What is nil in Spades?
Nil means bidding zero: you promise to win no tricks at all in the hand. You still hold 13 cards and must follow suit like everyone else, so the whole skill is slipping under the winning card, trick after trick, like a limbo dancer with a full hand. Your partner bids a normal number and plays to take the tricks you must avoid.
How is nil scored in Spades?
A successful nil adds 100 to the team score; a failed nil subtracts 100. The partner’s numeric bid is scored on its own: 10 points per trick bid if the partner makes it, minus 10 per trick bid if not, plus 1 point for each overtrick.
On our tables a trick won by the nil bidder never helps the partner’s contract. It scores 1 point and counts as a bag toward the 10-bag penalty, which is also the usual rule in Pagat's Spades rules. Some house rules let a failed nil’s tricks count toward the partner’s bid instead, so check before you play elsewhere.
| Nil bidder | Partner (bid 4) | Hand points | Bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 tricks | 4 tricks | 100 + 40 = +140 | 0 |
| 0 tricks | 6 tricks | 100 + 42 = +142 | 2 |
| 1 trick | 4 tricks | −100 + 40 + 1 = −59 | 1 |
| 2 tricks | 3 tricks | −100 − 40 + 2 = −138 | 2 |
The last row is the expensive one. The team took 5 tricks against a bid of 4, but the nil bidder’s 2 tricks do not count toward it, so the partner’s 4 fails as well.
Can you bid zero in Spades?
Yes: bidding zero is bidding nil. On our bid panel the choices are NIL and 1 to 13, so there is no separate zero bid that scores like a number.
What is the difference between nil and blind nil?
A nil is bid after you look at your cards. A blind nil is bid before you look, and because you commit without knowing whether you hold the ace of spades or another sure winner, it usually scores double: +200 or −200.
Blind nil is a house rule. Our tables offer it to a team trailing by 100 points or more, and the blind bidder then swaps two cards with their partner. The blind nil guide covers its scoring, when tables allow it and card passing.
What is double nil?
Double nil is when both partners bid nil. Most tables, ours included, score each nil on its own: +200 if both succeed, 0 if one succeeds and one fails, and −200 if both fail, plus 1 point for every trick the two of you take.
With no numeric bid on the team, every trick you take hurts twice: it can break a nil and it adds a bag. Some house rules add a bonus for making double nil or do not allow it, so agree that before the game.
When should you bid nil?
| Check | What you want to see | Risk if missing |
|---|---|---|
| Low cards | Low cards in several suits | A middle card wins by accident |
| Exits | At least two suits you can follow low | Forced to play high in a short suit |
| Spades | No ace and few high spades | A trump trick you cannot avoid |
| Partner | A partner able to win the dangerous tricks | Your nil exposed early |
The ace of spades rules a nil out on its own, because it wins whenever it is played. A lone king or queen in a short side suit is the other classic nil killer: once that suit is led, you may have no lower card to play under it.
After a nil, the partner’s job changes. Bid a little higher to cover the tricks the nil hand will not take, win the tricks the nil bidder is in danger of taking, and lead suits where the nil hand can play low. A safe trick for the partner is worth more than a flashy one that leaves the nil exposed.
Let the score decide close calls. Ahead and carrying bags, a plain contract is usually better than a 200-point swing. Behind late, a sound nil can be the fastest way back, but not as a reaction to one bad hand. The bidding guide covers counting winners for the partner’s bid.
Full scoring rules, including contracts and the bag penalty, are in the Spades scoring guide.