Spades Tactics and Trickery: Playing

Unlike in Bridge, in which play is geared towards taking as many tricks as possible, the objective in Spades is not always clear. Sometimes you do, in fact, want to take as many tricks as possible. But sometimes you want to take as few as possible. Sometimes you'll want to take an exact number of tricks. Sometimes you should start the round with one intention then switch to another. And not only do you have to figure out what your goal should be, you have to figure out how to accomplish it.

This chapter will help clarify what you want to do and how do it. I've categorized the various strategies as follows: Take Em, Dump Em, Set or Bag, On The Nose, Nil, Nil Cover, Set Enemy Nil, Set Enemy Coverer, Nil vs. Nil, and Blind Nil.

TAKE EM

Use this strategy when you are trying to take as many tricks as possible. There are two different versions of the Take Em strategy; the safe version and the risky version. Use the safe strategy when making your bid is crucial. Use the risky strategy when you want to take more tricks than you think the safe strategy will provide. Examples of when to use a risky Take Em strategy:

You want to set your opponent (and don't believe you can do so with the safe strategy) even at the risk of setting your own team (for example, if the other team is on the verge of the winning the game)
You've already made your bid (or are certain to do so) and now wish to maximize the probability of setting your opponent
You or your partner have bid too aggressively or you otherwise have doubts about securing your bid by playing conservatively

Tactics

In early rounds, lead low in your weakest suit (the suit in which you are least likely to take tricks).

Try to avoid leading suits in which you have an Ace, King, Queen, or Jack. You would prefer to act last on these suits, not first. Exceptions would be:

you have boss in a long suit (see #3 below)
you have boss in a suit in which your LHO and your partner are both out, or if your opponents are out of trump
you have a lone King or Queen

Boss in a long suit: the safe play to play boss as soon as you can, unless you know one of your opponents is already out of the suit. The risky play is to avoid leading this suit (again, you prefer to act last).

Typically, the leader and the second player to act should play as low as possible. The 3rd player should play his highest card (if higher than either of the other played cards), and the 4th should try to play over the 3rd player if possible. Two exceptions:

"Honor after honor": If your RHO leads a J, you should play the Q (but not the K or A) if you have it. If your RHO leads a Q, you should play the K (but not the A) if you have it. If your RHO leads a K, you should play the A if you have it.
Long in lead suit. See Tactic #3.

Don't fret if this tactic backfires, and your opponents end up taking easy tricks. High cards are still valuable even if one or both of your opponents are void in the suit. You can use them either to force your opponents to deplete trump, or to take tricks once trump has been run out.

Ruffing with your LHO still to act. If your partner or your RHO leads a suit on which you can ruff, tend to ruff if:

your partner led, and the RHO has played over
you're playing a safe strategy
RHO has played boss
you know or suspect LHO has a winner in that suit
your high trump needs or has no protection (e.g., ♠A52 (needs no protection), ♠952 or lone ♠Q (has no protection)).

Tend to not ruff if:

you're playing a risky strategy
RHO led, and you suspect your partner is strong or void in the suit
RHO has not played boss
your partner has played boss
you know or suspect the LHO is out of the suit and has trump
your top trump needs protection (e.g., ♠K5 or ♠Q63)
you can dump low cards in some other suit (especially a suit in which your RHO is short or void)

One specific situation that needs to be addressed is when your RHO has played a winner in a suit in which both you and your LHO are void. If you ruff, you risk being overtrumped. Take this example:




	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠Q5 ♥AQ75 ♣(void) ♦KJT42	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	team 5	team 7
Bid


Trick 1	♣A +++	♣3	♣4	♣2
Trick 1

Trick 2	♣7	♣K +++	♣Q	♥9
Trick 2

Trick 3		♣J	?
Trick 3

If East doesn't trump, two things will happen: North-South will get a cheap trick with the ♣J, and South will be able to throw off another heart, which may kill the ♥A East had counted as a trick. If East trumps with the ♠5, South will overtrump and East will lose the already weak protection on her spade Queen.

East should ruff with the ♠Q. East will probably be overtrumped, but South will have been forced to use up the ♠A or ♠K. In other words, if East doesn't play high trump, North-South will earn a trick they hadn't counted on. If East plays the queen, South will still earn the trick, but it will cost them a big trump card to get it. (Yes, it also cost East a Queen, but the Queen is not a very strong card in this spot.)

