Play Cards Online With Friends
At the Palace of Cards, you get to play the most popular, classic card games for free. Use what you prefer – your PC or a mobile device, browser or app. All our online card games are available cross-platform. The other players then each play a card in clockwise order until all 4 players have played a card. Whichever player played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card, takes the cards. This is known as 'winning a trick'. The trick winner starts the next trick. Players must play a card with the same suit as the lead card.
Enjoy Spades online with your family or with opponents worldwide!
Can You Play Cards Online With Friends
Spades is a popular trick-taking card game, similar to Hearts, Bridge, and Euchre. It is played with a traditional, 52-card French Deck. The game is mostly played in the US, UK, and Canada. Read about the complete rules and all available modes of the game.
Play Spades for free in the practice rooms to improve your skills. It is possible to play on any browser and device type!
Find out more about the different game options and custom adjustments. Discover the game introduction and terminology. Stay informed about interesting charts and tips on how to win against your adversaries.
In VIP Spades you have two different opportunities to play for free:
- Practice single-player games in the training room.
- Play with real opponents and receive your daily bonuses.
Become the best player and earn your spot at the top of our weekly leaderboards. Play spades in the professional rooms and show your friends that you are a real master of spades card game!
SOLO
In this mode there are no teams, each player has a separate score and plays for himself. The winner receives the whole prize pool. If there are two or more players with the same score, the cards are dealt again for another round. A successful Nil bid gives 50 points and an unsuccessful one -50 Points. A blind bid cannot be placed. The bag penalty of five bags equals -50 points. Playing games with the Solo mode is preferred my many players and the one-man-army style of play is the reason why most tournaments are with the Solo format.
SUICIDE
The players play in teams but the difference is that one of the team members must bid Nil while the other has to bid at least 4. There are no Blind Nil Bids.
WHIZ
In WHIZ mode the players must either bid Nil or bid the exact number of spades they possess. Again, no Blind Nil is allowed and the game is played in teams.
MIRROR
In teams each player must announce the exact number of Spades they have. If a player doesn’t have any, he must bid Nil. Again, there are no Blind Nil bids.
You can check out spades rules page for more detailed information.
Read more about the most popular game modes in our blog post.
- Different game modes available – Pairs, Solo, Mirror, Whiz and Suicide. Watch the video introduction.
- Play on every device – send gifts, chat with friends or meet new people online
- Invite your Facebook friends to join a live game with you
- Different tables for every skill level
- Enjoy daily bonuses and collect all kinds of rewards
- Reconnect to a live game if there have been any problems with your connection
- Play spades against the computer in training sessions.
- Leaving a game is not tolerated and can result in getting you punished!
- 🇺🇸 United States
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
Spades Terms
Vocabulary cheat sheet, synonyms and variations of Spades
For beginner spades players, the jargon alone can send you into a tailspin. Not to fear! The language of spades is easy to pick up, and before you know it, the craziest phrases will become second nature. Until then, our handy guide will steer you in the right direction.
Vocab cheat sheet
- Bags
penalties for taking in more tricks than you bid at the beginning of the round.
- Bare
having just one card of any given suit.
- Bidding
the number of tricks you predict or contact that you will take.
- Blind Nil
bidding zero tricks without looking at your hand.
- Breaking Spades
the first spade played in the game. When a player is out of the suit lead, that player may play a spade, trump the suit, and spades are officially broken. Spades can then be lead.
- Card Counting
keeping mental track of the cards used in each suit.
- Flush Out
to try to bring out a high card of a certain suit by playing a lower card of that suit.
- Long Suit
four or more cards of any given suit in your hand.
- Nil
a bid of zero tricks after looking at your hand.
- Overbid
any tricks you win over the initial amount you bid.
- Renege
using a spade, or card of another suit, when you have the ability to follow suit.
- Round
all four players put down a card and a trick is taken.
- Set
this refers to a team who isn’t making their bid or their nil, or who is bagging over the limit.
- Short Suit
fewer than three cards of any given suit.
- Signal
playing a card to subtly let your partner know what is left in your hand and how they should lead. This is especially handy when you and your partner both understand the science behind the game.
- Slough
playing a card to intentionally avoid taking a trick.
- Straight
cards of the same suit in a sequential pattern.
- Throwing Off
playing a card (not a spade) when you have the ability to follow suit.
- Trick
the four discarded cards of the round.
- Trump
generally refers to a spade played when a non-spade was lead, but can refer to any spade.
- Underbid
this refers to when you bid less than the amount of tricks you won.
- Void
being dealt zero cards of any given suit.
Synonyms in spades!
Solo spades is often called “cutthroat”
Tricks are often called “books”
Bidding is sometimes referred to as “betting”
Slough is often called “dump”
Breaking Spades is sometimes called “cutting” or “ruffing”
Bags are sometimes called “sandbags”
Blind Nil is often called “double nil”
A bare is also sometimes called a “singleton”
Variations of spades
Over the years, many variations of spades have sprung up where players have added extra rules or unexpected trump cards to enhance the fun. Few of these variations are available in online play, but they’re crazy enough to be worthy of mention. Here are just some of them…
- Bauer Trumps
this is a special variation where the two highest trumps in the game are the jack of spades and the jack of clubs. They are referred to as the “right bauer” and “left bauer” respectively. The Bauer “I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful” “All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me” Donald “All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me” Trump variation is borrowed heavily from Euchre.
- Boston
this variation of spades allows a team to win outright if they “shoot the moon.” This means all 13 tricks are taken by one player or team. A rare spectacle!
- Deuces High
in this variation, the deuces of each suit are worth more than spades, making them trumps.
- Jokers High
in this variation, the two jokers in the deck become the main trumps of the game.
- Mirrors (also sometimes called Whiz)
in this variation, you bid only the exact number of spades you have been dealt. If you have no spades, you must automatically bid nil.
- Spades for Three
to accommodate a game of spades for just three players, you simply remove the two of clubs, and each player is dealt seventeen cards. Obviously, this variation must be played as singles.
- Suicide
this variation can only be played with pairs, and one player out of each pair must bid nil, no matter what cards they have.
So whether you’re tempted by playing free spades online.
Social and Community Benefits
Do you have a strategy you want to discuss with other passionate players?
– Visit our global chat or take part in the discussions on our social pages.
Our Social Features
- Chat and express your opinion with people from all over the world;
- Send or earn in-game drinks, emojis, chips and gifts
- Collect likes and ratings from others for being a great player
- Customise and share your own image gallery.
Check for updates in the VIP Spades Youtube channel where we are producing training videos, highlighting strategy guides and tutorials. For funny situations, news, quizzes and about our official spades tournament rules – visit the official blog!
VIP Spades continues to improve with new content and game features. See the latest news and changes in our channels. You can learn more about VIP Spades brand and company details. If you have any questions or suggestions, contact us.
Latest Posts from our Official Blog
Check back at any time to get the latest news and the winning strategies of a classic game of Spade! We host a variety of topics and posts from long-time spades players and professionals.
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