Nil and Blind Nil in Spades: How to Bid Zero

What does nil mean in spades?

Nil means zero. When you bid nil, you promise to win no books at all for the whole hand. Not one of the 13.

It's your own promise. Your partner still bids their own number, and that number alone becomes your team's contract. So if you bid nil and your partner bids 5, your team needs 5 books, and your partner goes after them while you stay out of the way.

Why promise to win nothing? Because a nil that works is worth 100 points. That's as much as making a 10-book bid, and it can come from a hand that looked like nothing a minute ago.

How is nil scored in spades?

Here's the whole thing:

• Make your nil (you take zero books): +100 for your team.
• Miss your nil (you take even one book): -100.
• Your partner's bid scores the usual way: 10 points per book bid plus 1 for each extra book, or minus 10 per book bid if they come up short.
• Books the nil bidder wins never count toward the partner's bid. They count as bags.

Say you bid nil and your partner bids 4.

You take zero and your partner takes 4: 100 + 40 = 140 points. A beautiful hand.

You take zero but your partner only gets 3: your nil makes (+100) and your partner is set (-40). That's +60.

You get stuck with 1 book and your partner takes 4: your nil fails (-100), your partner makes 4 (+40), and your book goes in as a bag (+1). That's -59. Ouch.

One more thing to know: your books can't rescue your partner. If your partner takes 3 on a bid of 4 and you take 1, your partner is still set, because your book doesn't count toward their bid.

When should you bid nil?

A good nil hand is mostly low cards and very few spades. Look at this hand at a No Jokers table (ace of spades is boss):

What cards ruin a nil hand?

Some cards make nil almost impossible. Watch out for:

• The ace of spades at a No Jokers table, or the Big Joker at a joker table. These win any trick they're played on, and you have to play all 13 of your cards eventually. Holding one means your nil is lost before it starts.
• The 2 of spades in Joker, Joker, Deuce. In that house rule it's the third-highest card in the deck, right behind the two jokers. A deuce that's harmless at one table is dangerous at another.
• Lots of spades, even small ones. When your other suits run out, you'll have to play them, and a lonely spade can end up winning a trick.
• High cards in a row, like AH KH QH. You can't duck all of those.
• A king or queen with no small cards in its suit to hide behind.

If your hand has one of the first two, don't bid nil. If it has a couple of the others, think hard and maybe bid a small number instead.

Here's a hand that looks low in places but is no nil hand at a No Jokers table:

How do you play a nil hand?

If you bid nil, your job is to duck: play a card that won't win the trick.

The best time to get rid of a dangerous card is when someone has already played higher. Say hearts are led and somebody plays the KH. You're holding JH and 4H. Drop the JH right now. It can't win this trick, and it might have won a later one.

When you run out of a suit, use that moment to throw away your riskiest high card from another suit.

If your partner bid nil, your job is to cover them. Play high when you can so you win tricks they might otherwise get stuck with. Count on yourself to make your own bid too, because your nil partner won't be adding any books.

What is blind nil? (a house-rule variation)

Blind nil is a house rule some families play. It isn't part of standard spades, and Spades Arena doesn't offer it right now.

In blind nil, you bid nil before you look at your cards. Since you can't know if your hand is safe, it usually scores double: +200 if you make it, -200 if you don't.

Tables that play it often add their own twists. Some let the blind nil bidder swap a card or two with their partner. Some only allow it when a team is far behind. If your family plays blind nil, agree on the rules before the first deal so nobody fusses later.

Try nil at a free practice table

Reading about nil is one thing. Ducking your way through 13 tricks is another. Sit down at a free practice table against the computer at spadesarena.com, and the next time you're dealt a pile of low cards, try bidding zero.

Brand new to spades? Big Momma's five-minute lesson at spadesarena.com/lesson teaches the basics at a real table, and you don't need an account. For more, read How to Bid in Spades and Spades Scoring on our learn pages.

Spades Arena is free to play, and nothing you can buy helps you win. Go get that 100.