Do not go looking to cut when you have good spades; you'll not win extra tricks that way. Save the singleton lead for when you have poor spades.

If you have spade length and you are on lead, you have fine chances to make an extra club trick for your side. That doesn't mean you should increase your bid, however. In Spades it does not pay to strain to bid one more. There is only a small reward for being right but a heavy penalty for being wrong.

In terms of card play, some of the tactics available such as withholding aces, overtaking Partner's winner, or leading middle cards, may be effective on some hands but fail on others. The difference is that bags ultimately go to the players who have no small cards.

Don't begin play by allowing the opponents to win a few easy tricks. Aggressive play at the start of the hand causes the opponents to worry about making their bid; then they usually wind up with the overtricks themselves.

In practice, weak players worry far more about bags than do strong players. The experts are always looking for the set, and don't mind taking an extra bag or two if there is any possibility at all of setting the opponents.

But the best players always choose the king. When the king holds and they switch, their partners know where the ace is hiding, and they can develop their strategy from that information. Good players know how to 'read' a hand, but they can only do so if partner plays, logical consistent leads.

Question: Got any tips how to play when your partner bets nil?

• If you bid after your partner, bid conservatively. You may have to pass up a few easy tricks to preserve your high cards for later.
• When you are on lead, select a suit that is rich in high cards.
  A lead from Q 10 8 is better than a lead from A 5 2.
• Prefer leading from long suits. Maybe you will find partner's shortness to give him discards.
• If no long-suit lead looks promising, lead from a short suit of two middle cards, such as 10 8, or a singleton above a 6.
• With spade length, break spades early and push the suit. Partner should get a few key discards.
• Learn to read a hand. If partner plays a low card under an Ace, you've found his short suit. Play this suit at every opportunity.
• If you have no good leads at all, try to pass the lead to the enemy (despite the risk) and let them keep winning.

1. Q10983   AK952   A   64
   
2. 984   AK952   KJ3   64

In the second example, your plan is simply to scramble for whatever tricks you can. The results of a third round of hearts are unpredictable, but they usually favor the opponents who are presented with too many options. Better to switch to clubs at Trick Three.

Intermediate players have learned to count cards and there is an attempt at teamwork and also an (over)emphasis on bags. At the advanced level of Spades, the bidding and the play is more aggressive. The players have the ability to read a hand. Bags are all but ignored as each team actively seeks to set the other side.

I invite you to go over the Master Deals again to see if you can follow the logic and the reasoning behind each recommended line of play. Spades can be played purely for fun, or it can be very competitive.

By the way, setting a 3-bid is a 60-point swing; They have lost -30 points instead of going +30. On this deal you have gained 100 points (with the set) instead of netting only 40 points for letting them make. In summary, always play for the set.

We can look deeper into this question by examining two game situations:

1. Q2   A952   A632   764
   You have the first bid.
2. 
   
   
3. Q10   AJ1052   A2   Q764
   Partner bids 4, next player bids 2.

I recommend a bid of 3 for the second hand. The opponents will not have many spades and no one will have any reason to lead out the ace and king early on. You have too many chances for a third trick to go chicken with a 2-bid. Note you are not just bidding one more for the queen; you up your bid because you like the hand 'texture.'

If a player believes a renege occurred earlier in the deal, play must continue until the end of the deal, at which point the cards are examined. If a renege has indeed occurred, the offending side loses their bid and the other pair is given a make. (No bags are scored.) There is no penalty for a mistaken claim of a renege.

(There is more information on the renege and other infractions on Page 2 of Master Tips.)

• Partner still has one or more count cards in his hand; these may actually be long spades.
• You have captured one or more of the opponents' count cards.
• You have won two or more unexpected tricks, and the opponents have not won any.

In general, watch partner's card play when he is not winning tricks. If he is playing low-high, he is still battling. If he follows high-low, he has abandoned the attack. Remember to help partner by playing the same way.

• The power of a long spade suit is derived not from its ability to ruff the opponents’ tricks, but from its ability to draw the opponents’ trumps.
• Ruffing from a long spade suit does not create extra tricks.

• A player with a long spade suit should lead trump.
• The side with the most spades should lead trump.
• When partner bids six or higher, break spades quickly and lead the suit.
• When partner leads a low trump, he wants you to win it if you can and continue playing spades.
• When partner is known to have long spades, do not weaken partner’s trumps by forcing him to ruff.

There are also times to lead spades strictly for defensive purposes; every good player knows that the only way to stop an enemy crossruff is to lead trump, regardless of your holding.

The mark of the strong Spades player is the timely spade lead. You will not always get it right; but an occasional misfire should not discourage you from trying to develop the necessary judgement.

• Bid 1 for each ace and king, plus 1 more for the queen of spades.
• Add 1 for each spade beyond the basic 3-card holding.
• Add 1 for a singleton or void if you hold exactly three spades.
• If you play aggressively, add 1 for an ace-queen combination.
• If you have only one spade or none at all, subtract 1.

These are your primary factors, and most players can stop right here. Then come secondary considerations such as hand texture and favorable or unfavorable distribution. Finally, there are adjustments based on the game situation, which includes the score, bags, the other bids, and the abilities of the other players.

Other systems suggest using fractions to arrive at your final bid, or formulas to take suit length into consideration. These systems may even be better - who knows? I still prefer simplicity. For reference, here are some links to other bidding systems.

Jeff's Spade Page
Spades - the Game
Tips from Lamb
CrossEyedAtNite Spades Page
William Donovan's Spade Page