A Guide To Pass 2 Spades

This is not by any means a perfect manual on how to play Pass Spades. It is merely a different look at one of the more popular types of alternative games of spades. I am no self-proclaimed spades expert; I’m just trying to help where I can!

The Rules

The rules of Pass Spades are much like those of Regular Spades, except nils are worth only 50 points. Players pass two cards to their teammate from their hand if one pard goes nil. Teams play to a certain point total agreed at the beginning of the game, and first to reach or exceed that total wins.

Game Play

In Pass Spades, generally speaking, one pard nils and one pard bids. Let’s look at them by this distinction.

The Nil Pard

The nil in Pass is important, because it gives your team an easy 50 points and is easier to protect than nils in Regular Spades. Generally both teams will go nil, with the two remaining pards bidding. That means that you have two players covering your nil, and less risk for losing it.

When you decide to nil in Pass Spades, you don’t have to have a perfect nil hand. You can go nil with the Ace and King of spades if you like. The nil pard only needs to have a hand in which they feel they can more safely nil than their pard can. (There are a few ideas out there that I don’t agree with on why and when to nil, but we will get to those later.)

Strategies for the Nil Pard

Being the nil bidder on your team in any particular hand is not a free ride, although it can feel much like that. Your pard should be paying attention to the cards you are throwing off and you should be able communicate where you lie in a suit without saying a word.

This is the most important part of the nil to me. If you are the first to lead in a hand, DO NOT LEAD ANYTHING YOUR PARD PASSED YOU. If you do, you cripple your team’s hand by 50% as you have wasted 1 of the 2 cards your pard knew you had. Leading something close to what they passed you works very well. Example: If your pard passes you the 4 of diamonds, and you have the 5 of diamonds, lead the 5. Or if you have a suit that your pard did not pass you, but it’s a fairly safe suit, lead into it first. This also goes for if you aren’t the first in a suit. If you have a card that is next in line or behind the pass play it before you play the pass. Example: The player to your right leads the 3 of diamonds, your pard passed you the 4 of diamonds, but you also have the 5 of diamonds, play the 5, and hold on to the pass. Basically the strategy here is to keep the pass as long as possible so your pard knows more about your hand for longer in the game.

If you become void in a suit and are close to being void in another, play the cards out of the suit you are low in first. As the nil, you want to become void in as many suits as you can, as quickly as you can. This allows you to either play spades under someone’s trump, or ditch your other suit whenever you can. This is of course as long as you are not holding any exceptionally dangerous cards in other suits.

Another tip is if you do not have the lowest card in a suit, you need to make sure you get rid of that suit before the last couple tricks of the hand. If you notice that your pard is void in a suit, it is a good idea to also void yourself in that suit as soon as possible as well. These things will keep you from getting set on the last trick or two in the hand. 

The Nil Pards Pass

The nil pard sometimes has the easiest choice and sometimes the hardest choice of what to pass the bid pard. What you pass depends on what lays in your hand, what your pards bid is, and/or what the score of the game is.

Passing for you hand is simple. It is your hand, and you need to make it as safe as possible for you. You would definitely want to pass any face card spades that you have, any aces one or two cards deep (notice I didn’t say three), and any kings that are a singleton in your hand. Those are the most needed to be passed. If you have an ace in your hand three cards deep (you have the ace plus two other cards), don’t worry about passing it normally. Chances are your pard will pass you a card of that suit, or that one of the two bidders will trump that suit before you have to play your ace. If you have a king in a suit two cards deep (king plus one other card in the suit), chances are again your pard will pass you a card of that suit. A king can be scary but remember that two players are covering the nils at the table, if they have the ace, they will most likely play it and cover your king. Sometimes these things are not true, but the greater percentage of the time, hands will fall this way.

Passing for your pards bid is even simpler. If your pard is sitting in a 12 bid, you need to pass spades, unless you have an Ace 2 deep in your hand. Leave kings and any other cards in your hand that you may have passed. On a 12 bid, your pard needs spades, so do all you can to pass what you have. If you don’t have spades to pass your pard, then pass your two highest cards in your hand, but not of the same suit. Even if you have an ace and king of clubs, pass the ace and then the next highest card outside of clubs. If your pard has in a low bid say 10 or under, pass for your hand same as you normally would.

