• Teams will be composed of 2 players who will sit diagonally across from each other when playing.

​

• Round robin games play until a team reaches 350 points. Winners play winners during round robin. Teams can play up to three games; top 8 teams will advance to semi-finals. If you win a game, please keep the score sheets. Round robin games end promptly at 8:00pm.

​​

• Elimination begins in the semi-final round. If you lose in this round, you cannot play again. Semi-final games will play until a team reaches 500 points. Top two teams advance to finals.

 

• The final game will play until a team reaches 500 points.

​​​​​​

• Each team will get their own deck of cards. Please shuffle while cards are being dealt for sake of time.

​​

• The player to the right of the dealer has the option to cut the deck.

​​

• First diamond deals.

​​

• The dealer will deal all cards 13 cards to each player.

​​

• If there is a misdeal, the next player deals. A misdeal can only be called if each player doesn’t have 13 cards.

​​

• The sequence highest to lowest is Big Joker, Little Joker, Deuce of Spades, Ace of Spades, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

​​

• The two of heart and two of diamond are not in the deck.

​​

• You cannot throw a hand in. You just play each hand.

​​

• You cannot throw a hand in if you do not have spades. You must play each hand.

​​

• The team who did not deal bids first.

​​

• First hand bids itself.

​​

• You can only increase your bid before the opponents bid.

​​

• Once the bid is written down, the bid is locked in.

​​

• The minimum bid is four.

​​

• There is no blind bidding. Blind didn't get you in the hole. Blind cannot get you out the hole.

​​

• When a team is set (fails to win enough books to reach it’s total bid) points will be deducted.

​​

• If a team is set twice, the game ends and the opposing team wins.

​​

• Each book is 10 points. For example if a team bids 5 and gets their 5 books, their score would be 50 for that hand.

​​

• If a player bids 10 books and gets 10 books, the points received is not 100. They receive 200 points.

​​

• If a player reneges (fails to play the suite of the led card and later throws that same suite, they cost their team three books.

​​

• No table talk or giving hints to a partner will be allowed.

​​

• You can play spades from the door meaning the first card played can be a spade.

​​

• Players must follow the suite of the led card, if they have a card of that suit. If a player does not have a card of that suit, they can choose to throw a spade or another suit.

​​

• A spade can trump or beat all other suits.

​​

• A card laid is a card played! If the card hits the table it cannot be picked up.

​

• If a team is set on the first deal of the game, the game does not end. You get the -40 points. This is consider one "set" and you can only get set twice in the game.

 

• If a team "sandbags" and accumulates ten overbooks within a game, 100 points will be deducted from its score when they reach 10 sandbags. Once 10 is reached, the rule starts over.