What is Nil in Spades?
Short Answer
Nil is a special bid in Spades where you promise to take zero tricks. Success earns your team 100 points. Failure (taking any tricks) costs 100 points. Your partner must cover their own bid plus protect you from winning tricks.
Nil Scoring
- Successful Nil: +100 points
- Failed Nil: -100 points
- Blind Nil: +200 points (bid before seeing cards)
- Failed Blind Nil: -200 points
Example
You bid Nil, partner bids 4. If you take zero tricks and partner takes at least 4, your team scores: 100 (Nil) + 40 (4 tricks) = 140 points. If you accidentally win one trick, you lose 100 points but partner still scores for their bid.
When to Bid Nil
Good Nil hands typically have:
- No Aces or high cards (K, Q)
- No spades, or only very low spades
- Partner with a strong hand to cover
- Low cards in every suit
How to Play Nil
- Play high cards early when safe to duck later
- Partner takes tricks to pull high cards from opponents
- Avoid being forced to win tricks late in the hand
- Void suits quickly to discard safely
Defending Against Nil
- Lead low cards in suits where Nil player has high cards
- Force them to play on tricks they might win
- Coordinate with your partner to set the Nil