Passing for the score of the game is hard, and not many people understand how to do it well. This basically means that if the other team has to bag out or be set for you to win, you would adjust your pass as needed. If a bag out is in order, pass a split to your pard. A split is one card that is good like a spade or and ace, and one card that is a tossing card like a jack through a 2 of an off suit. This will give your pard an extra card to use to get his bid, but also a free card to toss off. The tossing card also tells your pard that you are safe in a particular suit. Remember though, this is a very tricky move and should only be attempted if you and your pard agree on it before even playing a game. Not something to use for a lobby lotto game.

As the nil, you pass how you have to. You need to have a level of trust in your pard; they aren’t going to set you on purpose. So most of the time, what looks like a risky card, in fact will not be one at all. Pass Spades is all about trust.

Nil Hand Examples

This is basically a perfect nil hand for you. Pass your pard 2 spades and call it good!

This hand may look like a hard nil. But you would pass your ace of clubs, and 9 of spades. Leave the ace, king, queen of your hearts intact. Chances are good for you getting a heart from your pard, or using your low number of clubs to start ditching your hearts.

Example to show that you can keep a king that is 2 deep in a suit. Here you would most likely want to pass the 2 high spades. If the total hand bid is 10 or lower, you could pass your pard the king and still be safe with your nil.

A hand like this can look very scary to a novice pass player. If you chose to bid this hand, 4 or maybe 5 would be all you would get out of it. But you can nil with this. A lone queen is nothing to worry about! Bid nil and pass the Ace and King of spades to your pard. You probably will get a diamond from your pard, but even if you don't, there's a good chance you will be covered in diamonds when the time comes.

The Bid Pard

When you are bidding in Pass Spades, you want to make the most of your hand. Meaning get as many tricks (and points) as possible, without being either set or taking an insane amount of bags. Pass bidding is a lot harder to perfect than in Regular spades because you count on two wild cards from your pard.

When you bid you should first count the number of tricks you think you will be able to obtain by means of your own hand, then depending on the other bids at the table, plus your own cards, add one or two tricks to that bid because of your pard’s pass. So where you may have a four bid in your hand, you would want to bid five or six to include your pards’ pass.

The bidding pard’s job is a bit tougher to do than the nil, in that you have to protect your nil, avoid bags, or set either the other teams nil or bid. You have many options, and all are possible each hand, depending on how the cards are played. They call it finessing your hand in Regular Spades and that means making your hand work to the best of your ability. In Pass Spades it is no different. You actually have more options in Pass than you do normally.

Strategies for the Bid Pard

The Bag 

If you are able to give the opponents 10 bags during the game, while not being set yourself, then you will have a greater chance at winning the game in the end. This is not a way to play the full game, but if you notice the other team underbidding more often than not, then bags are the way to go. You must be careful when ducking cards so that you do not set your own pards nil or yourself in the attempt to avoid a bag though. That is where your pass comes into play. If you know that your pard can also duck a trick that you don’t need, then throw a card that is lower. You have to watch what your pard (the nil) throws in suits, especially under aces. This tells you where their highest card is and how many times you will be able to duck a certain suit.

The Bid Set

If you notice your opponents overbidding their hand, whether to make up for bags, bad bidding, or just bad luck, then you will definitely want to attempt to set the bid when you have a strong hand. If the other team is throwing off when they still need quite a few tricks, and you are certain you will be getting most of the bags, attempt for the set as well. On the dreaded 10 bid in Pass, players normally attempt to bag, and sometimes are lucky to get their tricks. On an 11 bid in Pass, depending on your hand again, you may want to play more aggressively and take any trick that you can. If you have a stronger hand, you may pull out the set. If you don’t they may take the lead sooner than they wanted to and take the bags for the hand. On a 12 bid in Pass, if you are not going for the set, you’re making a terrible mistake. A 12 bid set is easier to obtain than any other set, and should be viewed as a no mercy hand. A 13 bid in Pass is rare, but just as a 12 bid, you should always go for the set, play smart and you will have a better chance.

The Nil Set

So often in Pass, spades are wasted early in the hand. If you are able to pass your pard a low card and hold onto a low card in the same suit, avoid that suit until the very end where all the spades may be out and you have a slight chance of setting the other teams nil. Example would be to pass your pard the 2 of clubs and keep the 3.

