The spades game has several variations that make playing spades more fun. One of the variations is spades with jokers. As the name suggests, the game involves the use of two jokers. It is played using a standard deck of cards, including two different jokers and excluding the two of clubs and two of hearts. Moreover, the two jokers are considered as the highest trumps in the game.
The spades with jokers game is played between two to five players as individuals or between four players in partnerships. While the gameplay is pretty similar to the basic spades card game, the difference between the two games lies in the cards. Also, the Spades suit remains to be the trump.
If you want to learn how to play spades with jokers, here’s everything you need to know.
Object of Spades with Jokers
The objective of the spades with jokers card game is to win at least an equal number of tricks as bid at the start of the game.
Game Rules
Learning the rules of spades with jokers will be a no-brainer if you know how to play spades game. Here are some of the key rules to play spades with jokers game with 2-players, 3-players, 4-players, and 5-players.
- The spades suit comprises 15 cards, including the two jokers.
- The big joker and little joker are the highest trump cards that can even beat the ace of spades in the game.
- In both 2-player and 4-player games, the two of clubs and two of diamonds cards are removed from the deck.
- In 3-player games, no cards are removed, and each player is dealt 18 cards to make 18 tricks.
- A 5-player spades with jokers game after taking out all the four deuces from the deck.
- Apart from 3-player games, each player is dealt 13 cards in all other games, and there are 13 tricks.
- A player cannot lead with spades unless the suit has been played previously or the player has no other suit than spades in hand.
- If there is a tie in players’ final scores, all the players must play one more round.
Dealing
To deal the cards to each player, a dealer is chosen. Each player randomly draws a card from the closed deck, and the player who draws the highest card becomes the first dealer. After that, each player gets the turn to deal in a clockwise direction.
The dealer begins from their left and deals the entire deck, face down, to every player, one at a time. After the cards are dealt, the players pick the cards and arrange them in the order of suits.
Bidding
Once the cards have been dealt to each player, the player at the dealer’s left bids the number of tricks they will be able to win. The other players follow in a clockwise direction and make a bid. Each player must make a minimum bid of one trick, and no player can pass or bid zero. The bidding takes place only in one round. Moreover, no player names a suit in the bid as the spades are the default.
Gameplay
Before the game begins, the players decide the number of points that the winner must score, and the game is scored based on hands. Like the basic spades game, the spades with jokers game is usually played for 500 points and 200 points if the players want to play a short game.
The player sitting at the left of the dealer leads by playing a card. The other players follow suit. If any player cannot follow suit, the players can play a trump card or discard. The player who plays the highest value card will win the trick if no trump card is played. If one or more players play a trump, the player with the highest value trump card wins the trick.
The player who wins the trick leads next, and the others follow suit. The game continues in a similar fashion until the players have no cards left in hand. Therefore, in total, each hand is worth 13 tricks.
Also Read: Top 6 Trick-Taking Card Games Similar to Spades
Scoring
When a player makes a contract (wins an equal number of tricks as they bid initially), the player earns 10 points per trick. Moreover, if the player wins more tricks than the bid, they score one point for each trick.
For instance, a player bid 6 tricks and actually won 6 tricks during the round, the score will be 60 points. But if the player bid 6 tricks and won 8 tricks, the score will increase to 62 (60+2) points.
If a player breaks contract (fails to win at least an equal number of tricks as the bid), the player’s score is 0. For instance, if a player bids 5 tricks and wins only 4 tricks in the game, no points are awarded.
In some games, making too many overtricks or bags in some games results in a penalty score. If a player accumulates 10 bags in a game, the player receives 100 penalty points.
FAQs
When to play Joker in spades?
The Little Joker, being the second-highest card in spades, should be played when a player leads by playing the Big Joker. When a player leads with the Little Joker as the first card in the trick, the other players should play the lowest spade card in hand.
Also Read: Two-Player Card Games For Beginner to Expert Level Players
Are jokers used in spades?
Jokers are used in one of the variations of spades – Spades with Jokers. Two jokers, namely, Big Joker and Little Joker, are added to a standard deck of 52 cards. The jokers are also called Full-Color Joker and One-Color-Joker, respectively.
What is Joker Joker Deuce deuce in spades?
Joker Joker Deuce Deuce in spades implies that the cards are ranked in the order Big Joker, Little Joker, deuce of Diamonds, deuce of Spades, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Therefore, while playing spades with jokers, you must never forget that the deuce of Diamonds ranks higher than the Ace of Spades.
