Standard Spades gives every player a free choice of bid. Suicide Spades takes that choice away from half the table. On every single hand, each team is required to have one partner bid Nil — no exceptions, no matter how the cards actually look. It’s a partnership variant built entirely around forced risk, and it’s one of the most commonly played house variants of Spades out there.
If you haven’t played standard Spades yet, start with Spades Rules and Nil & Blind Nil first — this page assumes you already understand how bidding and Nil work in the base game.
The Core Rule
Suicide Spades is played exactly like standard 4-player partnership Spades, with one mandatory change to bidding:
- One partner on each team must bid Nil.
- The other partner must bid at least 4.
Unlike standard Spades, where Nil is an optional choice you make based on your hand, in Suicide Spades someone at your table is going Nil on every hand, whether their cards support it or not. Partners typically agree ahead of time, or decide based on whoever has the weaker hand once cards are dealt — see House Rules & Variations for how groups commonly agree on details like this before play.
What Stays the Same
Everything else works exactly like standard Spades:
- Dealing, breaking spades, and trick-taking all follow the normal rules.
- Scoring — including bags — works the same way, with the Nil bonus/penalty applied to whichever player bid Nil.
- Bags and sandbagging still apply normally.
The only thing Suicide Spades changes is who is allowed to bid what — nothing about how a trick is played or how points are calculated is different.
Why It’s Called “Suicide”
The name comes from how exposed the Nil bidder is. In standard Spades, a player only bids Nil when their hand genuinely supports it — few spades, low cards, nothing likely to win a trick. In Suicide Spades, you’re locked into Nil regardless of what you’re holding. A hand with a couple of medium-value cards, like a 9 or 10 in a short suit, can easily win an accidental trick and blow the bid — hence “suicide.”
Strategy for the Nil Bidder
- Play defense from card one. Your only job is to avoid winning tricks — every card you play should be chosen to lose, not win.
- Get rid of dangerous cards early, especially medium-value cards in short suits, before your opponents run out of that suit and you’re forced to play something dangerous.
- Trust your partner to cover you. Your partner’s bid needs to account for your Nil failing occasionally — that’s baked into the format, not a sign you’re doing something wrong.
Strategy for the Bidding Partner
- Bid aggressively and realistically — remember you need at least 4, and your team is relying on you to carry the trick count since your partner is actively trying to avoid winning any.
- Take control early. Win key tricks before your Nil partner gets trapped holding a card they can’t safely discard.
- Watch your partner’s discards. If they’re struggling to protect their Nil, playing your high cards early to soak up tricks can save the hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can both partners agree who bids Nil, or is it random?
Groups handle this differently — some let players choose based on their own hand once dealt, others alternate by seat or dealer position each round. There’s no single official rule; agree on it before you start playing.
What happens if the Nil bidder’s partner also wants to bid Nil?
Not allowed in standard Suicide Spades — one partner must bid Nil and the other must bid at least 4. If both partners want to avoid tricks, that’s a different variant (some groups call this “double nil” or a related house rule), not Suicide.
Is Suicide Spades harder than standard Spades?
It’s not more complex mechanically, but it removes a strategic choice — deciding whether to bid Nil — and replaces it with forced risk. Many players find it more chaotic and higher-scoring than standard Spades, since a Nil bid is in play every single hand.
Can Suicide Spades be played with Blind Nil too?
Some house rules allow the required Nil bidder to instead bid Blind Nil for a bigger bonus and bigger risk — see Nil & Blind Nil for how Blind Nil scoring works. Confirm this with your table before playing, since it’s a common but not universal addition.