Bags (Overtricks) in Spades
Bags
Extra tricks won beyond your team's combined bid. Each bag adds 1 point but accumulating 10 bags results in a -100 point penalty. Also called "overtricks" or "sandbags."
How Bags Work
- Team bids 7 total, wins 9 tricks = 2 bags
- Each bag = +1 point immediately
- Bags accumulate across hands
- At 10 bags: -100 points, bags reset to 0
Example
Your team bids 8, takes 10 tricks. Score: 80 (for bid) + 2 (bags) = 82 points. But those 2 bags add to your running total. If you had 8 bags already, you'd hit 10 and lose 100 points!
Why Bags Exist
The bag penalty prevents "sandbagging" - deliberately underbidding to always make your contract safely. Without this rule, teams would bid low and take extra tricks without risk.
Bag Management Strategy
- Track your bags - Know how close you are to 10
- Bid accurately - Neither too high nor too low
- Dump tricks - Sometimes let opponents win tricks you could take
- Consider opponent bags - Force them to take extra tricks
When Bags Are Acceptable
- When 1-2 bags won't push you to 10
- When winning the extra trick prevents opponents from winning
- In close games where points matter more than bag risk
Score Display
Scores often show bags in the ones digit:
- 234 = 230 points from bids, 4 accumulated bags
- 487 = 480 points from bids, 7 accumulated bags