player's bid. |
| 37 Falsecard at Your Own
Risk. Always play true cards -- unless you enjoy torturing your
partner. |
| 38 The Magic Five-Five.
Hands with two 5-card suits (spades and another) are so strong you
can add 1 to your normal bid -- for the distribution and your great
skill. |
| 39 Scrooge McSpades.
If there are three bag-avoiders at the table, you have the
advantage. Two of them must be opponents. |
| 40 Bag 'Em or Set 'Em?
Once your side's bid is assured, should you try to bag the
opponents or set them? Here's a simple formula. |
| 41 Spades Follies.
Bag-avoiders have a cute trick. They withhold the last spade until
the finish, giving the opponents all the bags. This ploy can please both
sides. |
| 42 Three Bags Full.
"You're always showing contempt for bag-avoiders. Can't you show
even one good result from this strategy?" |
| 43 2 + 2 = 5.
Teamwork counts. Two players can form a strong partnership only if they
understand each other's card conventions. Watch how it is done. |
| 44 Don't Try This at
Home. If you make expert plays, you'd better have an expert
partner who will be understanding if things go wrong. |
| 45 "Where's My
Tylenol?" They say bad Spades has its charms. That may be true
if you're a kibitzer. As a player, though, have the headache medicine
handy! |
| 46 Trump Reduction.
A common defense against nil bids is for the defenders to reduce
the trumps in their two hands. No, make that three hands. |
| 47 No Upset.
Have you heard the tale about the impoverished Spades player who wouldn't
draw trump? No? Here it is again. |
| 48 Monkey See, Monkey
Do. When there are two nils on the table, the second nil is
usually riskier than the first. In fact, it may be downright bizarre! |
| 49 Anything But That!
Ruffing is such fun -- it takes away the enemy's winners. Often
this is entirely, thoroughly, the wrong strategy. |
| 50 The Good Ol' Days.
This example comes from my student days, when players preferred to
play Spades with zest rather than accuracy. |
| 51 Use It or Lose It.
The advantage of saving your aces is that you may get a chance to
capture a king. The disadvantage is that you may lose your ace. |
| 52 I Used It - And Lost
It. If you take your aces early enough, you'll make your
tricks, all right. But you might lose the hand. |
| 53 A Feat of
Self-Destruction. Many Spades players have the habit of
dropping middle cards early to avoid bags at the finish. After all, what
could possibly go wrong? |
| 54 Shattered. If
there is an urgency to leading spades, the act of breaking spades is
important enough to be worth a trick itself. |
| 55 An Unblock
Brilliancy. "Do you still refuse to play with anti-baggers?"
"Actually," I replied, "it's the other way around. They refuse to play
with me!" |
| 56 The Four-Spade Nil.
Players often get away with a 4-spade nil. There is a simple
defense to it -- provided the defenders figure it out in time. |
| 57 First, the Good
News... If you need a spade break, is it a good or bad idea to
let the opponents do it? It depends...how good or bad are they? |
| 58 Percentage Play.
Spades, like all games that involve some luck, have certain plays
that are based on probabilities. As North, what card you you play at Trick
Two? |
| 59 Attack From the
Middle. Most players know it is wrong to attack a nil with high
cards. But do they know it can be wrong to attack with low cards? |
| 60 2-For-10. The
bonus for bidding and making ten tricks is a Spades option that comes in
several versions, but no expert would want to play without it. |
| 61 A Rare Beauty.
Effective falsecarding is common in the related games of Whist and
Bridge, but quite rare in Spades. I waited a long time for this gem to
turn up. |
| 62 So, Did You Learn
Anything? Earlier, I had asked you to keep track of the 'count'
cards. Did you really do it, or were you just humoring me? |
| 63 You Play Your Way, I'll
Play Mine. "Do you still have it in for bag avoiders?" "Not at
all," I replied. "They are my favorite sort of opponents." |
| 64 Great Texture.
You cannot include queens, jacks, and tens as count cards -- not
unless you have so many of them that they are worth an ace. |
| 65 Only a Guess.
You'd have to bet on North to make his nil, even with four spades. But a
wrong guess at Trick Two would cost him at Trick Thirteen. |
| 66 How to Spot an Average
Player. "I'm really quite good," she said. "I've been playing
this game for years." Maybe she was talking about Hearts. |
| 67 Live and Learn.
Ask any teacher and you will get the same answer: Every time they
give a lesson, they learn something new from their students. |
| 68 Like Clockwork.
All Spades players believe they are above average. You can soon
spot the typical players by their dull, mechanical style of play. |
| 69 Two Rights.
In Bridge, the wisdom is that if both sides are leading trump, one of them
must be wrong. This profound statement does not apply to Spades. |
| 70 Into the Valley of
Death. If you are going to take risks in the bidding, you
mustn't lose your courage in the play. |
| 71 Like a Book.