To be clear, East-West are in a tough spot. The play I suggest should give them the best chance at salvaging a bad situation, but it may still end poorly.

Note that if East had something like ♠Q832 instead of ♠Q2, trumping high may be incorrect, since East would be sacrificing a guaranteed trick.

Finessing. Take the following example:

West North East South

Hand ♠
♥
♣
♦ ♠
♥
♣
♦ ♠[...]
♥AQ5
♣[...]
♦[...] ♠
♥
♣
♦

Trick 1 ♥7 ♥3 ?

The correct safe play for East is to play the ace. The correct risky play is to play the Queen. East should be more likely to play the Queen if North agonized over her decision, as that might indicate that North was considering playing the ♥K.
Another factor to consider is the bid and previous play of your LHO. For example, let's say you're in the middle of a round in which your LHO has bid 2 and has already played two aces, or the ace and the king of one suit. It's quite likely that she doesn't have any strength left in her hand. Finessing may be the best play here, especially in spades; you can be very confident your LHO does not have a spade higher than a jack.
Leading or running out trump. You should lead trump if you don't have a good non-trump lead (maybe your RHO is out of the suits you hold). You should also lead trump if you want to run out trump. Running out trump can be a good tactic if you suspect your opponents are shorter and/or have worse trump than you and your partner (perhaps they both have trumped earlier in the round). By running out trump, you turn the round into a battle of non-trump high cards, so be sure that you have high non-trump, or that your opponents are out of the suits you own.
You can run out trump a couple of ways:
- Start from the top and lead down. This is effective if you have a few boss trump, or are very long in spades (six or more).
- You lead low trump, your partner plays as high as possible (if partner's highest spade is higher than your LHO's spade). If your partner gets the lead back, she leads low, and you play high. This will work even if your opponents have higher trump than you, as long as you end up with the last trump and can lead suits in which your opponents are weak or void.
Take this hand:

♠AQJ954 ♥QJT97 ♣9 ♦5

Without the big trump power, you would count none of your hearts as tricks. But in this hand, if you draw out the ♥A and ♥K then run out trump, the rest of your hearts will be boss and will be worth two to four tricks.
Once you suspect your opponents are out of spades, stop leading them.

DUMP EM

This strategy should be used when you want to minimize the number of tricks taken. Perhaps you've already made, or are assured of making, your bid, or you've given up on your bid, or your opponents are on the verge of winning and the best way to stop them is to bag them back.

Tactics

If you are last to act and your partner is currently the highest play, play your highest card in that suit or, if you're out of that suit, your highest trump. The exception is if you want to avoid the lead (perhaps you're left with all of a suit that the rest of the table is out of), or if you have a non-trump card that you're certain will take a trick. For example, if you have a choice between trumping with the ♠2 or dumping a lone non-trump Ace, the ace is probably the better choice.
You should want the lead if you have a good lead (in other words, a suit in which you have nothing but low cards) and also if you are trying to get out of a suit. For example, if you hold:

♠T854 ♥K8742 ♣952 ♦J
You should consider leading the ♦J. You'll relieve your partner of any high or middle cards in that suit, and you'll be void. This is a little different:

♠T854 ♥KT8742 ♣52 ♦J
Now you might (but might not!) prefer to try to get out of clubs in hopes of dumping the jack of diamonds in a later round.
If you suspect your LHO to have one or more trouble suits (i.e., suits in which she has only medium or high cards) you'll want your partner to lead. If you suspect your RHO to have one or more trouble suits, you'll want the lead.
If you are third to act and your partner is currently the highest play, try to play just over or just under your partner, depending on who you want to have the lead.
Lead low in suits in which you have a lot of other low cards.
Avoid leading suits in which your RHO is void.
Lead suits in which your partner is void.
Avoid leading or playing high. The exception is if you suspect your opponents are using a TAKE EM strategy and you're confident that your opponents will play over you.
Try to leave yourself with low cards in suits your opponents have. In other words, throw out low cards in suits in which your opponents are void, and middle and high cards in suits in which your opponents are not void.
Lead low-middle cards (e.g., five through eight).

If your RHO is leading, duck under if by doing so, you will still have at least one small card. Also duck if you're bad in the suit.

