Tips sparts

Spades

• If you have the 7♦ and are considering choosing Spades, think about what your bid will be. If you can bid at least 4, it's almost always best to choose Spades. However, if your hand isn't very strong and might be a bid of 2, Hearts will probably be a better choice.
• In general, it's safe to bid on aces and kings in off suits (​♣, ​♦, and ​♥). Most of the time, other players will have at least two of each suit in their hands, so those aces and kings will beat the lower cards in those suits and normally won't be trumped by ​♠.
• Similarly, it's wise to bid on high ​♠. Of course the A♠ - the most powerful card in the game - is a guaranteed trick. The king, queen, and jack will almost always take tricks if you have other ​♠ to support them.
• If you have a "short suit" (only one or two cards), there's a good chance you'll be able to take one or two tricks led in that suit with your low trump cards. A "void suit" (no cards) is virtually guaranteed to yield two or three tricks using trump.
• On the other hand, if you have mostly low cards (no face cards KQJ), it might be worth bidding nil. Be careful of a high card like a K or A without a lot of low support cards. Similarly, if you have high ​♠s, it may be difficult to avoid taking at least one trick. Nil is higher risk, but higher reward: it's worth the same number of points as bidding 5 tricks.
• When playing, lead As in off suits as soon as possible so you can take those tricks before other players run out of that suit. If you have K or Q, you should wait until someone else plays the A (in which case you play a lower card in that suit) so you know your card is high and can be led.
• If you have a lot of ​♠s, it can be useful to lead them and force the other players to exhaust their trump, leaving you in a strong position during the endgame - but be careful not to end up with a lot of bags!
• If you've been "burned" at nil because your opponents forced you to take a trick, play hard to take tricks from them. You aren't penalised for any of the bags you take, so there's no downside in attempting to keep others from making their bids.

Hearts

• If you have 7♦ and are considering choosing Hearts, it's important to notice if no cards are being passed (which is called a "hold hand") because you won't have a chance to adjust your hand.
• When selecting cards to pass to other players, see if you can get rid of an entire suit, especially ​♣ and ​♦. Having a void suit allows you to give penalty cards (​♥ and Q♠) to other players when they lead that suit. If you were dealt the Q♠, it's best to pass it unless you have at least three other ​♠ to support it. Otherwise, it's possible your opponents will lead ​♠ and force you to play it, taking the trick and costing yourself 26 points.
• Shooting the moon is difficult but very rewarding. It gives you a 50-point advantage over all the other players, which is a big leap in the game. To do it, you'll need high cards in as many suits as possible, or a very "long" suit (five or more cards). Be careful if you have low ​♥s, because they will often be taken by other players and prevent you from taking all the penalty cards.