Spades Tournament Registration

OVERVIEW

Spades is a four player game played with two teams in a fixed partnership with a standard deck of 52 cards with or without the jokers. The object is to win as many books/tricks as possible from the 13 cards dealt. Like bid whist, there are as many variations of spades as there are cities to play the game in. Some of the terms we have all heard reference the game of spades are: nil, sandbag, blind, sloughing, and breaking spades. Also there are a couple of variations in the bidding process i.e. 10 points per bid book and 1 point for non-bid books (sandbags) or 1 point per book for any book over the sixth book made by any team. This brings us to ‘family reunion’ style of play.

STYLE OF PLAY

The family reunion spades tournament will be a single elimination team contest using the ONE (1) POINT system. This format has proved to be the most efficient method available when a tournament has a set time limit. The game is won by reaching seven (7) points before your opponent. The preliminary round will be a ‘best 2 out of 3’ contest with the winner advancing in the winner’s bracket and the loser moving to the loser’s bracket with ONE loss. Remember, if you lose a second time in the loser’s bracket you are eliminated from the tournament entirely.

CARD RANK

The card ranking for this tournament will be Big Joker, Little Joker, Ace of Spades, and so on (natural cards). The deuce of diamonds, hearts and spades have NO added value. Based on the brand cards used, the big joker will clearly be acknowledged before the game begins. With the inclusion of the jokers, the red deuces will be removed from the deck to make a total card count of 52.

THE PLAY

Shuffle, cut and deal the first diamond. The individual receiving the first diamond will shuffle, have the cards cut and deal 13 cards to each player, no ‘cross’ dealing. In the case of a misdeal the deal does not travel. Allow players to gather their cards and the first person to the left of the dealer may start the game by playing ANY card. Spades DO NOT have to be ‘broken’. Any books over the sixth book is ONE point, the first team to 7 points wins the game.
Any additional question may be addressed on site.

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, RESPECT THE GAME