One of my fascinations for this game is that in most instances, there is no single "correct" play or bid. Oftentimes, the correct play depends on unstable factors, such as who we are partnering, and who is the opposition. If we really want to become masters of this game, we must learn to study our opponents' plays with great detail.

The game of Spades, unlike Chess or Backgammon, has four human variables to take into consideration. Our game plan needs to be flexible enough to adapt to these fluctuations. We must remember that there is no such thing as an individual play. Rather, every play in Spades is interactive. Thus, our strategy must be continuously adapting, to fit these ever-changing variables.

When we are presented with a new opposition or partner, one of our first goals should be to find out what are each person's strengths and weaknesses. Does our left-hand opponent routinely duck our queen leads when he holds the king? Does our opposition underbid, cash their winners early, play 2nd-hand high, or know when to falsecard? All of these observations can be used against each respective player.

For instance, some friendly opponents will always cash their aces as soon as possible, never attempt finesses, and use their spades as cuts rather than leads. Against these nice folks, we can bid and play much more aggressively.

Other opponent's weaknesses are more subtle. For instance, a left-hand opponent might routinely duck our queen leads. This type of player raises the value of our queens. When our side is short on spade length, long-suit queen holdings typically carry little or no value. However, against a generous left-hand opponent who refuses to cover with his king holdings, leading these unsupported queens without becomes another attractive weapon for our arsenal. Consider the following example:

North A 2 West K 4 3 East J 6 5 South Q 10 9 8 7

Normally, leading a queen would promise the jack unless it is a singleton or doubleton. Thus, leading the queen from this holding is generally a poor play since it is unsupported and will inevitably mislead our partner. The main assumption behind not leading in this manner is that you are playing against a perfect defense. Leading your unsupported queens will simply promote their jacks. Unfortunately, Spades strategy is not that simple. Assuming perfect defense will not lead us to the correct play or bid in every situation.

One example of this is whether or not your opposition uses falsecarding. This can greatly influence the way we play a particular suit. Take the following hand. It's the last hand of the game, and East/West only needed to bid 4 tricks for the win. Since they may have underbid, it is difficult to deduce their holdings, and they only need one more trick to fulfill their contract:

North 9 7 6 2 West Q East J 8 4 South A K 10 5 3

North breaks spades and leads the 2 to South's K. When the Q drops, South quickly contemplates whether West is falsecarding with a Q-J holding. Remembering that West had not falsecarded earlier in the game, South decides to seek an entry to his partner's hand in a different suit. Another spade from North enable South to finesse the 10.

Had West been known as a player who falsecards, South's decision might have been greatly influenced. South then may have considered playing for the drop by cashing the A. This is yet another case of playing our hand according to the opposition's tendencies.

Another tendency we need to be alert for is slightly unethical, but exists nonetheless. Some players have the habit of stalling when they hold key cards. For instance, one LHO might pause when we lead low into one of his king holdings. On the other hand, another type of LHO might try to mislead us by stalling when he holds grunts, and playing smoothly when he holds the honors. These different "quirks" can allow our finesse attempts to be less risky. For instance:

North
A 10 5

South
Q

If South leads the queen, should North play for the dry finesse, or go up with the ace? This decision might be made based on West's pausing tendencies. Did he make a slight hesitation, or was his play smooth? Is he a player that tries to mislead us, or is he honest?

As soon as our playing becomes regular and robotic, we become predictable. A strong opposition will begin using this against us. In all of the above cases, the opposition might begin countering us by adjusting their regular habits. The strategy of this game is more about adjusting to the opposition's strengths and weaknesses than finding an objective way to handle every situation. Often, this might require many adaptations during the course of a game.

-- Dustin Stout