Spades glossary

By Marya · Updated by Holger in September 2026

Bag

A bag is an extra trick above your team's bid. Every trick a nil bidder takes also counts as a bag. Each bag is worth 1 point, but 10 bags cost your team 100 points. That's called a roll.

For example, if your team bids 2 in total and takes 5 tricks, you've picked up 3 bags.

In chat, people sometimes say they're "getting ready for a vacation" when their team has a lot of bags. It's a little joke, since bags are also luggage.

Usage

• I badly underbid and collected 3 bags!
• I didn't take that trick because I wanted to avoid bags.

Cover

To cover is to beat the card that's winning the trick so far, so the player who played it doesn't take the trick. You'll mostly hear it when your partner has bid nil.

For example, North has bid nil. West leads the 3 of Clubs. North's lowest club is the 5 of Clubs, so he plays that. East plays the 2 of Clubs. South plays the 7 of Clubs to cover North.

In chat, a player who makes their nil will often type "gc" to their partner. It means "good cover". You'll also see "gcp" or "gc p" for "good cover, partner".

Usage

• I couldn't cover my partner's nil bid because I only had low diamonds.

Duck

To duck is to play a lower card than the one winning the trick, even though you have a card that could win it.

For example, West leads the 3 of Clubs. You have higher clubs, but you play your 2 of Clubs. You're ducking to avoid taking the trick.

Usage

• We had 9 bags, so I kept ducking to avoid taking extra tricks.

Lead

Whoever plays the first card in a trick leads that trick. The winner of each trick leads the next one.

Usage

• I led the 4th trick with my Ace of Hearts, but it was trumped.

Long

You're long in a suit when you have a lot of cards of that suit.

For example, if you have 7 diamonds, you're long in diamonds. Most players say you're long once you have 5 or more cards of a suit. Some say 4 is enough.

Usage

• I was long in diamonds, so my Ace of Diamonds got trumped the first time diamonds were led.

Nil

Nil is a bid of 0 tricks. You're saying you won't take a single trick all hand. You bid it with the "Nil" button.

If you take no tricks, your team gets 100 points. If you take even 1 trick, your nil is set and your team loses 100 points. Your tricks never count toward your partner's bid, so your partner has to make it alone. Each trick you take is still a bag worth 1 point.

For example, you bid nil and your partner bids 4. Your partner takes 3 tricks and you take 1. Your trick doesn't count toward the 4, so your partner is set and your team loses 40 points. Your nil is set too, which costs another 100 points. Your trick is a bag worth 1 point, so your team loses 139 points on the hand.

Your partner can help by trying to cover you. A nil is riskier when you hold a high spade or you're the first to bid. You can see both in a nil bid that was too risky.

Usage

• I had no spade higher than the 5, so I bid nil.
• My partner covered me all hand and I made my nil.

Roll

When a team collects 10 bags, they roll. That costs them 100 points. Then 10 bags come off their count and any extra bags carry over. Some tables turn off the 100-point cost with the "No bag penalty" option.

For example, say your team has 199 points and 9 bags. You bid 3 in total and take 4 tricks. You make your bid, so you get 30 points, plus 1 point for the extra trick. The math is 199 + 30 (bid) + 1 (bag) = 230. That extra trick is your 10th bag, so you roll. Subtract 100 points for the roll and you end the hand with 130 points. All 10 bags go into the roll, so you're back to 0 bags.

Here's a more complicated example. Say your team has 259 points and 9 bags. You bid 5 in total and take 8 tricks. You'd end the hand with 212 points and 2 bags. The math is 259 + 50 (bid) + 3 (bags) = 312. Subtract 100 points for the roll to get 212. The roll uses up your 9 old bags and 1 new one. The other 2 new bags carry over.

Usage

• We rolled the opponents!
• My partner kept taking bags and we rolled twice in one game.

Set

A team is set when they don't make their bid. To set the other team is to stop them from making theirs. You can also set a nil by forcing the nil bidder to take a trick.

For example, if your opponents bid 6 in total and only take 5 tricks, they've been set. That costs them 60 points.

In chat, "ns" means "nice set". You'll also see "nsp" or "ns p" for "nice set, partner". In friendly games, opponents will sometimes say it to you after you set them. It's a sign of respect.

Usage

• Our opponents set us back 100 points!
• We got set 3 times early in the game and wound up losing.

Short

You're short in a suit if you have fewer cards of that suit than average.

For example, if you have only 1 or 2 clubs, you're short in clubs.

Usage

• I was short in spades, but I held the Queen, so I didn't dare bid nil.

Trick

A trick is the pile of cards, one from each player, that goes to whoever played the strongest card. Spades are always trump, so the highest spade wins the trick. If nobody played a spade, the highest card of the suit that was led wins it.

It can also mean one round of play in Spades, when each of the 4 players plays one card.

Usage

• I snagged the trick with my 2 of Spades.
• I took 10 tricks!
• During the 8th trick, I realized we would have trouble making our bid.
• I wanted to avoid taking tricks because I bid nil.

Void

You're void in a suit when you have no cards of that suit.

Usage

• I was void in spades, so I bid nil.
• My hand was void in two suits.