Examples:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣K72 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦


Trick 1	♣8	?
Trick 1

North should play the ♣7.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣JT6 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦


Trick 1	♣8	?
Trick 1

North should play the ♣6. It may be the only opportunity for North to avoid a club trick.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣A2 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦


Trick 1	♣8	?
Trick 1

North should consider playing the ♣A here.

If your RHO leads a suit you and your partner are both out of, consider trumping, especially if you have high trump that is almost sure to take a trick (♠Q, ♠K, ♠A) and also if you have a good (low) card to lead. This will give your partner an opportunity to dump his highest trump.

ON THE NOSE

This strategy should be used when you're trying to take an exact number of tricks.

Tactics

Throw off middle cards. Leave yourself with high cards with which to take tricks, and low cards with which to avoid tricks. Middle cards tend to win tricks you want to lose and lose tricks you want to win.

Lead suits in which you have no control; you need to find out as soon as possible if those cards are going to take tricks. If they end up taking tricks, try to dump other tricks. Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠[...] ♥Q97 ♣AK532 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦


Trick 1	?
Trick 1

West should lead hearts as early and often as possible, starting from the top. If West takes tricks with any of the hearts, he should avoid taking tricks with the high clubs.

Note the ranks of the cards your partner has taken tricks with. Any tricks he takes with a Jack or lower were probably unintentional, and you should adjust by throwing off one of your tricks (unless your partner throws off first).
Note when your opponents are throwing off. If they throw off an ace, for example, that's one fewer trick for them, and probably one more trick for you.
When ruffing, consider using medium or high trump. Save your low trump for ducking.

SET OR BAG

This strategy should be used when your opponents have a big lead but also a high bag count. You want to either set or bag them, but aren't yet sure which.

Tactics

In early rounds, aggressively play medium high cards (9, T, J, Q, K). If these cards end up taking tricks, switch to a TAKE EM strategy. If they don't take tricks, switch to a DUMP EM strategy.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠[...] ♥Q97 ♣AK532 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦


Trick 1	?
Trick 1

West should lead the ♥Q. If it takes a trick, West should then try to take tricks with the Ace and King of Clubs. If the ♥Q does not take a trick, West should then try to dump the high clubs.

NIL

Use this strategy when you have bid nil and intend to succeed. (Why would you ever intend to fail? A fine question which will hopefully be answered to your satisfaction later...)

Tactics

The primary rule when playing nil is this: play as high as you can without playing higher than any card currently played.

Exception 1: if you and your partner are both out of a suit and you think you might have trouble in spades, trump a RHO lead with a medium spade and hope your partner can cover.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠T732 ♥4 ♣(void) ♦3	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	nil	team 8	team 2
Bid


Trick 7	♣T +++	♣2	♣5	♥3
Trick 7

Trick 8	♣7	?
Trick 8

North should consider playing trump here. Which rank really depends on the other cards South has played. If prior to this South has played weak non-trump cards, North should probably play the ♠T with the assumption that South's bid reflects a couple high trump cards. On the other hand, if South played two aces in earlier rounds, North can't assume South has strong trump and should therefore play the ♠7 or ♠3.

Exception 2: If you suspect your partner might have trouble making his bid, you might consider playing slightly over your RHO's lead.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣T63 ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 4	hint 3	nil	team 8
Bid


Trick 3		♣7	?
Trick 3

East should consider playing the ♣T here, as West's 4 bid may be in trouble. (This would be the case because the bids add to 12, and because West didn't know that East was going to go nil. If East had bid first, West would make a bid he can make while covering a nil at the same time.) If South then plays under, West has the opportunity to take an easy trick with a Jack or Queen.

Try to determine suit(s) in which your partner is weak. Throw off those suits at every opportunity.
Throw off suits in which your opponents have thrown off high cards.
Throw off suits in which your RHO is out. This may give you opportunity to undertrump your RHO.
Throw off suits in which you do not have the lowest card, even if they appear safe. For example, if you have (among other things) ♥43 left and have not seen the ♥2 played, be very wary. Try to get out of this suit. Your opponents might be saving the ♥2, or your partner might have it and can't get rid of it. If the ♥2 is the last card led, and no one plays a spade, your nil will break. This happens more frequently than it may sound, especially against skilled opponents.

NIL COVER

Use this strategy when covering a nil bid.

Tactics

If one of your opponents has already covered your partner, or is sure to do so, throw your weakest card.
If your partner is currently the highest card in the trick, play over if you can.