Other ways of setting the nil are in lower bid hands avoid breaking spades for as long as possible, keep your pards nil safe, but force the other team to play a low off suit card that they held off on. This sometimes draws a set of the opponents nil as well.

The Bid Pards Pass

The basic pass from the bid pard is going to be 2 low cards from your hand 2s, 3s, 4s etc. That is just basic though and very generic. Depending on what you are dealt, you pass what you have to. If you have a single card in a suit (aka a singleton) that is low, say beneath a 10, passing it would be a good idea. You may want to also pass your lowest card in a suit you have 4 or more in. That would be in case your pard has the ace 3 deep in that suit if you don’t have it. If you have mainly low cards in a particular suit as well, passing one of them would be a good idea.

If you can become void in a suit or short in it, then you are sitting better for bagging or trumping, thus making your hand play much better. Remember, your pass is not only about helping your pard secure his nil, but also to make your hand work better for you.

Bid Hand Examples

I'm not a perfect bidder by the way lol. But here's some general ranges!

Bid for hands includes pard passing 1 or 2 good cards.

Bid for hand: 5 to 6 tricks.

Here you would bid on the ace of diamonds, the ace of hearts and at least the queen of spades. You could also count your jack depending on what you are going to pass.

Bid for hand: 6 to 8 tricks.

Here you would count on the ace of clubs, at least the ace of hearts, and at least the queen and ace of spades. You may also want to count the king of hearts, and/or a couple trumps in diamonds depending on your pass.

Bid for hand: 6 to 7 tricks.

In this hand you would of course count the king and ace of diamonds, the ace of hearts, and the king and ace of spades. You could also count a trump trick in diamonds, but it's safer to avoid stretching your hand.

Bid for hand: 7 to 9 tricks

This is a hand that we all pray for. Depending on the opponents bid, game score etc... you have a pretty controlling hand here. Count at least 2 spade trumps in diamonds, if you pass the 9 of clubs which you should, count at least 1 or 2 spade trumps in clubs, the ace of hearts, and the jack queen and ace of spades. You can't be sure if your pard is going to pass you 2 good cards, so it's a good idea to only bid 1 trick from the pass. But you can stretch this hand for sure. If the other team overbids, most likely counting the ace of clubs and diamonds, you have a great chance to set them! Play it aggressively, get out the high spades and see how it rolls.

Other Information on Pass Spades

Both pards can bid. There is no rule in Pass Spades saying one pard HAS to nil. If your pard bids in front of you, remember that they most likely counted two tricks from you and you need to adjust your bid. That means, if your pard bid 5, 2 outta those 5 tricks they counted from your pass. Say you have to bid, you have a 5 bid in your hand without any passing. You would need to adjust your bid down by 2 to count for the tricks your pard thought he would get from you.

The Last Hand

The 'last hand' in pass is very important. You want to make the safest bid possible to get your team over the point cap before the other team. This is just like in regular spades, you sometimes have to 'Bid To Win' and that can mean that you don't have your bid, or you might have your bid. I cannot begin to tell you about how many games I have seen lost because the pard did not bid the game. If you are within 100 points of the point cap, then take a moment. Sometimes a bad hand turns out to be better when you get your pass and play it aggressively. Do the math and you will do much better at your games!

Common Misconceptions About Pass Spades

There is a theory that makes me cringe every time I see someone say it. Always pass spades or unprotected aces. If you truly believe that is the only way to play, you have a lot to learn. There is no way you can generalize pass spades to such a small phrase. If you have to put something up for pass spades in your profile, try… Pass Spades Tip: Trust Me! That’s where problems occur anyway.

Another common heard thing is, “If you can’t bid 5, then go nil.” I’m sorry but I don’t buy into that either. If you have a hand full of face cards but they are all kings, queens, and jacks, 5 low spades, you can’t bid much, maybe 4.

I know it is very hard to play spades, especially pass spades, when you do not know your pard. And I know that there are quite a few out there that are new and make mistakes. Those are the people I wrote this tutorial for. Please pass it around when you come across someone who looks to be confused by the game. I will update it as I think of major new strategies.

My purpose is not to make you a perfect pass player, but to help you understand the game better than you did before. Hopefully I have accomplished this.

If you have any questions, please email me at ranting_runt@yahoo.com.

Hugs n Love,

Runt