Don't confuse your partner in Spades

By Marya · Updated by Holger in September 2026

Here's a hand from a game of Spades where the bids add up to 11. In the picture below, everyone has bid and I lead the first trick. What card should I play to start?

It's probably a good idea to lead the Ace of Hearts. I'm a little long in that suit, with 5 cards. It's unlikely that someone is void in hearts. Even if they are, they can't trump me on the first trick, so that trick is sure to be mine.

Leading my one club makes sense too. If my partner Tin Man has the Ace of Clubs, he'll definitely take the trick. At the same time, I've made myself void in clubs, so I'm ready to trump the next club trick.

Should I lead the King of Diamonds? There's an advantage to doing this. If my partner has the Ace of Diamonds, he may hold it back and let me take the first trick. If I play the King of Diamonds and an opponent's Ace does not take it, that's a good sign my partner has the Ace and is letting me take extra tricks. It may mean he thinks we can set the opponents. Or he may feel his hand is weak and hope for support from me.

When I first started playing, I ran into this exact situation. I had a single King and I led with it, assuming someone else would take it. (I hadn't counted on a trick from it when I made my bid.) I figured I should flush out the Ace of Diamonds by playing the King on the first trick, where no one can trump. That way, if my partner had the Ace, he would safely take this first diamond trick and I could trump the rest.

It turned out that my King was not taken and I won the trick, which surprised me. My partner had the Ace and played a low card to let me take the trick! I had simply confused him. He played by the rule that you don't beat your partner's card, especially not your partner's King. I said, "But clearly I expected it to be taken, since this was the first card played. I knew the Ace was still in play." He said he just didn't know what I was planning, so he wasn't going to take the trick away from me.

The moral of the story is that you should try not to confuse your partner. Unless you know your partner well, don't expect them to beat your cards, especially your Aces or Kings.