Pay attention to what your partner plays. In this example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣(void) ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 4	hint 3	team 7	nil
Bid


Trick 4	♣A +++	♣4	♣T	♣5
Trick 4

Trick 5	♣3	?
Trick 5

South is obviously safe in clubs; North does not need to trump. However, be careful of this situation:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣(void) ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 4	hint 3	team 7	nil
Bid


Trick 4	♣Q +++	♣4	♣T	♣2
Trick 4

Trick 5	♣J	?
Trick 5

South's ♣2 may indicate that he is safe in clubs, but it may also indicate he has either the ♣A or ♣K left. North should consider playing trump here.

Lead your highest ranking card in suits which are long and strong.
Lead suits in which your partner is void.
Try not to lead suits in which your opponents are void, unless your LHO and your partner are out of that suit.

Try not to lead suits that are short and have low cards, even if you are leading high. Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠AT843 ♥AK2 ♣Q97 ♦74	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 4	hint 3	nil	team 6
Bid


Trick 1	?
Trick 1

West should lead clubs, not hearts. West would prefer to wait and see other hearts played before playing his own; specifically, West wants to be able to throw off the ♥2 at some point, either under a high heart from North or South, or on another suit.

What if your RHO leads a suit in which you are void? Take this situation:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠J7 ♥AK97 ♣(void) ♦5	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	team 7	nil
Bid


Trick 6	♣6	?
Trick 6

What should North do? Factors include:

whether or not South is safe in clubs. If so, tend to throw the ♦5.
whether or not South is out of clubs. If so, North should tend to trump (high).
whether or not the ♦5 will provide safe cover for South's diamonds. If so, North should tend to trump, or maybe play the ♥7.

9. What do you do if your RHO leads a middle card of a suit in which you have both high and low cards? Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣K2 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	team 7	nil
Bid


Trick 1	♣7	?
Trick 1

In this case, the ♣2 is probably the better play. However, if your smaller card were higher than a 2, even a 4 or 5, you should consider playing the ♣K. The reason is that the ♣4 or ♣5 has some chance of covering your partner, whereas the ♣2 has none.

Try to leave yourself with at least one spade, in case one of your opponents is saving a good nil busting card.

Taking tricks while covering: If your opponents have unusually strong hands, you may have trouble taking the tricks you had counted upon. This situation is difficult to handle.

The main alterations in strategy are:

Trump more often, even when you know your partner could play under
Play over more often
Lead deceptively. Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣AJT8 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	team 7	nil
Bid


Trick 1	♣2	♣K +++	♣Q	♣5
Trick 1
Trick 2		?
Trick 2

North should lead the ♣J, and continue leading downward. If East is void in clubs, she may choose to not trump, with the belief that either West or South has the ♣A.

Note that if you make your bid early, you might be able to count on your opponents to help you cover the nil, as they may be afraid of getting set.

Avoiding bags while covering: This is also a difficult strategy. Against good opponents, you are probably going to be at their mercy; focus on covering the nil and accept the bags.

The main difference between this strategy and the normal nil-covering strategy is simply that you should be slightly more willing to throw under opponents.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣AT75 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	team 5	nil
Bid


Trick 1	♣J	?
Trick 1

Because there are a lot of potential bags, North should consider playing the ♣T, instead of either the ♣A or ♣5. If South does have a King or Queen, North can hopefully cover it later. (It's not likely that South would bid nil with a lone ♣K or ♣Q.)


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣(void) ♦A6	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	team 5	nil
Bid


Trick 6	♣9 +++	♣8	♣6	♦9
Trick 6
Trick 6	♣2
Trick 6

North knows that South is out of clubs. The correct safe play would be to throw the ♦6. However, if North is trying to avoid bags, she might consider throwing the ♦A. South will only be broken on diamonds if he has the lone ♦8 or ♦7, and if West and East both play low diamonds on the next trick.

BREAK ENEMY NIL

Use this strategy when you want to maximize your chances of breaking an enemy nil.

Tactics

Keep the lead away from the coverer when the nil is out of a suit. If you don't, the coverer will continue to lead that suit, which will allow the nil to throw off cards in vulnerable suits.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣AK92 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid		hint 3	hint 3	nil
Bid	team 6


Trick 4		♣Q	♣T	♦Q
Trick 4	?

