Spades scoring
Contracts, bags, and nil
Three things are scored independently and then added together: the partnership contract, each nil bid on its own, and the bags that have been quietly piling up since the match began.
Step one: settle the contract
Add the two partners' non-nil bids. That total is the partnership contract. Count the tricks the partnership took, then compare.
| Outcome | Points |
|---|---|
| Tricks taken at or above the contract | Contract × 10, plus 1 per extra trick |
| Tricks taken below the contract | Contract × −10 |
Example
Bid 7, take 8
North bid 4 and South bid 3, so the contract is 7. The partnership takes 8 tricks. That scores 7 × 10 = 70, plus 1 for the extra trick, for 71 points and one bag.
Example
Bid 9, take 5
A contract of 9 that brings in only 5 tricks loses 9 × 10 = 90 points. Overtricks only exist on a contract that was actually made, so a set team takes no bags from the contract itself. A failed nil is the exception: those tricks still land in the bag pile.
Sources: Pagat: Spades.
Step two: settle each nil separately
A nil bid is personal. It is scored on whether that one player took a trick, not on how the partnership did. At the default table a made nil adds 100 and a failed nil subtracts 100, and the partner's own bid is settled as an ordinary contract either way.
When a nil fails, the tricks that nil bidder took do not count toward the partner's contract. They count as bags for the team. That is Pagat's stated usual rule, and it is the Big Mike default.
Example
Nil fails and takes the partner down with it
East bids nil and West bids 6. East accidentally takes 2 tricks and West takes 4. The team took 6 tricks in total, but the 2 from the failed nil do not count, so the contract of 6 is credited with only 4 and is set. The team loses 60 for the contract and 100 for the nil, and gains 2 points and 2 bags for those stray tricks: a swing of −158 in one hand.
Big Mike offers the other documented treatment as a table option, where failed-nil tricks do count toward the partner's contract. Choose it before the match starts, not after a nil goes down.
Sources: Pagat: Spades.
Step three: pay for the bags
Every trick taken above the contract is a bag, worth one point now and a growing liability later. When a partnership's accumulated bags reach ten, it loses 100 points and the count keeps the remainder.
Example
The eleventh bag
A team carrying 8 bags bids 5 and takes 8. It scores 50 for the contract and 3 for the overtricks, but those 3 bags bring the total to 11. That triggers the 100-point penalty and leaves 1 bag carrying forward. The hand that looked like +53 is actually −47.
This is why experienced players say a bid of 4 with a five-trick hand is a mistake rather than caution. Ten unwanted points arrive as a hundred-point bill.
Sources: Pagat: Spades.
Read the full guide to bags and sandbaggingWinning the match
The first partnership to reach 500 points wins. If both teams cross 500 in the same hand, the higher score wins; if the scores are exactly tied, the match continues. Big Mike also supports 200, 250, and 300 point matches for a shorter session.
Sources: Pagat: Spades; Bicycle: Spades.
Quick answers
Spades scoring FAQ
How many points is a made contract worth in Spades?
Ten points for each trick the partnership bid, plus one point for each trick taken above that contract.
What happens when you get set in Spades?
The partnership loses ten points per bid trick. A team that bid seven and took five loses 70. A set team earns no overtricks, so it usually takes no bags either, but tricks won by a partner whose nil bid failed still count as bags.
Does a failed nil bidder's tricks help the partner's contract?
Not under the usual rule. Tricks taken by a failed nil bidder do not count toward the partner's contract, but they do count as bags for the team.
What is the penalty for 10 bags in Spades?
Minus 100 points. The count then carries: eleven accumulated bags cost 100 and leave one bag toward the next penalty.
Skip the arithmetic
Use the free Spades scorekeeper
Enter four bids and four trick counts. The tool settles contracts, each nil, and the running bag count.