I have mentioned on several occasions that experts can read a hand. It is
not that hard to do; try it! |
| 72 Why I Do Not Play on the
Internet. Many visitors to this website ask me to partner them
at Internet Spades sites. I always politely decline. Here's an
example. |
| 73 Now for the Hard
Part. I hope you have learned by now of the importance of
leading spades. Now comes the hard part -- deciding which card to lead,
and from which hand. |
| 74 Have Faith, My
Friend. I sometimes have difficulty teaching novices to
finesse. They fear the consequences of losing the trick. But such lost
tricks usually come back. |
| 75 Coach for Hire.
No matter how good you believe your card instincts to be, there are
techniques that can only be learned from a experienced teacher. Here's one
of them. |
| 76 That Extra Effort.
If you base your bid on spade tricks, beware of overruffs. Tricks
lost in this manner don't come back -- not without some work! |
77 Safe Spades. Got
Protection? South had mixed feelings when he heard Pard bid
nil. They could use the points, but was  42 adequate
protection? |
| 78 Marathon Spades.
No doubt we have all played in all-night Spades sessions, and think
we are just as sharp at the finish as when we start. |
| 79 Do We Play Moon?
Moon, or Boston, is a Spades option that commits a side to taking
all 13 tricks for a 500-point bonus. It is rare, but not impossible. |
| 80 You Get What You
Order. There are some players who always lead from their
shortest suit, seeking a ruff. Often this suits their opponents just
fine. |
| 81 The Rule of Twelve.
Many Spades players have the habit of shedding middle cards early
in play to avoid bags at the finish. This may be sound strategy when the
table total is 11 tricks or less, but it is unwise when the total is
12. |
| 82 Have We Seen This One
Before? Here it is again. Don't lead your lowest card against a
nil bid. Retain at least one, preferably two, lower cards for later. |
| 83 Faceless Wonder.
Hands with freakish distribution are impossible to bid accurately.
If partner has a poor fit you will take few tricks. But with a good
fit... |
| 84 Taking Advantage.
The expert studies his opponents' carding habits. He tries to take
advantage of their strengths and weaknesses -- before they catch on! |
| 85 Not Always a Sin.
It takes a while to teach novices that it is a dreadful mistake to
ruff ahead of partner. Once they learn, I have to explain when it is
correct to do so! |
| 86 An Ace Too Soon.
It is a good idea to win your bid-fulfilling trick by cashing the
ace of spades. This alerts Partner to retire from play, leaving the bags
to the opponents. |
| 87 Down for the Count.
A player who counts spades on every hand may not be an expert. But
we know how to classify a player who doesn't count them! |
| 88 Desperate Call.
The fourth player to bid has the most information, and is expected
to adjust the final bid according to the game situation. |
| 89 Seduced by the Power of
the Force. The 100-point bonus for a successful nil is like the
Song of the Sirens, leading sailors irresistibly to their doom. |
| 90 Baker's Dozen.
Remember the Rule of Twelve, which cautions players about dumping
middle cards when the total is 12 tricks? It also applies to a 13
total! |
| 91 Only
Half-Aggressive. Spades players debate the merits of bidding
aggressively vs. bidding conservatively. What they are actually
doing is describing their own playing skills. |
| 92 The Forcing Game.
When an opponent is trying to draw your spades, one way to thwart
his nefarious plan is to force him to ruff. |
| 93 Horns of the Dilemma -
First, the Left Horn. There are times at Spades when you are
faced with a guess. (Every play, right?) All you do is give it your best
shot, and hope Partner has taken his Prozac. |
| 94 Horns of the Dilemma -
Next, the Right One. What makes a play correct? Is it the
action most likely to succeed, or, as some players would have it, only the
results that matter? |
| 95 Standard Convention.
Although the standard lead convention is the top card of a
sequence, in second or third position you play the lowest of touching
honors. I used to assume everyone knew this. |
| 96 The Thirteenth Card.
It is not a good idea to lead the last card of a suit. The results
are unpredictable, but they are usually bad for your side. |
| 97 Rush Hour.
"Should I take my winners immediately?" There is no correct answer. You
can rush to cash your winners or be patient; either strategy may
backfire. |
| 98 How to Win
Tournaments. Against stronger opponents you may take some
risks. But if you believe you are the best, stay calm and wait for
opportunity. |
| 99 Pray for a Miracle.
Never give up the ship! Even if you are way behind, miracles can
happen, even in Spades. |
| 100 A Touch of
Elegance. Spades may be Joe Six-Pack's card game, but there are
still opportunities for artistry. |
| --- End of Master Deals,
Set 1. |