We assume, since the bids add to 9, both teams want to avoid bags. Despite this, West should consider taking this trick. Otherwise North can lead clubs again, giving South an opportunity to throw off. For this reason, you may want to keep your highest card in case you need to take the lead. Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣K843 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	nil	team 6
Bid


Trick 4	♣A	?
Trick 4

Playing the ♣K here may be a mistake. North should consider saving it in case he needs to take the lead.

Lead low in a suit if you have a lot of other low cards in that suit. Otherwise, lead medium or medium low.
In early rounds, tend to lead your second lowest, and not your lowest, card in each suit. Save your lowest for later; it's hard to break the nil the first time a suit is played.
Keep track of which suits the nil still owns and/or is vulnerable. Keep low cards in the suits the nil owns. If you have no low cards in the suits the nil owns, get rid of the suits the nil owns, and avoid the lead.

Try to sniff out weak suits in the coverer. Telltale signs are:

plays under if you lead a medium low card into him. This may indicate weakness in that suit. However, it may also indicate his being void in that suit.
leads weakly. If his best lead is a weak lead in one suit, chances are he's either weaker or void in the other suits. The best strategy may be to continue to let him lead, if you can.

Consider trumping when you know the nil is safe. Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣(void) ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	nil	team 6
Bid


Trick 1	♣A +++	♣K	♣8	♣T
Trick 1
Trick 2	♣7	?
Trick 2

In this case, North knows that East will be able to duck under the ♣7. North should consider playing highest trump.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣(void) ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 3	hint 3	nil	team 6
Bid


Trick 1	♣K +++	♣J	♣Q	♣5
Trick 1
Trick 2	♣T +++	♣7	♣8	♦Q
Trick 2
Trick 3	♣9	?
Trick 3

Even if North knows for a fact that East has the ♣A, North should consider trumping. East is obviously long on clubs, since North and South are both out. North and South should consider using this opportunity to throw off high trump.

Don't be discouraged if the coverer has a strong bid (5 or more). If the coverer is bidding strongly because of high trump, there's a good chance some of his non-trump suits are weak.
Force the coverer to use up trump by leading low in suits in which he is void, then try to break the nil on spades.

If the nil is on your right, you should usually play under the nil when the nil's play is currently high. The exception is if you're certain the coverer will be able to cover. This is not always clear. Example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠[...] ♥[...] ♣[...] ♦K72

Bid	hint 3	hint 4	nil	team 6
Bid


Trick 3		♦4	♦8	?
Trick 3

This is a tough call, and the correct play probably depends on whether or not South wants to take this trick. If South had something like ♦K742, he should play the ♦7, since he would still have the two other nil-breaking diamonds. If South had something like ♦AKQT2, he should play the ♦2.

If the nil is on your left, play just under the coverer if you are trying to avoid bags, and just over the coverer if you want to take tricks.

SET THE COVERER

Lead with medium-high cards (T-K). The coverer will be reluctant to play over these cards, especially if the nil has already ducked under.
Play over the nil with medium high cards, for the same reason as the above rule.
Lead high in suits the coverer is out of. Again, the coverer will be reluctant to use up his trump.
Lead suits in which the coverer and your partner are both void. If the coverer trumps, your partner can overtrump. If the coverer doesn't trump, your partner won't either.

SETTING THE NIL AND/OR COVERER

If you want to set one of them, but aren't sure which, you'll have to combine the above strategies. Lead middle cards. If the coverer plays over them, switch to the BREAK THE NIL strategy. If the coverer ducks under them, switch to a SET THE COVERER strategy.

Tend to use BREAK THE NIL when the non-nil bids add up to 10 or less, and SET THE COVERER when the bids add up to 12 or more.

NIL VS. NIL

Trying to cover a nil while trying to break your opponents' nil or coverer is very difficult, especially if the opposing nil bid is on your left. If the opposing nil bid is on your right, you will often be able to see the plays of all three players before playing, which is very advantageous.

The main principle is obvious: lead suits or cards you know or suspect are better for your partner than for the LHO.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠[...] ♥J7 ♣75 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 5	hint 5	nil	nil
Bid


Trick 1	♥A +++	♥3	♥T	♥9
Trick 1
Trick 2	♣A +++	♣3	♣9	♣Q
Trick 2
Trick 3	?
Trick 3

East is probably safe in both clubs and hearts. South is probably safe in hearts but not clubs. West should therefore lead clubs.

