A four-player partnership bidding game where spades are always trump and each side must make its contract.
- Variant code
- partnership-4p-standard
- Players
- 4 (2v2)
- Deck
- Standard 52-card deck.
- Teams
- Two fixed partnerships.
- Scoring engine
- none (manual)
- Reviewed
- 2026-11-10 (editorial; revision 1)
Quick start
Spades are always trump. Starting left of the dealer, each player bids tricks; the partnership contract is the sum of the two bids. Making it scores ten per trick bid; extra tricks are bags (ten bags cost 100). First side to 500 wins.
Players, deck and object
Four players, two partnerships, standard deck. Spades rank above all suits and are permanently trump.
Claim and evidence (players)
Four players in two partnerships.
- Partnership Spades - Pagat (players)
- Spades rules overview - Bicycle Cards (general)
Setup and deal
Deal thirteen cards each. Partnerships sit opposite; the dealer bids last.
Claim and evidence (deal)
Thirteen cards each; the dealer bids last.
- Partnership Spades - Pagat (deal)
Bidding and turn order
Bidding starts left of the dealer and moves clockwise. A partnership bid is the predicted total; a player may bid nil. The player left of the dealer leads first.
Claim and evidence (turn)
Bidding begins left of the dealer; the player left of the dealer leads.
- Partnership Spades - Pagat (bidding)
Legal play
Follow suit if you can. Spades may not be led until broken, unless you hold only spades.
Scoring
Made contract: ten per trick bid plus one per bag; ten bags cost 100. Successful nil scores 100; failed nil costs 100. A set partnership loses ten per trick bid.
Claim and evidence (scoring)
Ten per trick bid plus bags; ten bags cost 100; nil 100; set ten per trick bid.
- Partnership Spades - Pagat (scoring)
- Spades rules overview - Bicycle Cards (general)
Ending the game
The first partnership to 500 points wins.
Claim and evidence (win_condition)
The first partnership to 500 points wins.
- Partnership Spades - Pagat (game)
Worked example
A partnership bids 4 and 3 (contract 7) and takes 9 tricks: 70 + 2 bags. Later a nil fails (-100) while a six-trick bid is made (+60).
House-rule choices
Bag threshold, nil and blind-nil values, and whether the game is to 500 or 200.
Common questions
Who leads first? The player left of the dealer. Are spades trump for everyone? Yes.
Worked example
A made contract and a failed nil
Round 1: 70 for the contract plus 2 bags. Round 2: nil fails (-100) and the six-trick bid is made (+60).
| Expected result | Value |
|---|---|
| us | 130 |
| bags | 2 |
| them | 0 |
Reproduced by an editor; no scoring engine shipped for this variant.
Sources and review
Written in original wording and checked against the references below for this exact variant. External prose is not copied. Every material claim carries its own evidence.
- Partnership Spades - Pagat (reference)
- Spades rules overview - Bicycle Cards (reference)