November_Column

      A surefire way to win a game of spades is to successfully bid and make the most nils. With a reward of 100 points for one person's hand, you can quickly pull ahead of the opponents. Have you ever played a very good game, getting the most out of each hand, while bagging the pones with every extra bag, only to lose by hundreds because they completed nils on several consecutive hands?

     Well, I have... and fewer things in Spades are more frustrating. However, coming back from a ruined nil is very difficult since it usually requires taking more risks. But, with the proper hand a nil can give you the biggest bang for the buck.

     There really is little rhyme or reason why a nil goes bad sometimes. I have led a singleton 6 on the opening lead before and watched, horrified, as the Zone dragged the trick in my direction. Nils are excellent for certain situations, but even more so than with a numerical bid, you need to be mindful of the game situation when you
attempt one.

     Perhaps the biggest risk involved with bidding nil is to do so before your partner bids. A slight terror overtakes you when you bid nil, then your pard bids 1 and says VVVVVglp.

     The key to a successful nil is simply paying attention. Both the nil taker and the nil cover need to watch and read what their pard plays. There are fewer hands where counting cards are more meaningful than with a nil. If you don't pay attention, one of two things will happen. You will either get set, or your pard will take tricks they didn't have to.

     I would like to offer a tip that will help your nil bids be successful more often. The most common mistake I see is when people hold too tightly to the lowest card in a suit, thinking they may need it later. Here's an example. You have bid nil, you have a club holding of 2,7,J. The opponent to your right leads the 6 of clubs. Some may say the 7 is the best play, since you don't want to be left with the 7,J holding. I cannot disagree more strongly.

     In cases like these, you should only play a higher card when you have to, or when you have determined that your pard can cover. On the opening play of a hand you haven't determined this yet. Any play other than the 2 would give you a higher risk of getting set. There are too many uncertainties in Spades to say the 2 is the best play ALL the time. However, play the odds and don't play a card that is higher than the highest card on the table.

     If you think about all the possible scenarios that can play out in this example, you will see that playing the 2 is the right thing to do in the vast majority of possibilities.

     If you are covering a nil, the best thing you can hope for is to find your pard's short suit, if he has one. If you find a suit your pard is out of, and you lead anything but that suit until it's gone, you are increasing the chances of setting your partners nil. There may be times when leading a different suit is necessary, but it is the exception rather than the rule.

     The trickiest hand to be faced with, in my opinion, is when, in the last hand of the game, you are on the edge of bagging out and your pard bids nil. You must cover the nil to win, but you can't allow yourself to take more tricks than are necessary. This makes for an interesting finish. This is where it is important that you pay attention and try to remember what cards are played on every hand.

     There will come at least one time on this type of hand where you will be forced to take chances and lead low. Watch for cue cards and try to read what your pard is telling you. If I were the one that bid nil in this instance, I would want to somehow tell my pard what suit to lead. I would know that they may need to lead a low card to avoid extra tricks. So, I would identify my best suit, preferable one I could not be set in, and lead it low to high. If I can duck enough times to make up the difference for my high cards, I would be telling my pard what they need to know.

     There are many different playing styles and many different ways to communicate with the cards. Develop methods that work for you and your pard. The more you can communicate with a card, the fewer cards will be wasted. Don�t just throw a card to get rid of one. If there is a way you can tell your pard something about your hand, a card is not wasted.

     Maximize every play. Never arbitrarily throw a card because it�s the lowest, or because you don�t want it. Don�t waste it. Communicate with it.