Another example:


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠[...] ♥A74h ♣A74 ♦[...]	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	hint 5	hint 5	nil	nil
Bid


Trick 1	♥9 +++	♥3	♥6	♥8
Trick 1
Trick 2	♣9 +++	♣3	♣8	♣2
Trick 2
Trick 3	?
Trick 3

In this case, South's ♣2 play in Trick 2 might indicate that he's void in clubs, but it also might indicate that he only has high clubs left. West should consider playing ♣7. It's unlikely that East went nil with something like ♣J8, so the ♣7 should be safe.

BLIND NIL

Passing as the blind nil

If you are passing to maximize your chance of success:
- Pass the top cards in the most troublesome suit or suits. This does not necessarily mean the highest ranks. For example, if you have ♣JT9 and ♥AT832, you should be more inclined to pass the ♣J rather than the ♥A.
- Never leave yourself with six or more spades. Leaving yourself with four or five spades might be ok if all the spades are low, your partner's bid is very strong, or if you are short in one or two suits. (Short suits provide opportunity to undertrump your RHO.)
If the bids are such that you think your partner may have trouble making his or her bid, pass good trick-taking cards, either aces or trump.
If you need to set the other team, you should consider passing your strongest trick-taking cards in hopes that your partner can set the other team himself. However, you may need to break your nil to accomplish the set. If this is the case, consider passing the two lowest cards of your shortest suit, though try not to leave yourself with a lone king or queen. Do try to leave yourself with a lone ace. Leave yourself with a jack or a ten if your opponents aren't aware that you're playing to set.

If you aren't sure if your partner wants you to break your nil, first pass cards that you must get rid of if you want to succeed, then shorten a suit. This will give you the opportunity for either trumping or throwing off when that suit is led.


	West	North	East	South

Hand	♠K92 ♥73 ♣A9753 ♦Q53	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦	♠ ♥ ♣ ♦

Bid	blind nil	hint 2	team 5	team 6
Bid

Pass	?

If West wants to give his nil the best chance of success, he should pass ♠K♦Q. If West wants to give East the best chance to set the opponents by herself, West should pass the ♠K and ♣A. If West wants to break his nil to help set North-South, he should pass ♥7♥3. If West doesn't yet have a plan, he should probably pass the ♠K (to give his nil a chance) and the ♥7 (shortening the hearts, in case he needs to trump in).

Passing as the coverer

If you are passing to maximize the chances of the blind nil succeeding, pass the lowest cards in your weakest suit or suits. Your partner's pass may help define the safety of each suit; for example, if you have ♣T86 and ♥AKQ52, you would usually pass the ♣6. But if your partner has passed the ♣J to you, you can be almost certain your clubs will cover her, and should therefore consider passing some other suit.
If you think you may have trouble making your bid, or if you want to set the other team, you should try to get short in a suit. However, keep in mind that since you cannot trump on the first round, you may not be able to protect your partner's nil in the first round, if your void suit is led.
Receiving medium cards gives you a lot of information about your partner's hand: you know that she doesn't have ranks higher than the cards she's passed to you, and you know that she is probably safe in the other suits. Passes of high trump or aces, on the other hand, give you little information. For example, if your partner passes ♠A♣A, you know that she was worse in clubs than in diamonds or hearts, but this doesn't mean she is safe in any suit.

Playing the blind nil

Playing and covering blind nils is similar to playing and covering regular nils. The big difference is you can now play some cards with complete security.

As the nil, you can play any of the cards the coverer has passed to you, as well as any cards whose rank is lower than those cards. You can also play any card whose rank is lower than the cards you passed to your partner (until your partner plays the card you passed).

As the coverer, you can play any of the cards the coverer has passed to you, as well as any cards whose rank is higher than those cards. You can also play any card whose rank is higher than the cards you passed to your partner (until your partner plays the card you passed).

Avoid playing passed cards for as long as possible. The more your partner knows about your hand the better.

Playing against blind nils

Playing against blind nils is similar to playing against a nil, but be aware of two things:

a blind nil coverer could have anywhere from 2 fewer to 4 more tricks than his bid indicates, depending on the pass
a team who has passed cards for the specific purpose of trying to set you (in other words, intends to break the blind nil) is very dangerous

Thus, if making your bid is important, don't bother trying to break the blind nil. It sounds obvious, but it never fails to amaze me how often a team will put their bid at risk in this way even when making their bid is the only thing that stands between them and winning the game.