Want to take your Spades game one step further? You already love playing classic Spades on MPL, but have you heard of a fun twist called “Spades with Jokers”? It adds two powerful cards (Big Joker and Little Joker) that change the game completely! It makes things more exciting and more strategic, even for experienced players.
This guide will explain everything about this variation – from card ranking to smart strategies. Even though this version isn’t on MPL yet, learning it can make you a stronger Spades player overall.
Objective of Spades with Jokers
Just like the regular Spades game, the main goal is to bid the number of tricks you think you’ll win – and then actually win them. The more accurate you are, the more points you score. With the two Jokers added, you’ll need to plan even better!
How the Jokers Change the Deck in Spades
This is the Full Card Ranking (Highest to Lowest):
- Big Joker
- Little Joker
- Ace of Spades
- King of Spades
- Queen of Spades
- Jack of Spades
- 10 to 2 of Spades
- All other suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs) in regular A to 2 order
What’s important to understand here is that Spades remain the trump suit, meaning they beat cards from any other suit. But with the two Jokers added, there’s now a new top layer of trump power, with the Big Joker capable of winning almost any trick unless the Little Joker or another high trump is strategically played.
Because of this shift in hierarchy, players must rethink how they evaluate their hands and plan their bids. A single Joker in hand can turn a weak-looking hand into a high-scoring opportunity but only if used wisely.
Spades Suit Grows Stronger
Normally, Spades has 13 cards (Ace to 2). But with the two Jokers added, the Spades “family” grows to 15 cards, making it even more dominant in trick battles. This increases the number of trump options in the game and makes it harder to ignore the Spade suit during gameplay.
Game Rules for Spades with Joker
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 the Cards in Spades with Joker
To start the game, one player is chosen as the dealer. Usually, the one who draws the highest card from the deck. After that, the dealer changes with every new round, moving clockwise.
The dealer shuffles the full deck (with or without the removed 2s, depending on the player count) and deals the cards one by one, starting with the player to their left. Once everyone has their cards, players can organize them by suits to plan their moves better.
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.
Bidding in Spades with Jokers: How Many Tricks Can You Win?
After everyone gets their cards, the game moves into the bidding phase. This is when each player decides how many tricks they think they can win in that round. This number is called your bid, and it plays a big role in your overall score.
Here’s how bidding works in spades with joker:
- Every player must place a bid of at least 1 trick. In most versions of Spades with Jokers, you can’t pass or bid zero (known as “Nil”).
- Bidding starts with the player sitting to the left of the dealer and goes clockwise.
- You only get one chance to bid, so think carefully before you decide.
- The Spades suit and the two Jokers are always trump cards, which means they are stronger than any other suit.
- If you have the Big Joker or Little Joker, it usually means a guaranteed win for at least one trick. Keep that in mind while placing your bid.
- There’s no need to name a suit when bidding. Just focus on how many tricks you believe you can win.
Let’s say you feel confident about your hand and expect to win around seven tricks. Your bid would be 7. If you’re unsure, you can stick to a safer bid like 1 or 2.
The goal is to win at least the number of tricks you bid. If you bid too high and miss, you won’t score any points for that round. But if you’re too cautious, you might end up collecting too many tricks and get penalized for it later.
Smart bidding comes with practice. The more you play, the better you’ll get at reading your hand and making accurate bids.
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.
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.
Conclusion
Spades with Jokers adds a fun twist to the classic Spades game by introducing two powerful cards – the Big Joker and Little Joker. These Jokers bring more strategy, excitement, and unpredictability to every round. Whether you’re playing casually with friends or sharpening your skills for competitive games, learning this version helps you bid smarter and win more tricks. Even though it’s not on MPL yet, practicing Spades with Jokers can make you a better and more confident Spades player overall.
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.
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.
