Spades Card Order: Jokers, Deuces and Trump

Card order is the first thing to settle before a game of spades, because every table seems to play it a little differently. This page lays out the classic order, the jokers-and-deuces order, and the variations you'll run into, with a straight answer on which one Spades Night uses. The full game rules are on the spades rules page.

Classic spades card order

In the plain game, with a standard 52-card deck and no jokers:

Spades (trump): A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 5♠ 4♠ 3♠ 2♠

Hearts, diamonds, clubs: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Any spade beats any card of another suit. Within a suit, higher beats lower. The ace of spades is the best card in the deck.

A card only wins if it's the led suit or a spade. If hearts are led and you're out of hearts, playing the A♦ does nothing: it can't win. Only a spade could take the trick.

Jokers and deuces order

This is the order at Spades Night by default (House Rules), and at a lot of family tables:

To keep the deck at 52 cards, the 2♥ and 2♣ are removed. That leaves 16 trump cards, 12 hearts, 12 diamonds, and 12 clubs. Side suits still run ace high, from A down to 3.

The jokers and 2♦ aren't wild and they aren't their own suit. They're spades. When a spade is led, any of them follows suit. A diamond lead can't be followed with the 2♦. And none of them can be led before spades are broken. The full explanation is in spades with jokers and deuces.

Which joker is higher?

The Big Joker beats the Little Joker, always. The confusing part is telling them apart in a physical deck, because card makers print them differently:

• Many decks have one full-colour joker and one black-and-white joker. The colour one is usually the Big Joker.
• Some decks mark them "big" and "little", or print one larger.
• Some decks have two identical jokers. Mark one with a pen, or use a different card as a stand-in.

Whatever your deck looks like, decide before the first deal. On Spades Night the cards are labelled, so there's nothing to argue about. More on the pair in Big Joker and Little Joker.

Other orders you'll meet

Orders vary; ours is Big Joker, Little Joker, 2♦, 2♠, A♠. Here are the common alternatives and what they look like:

2♠ above 2♦. Big Joker, Little Joker, 2♠, 2♦, A♠. Some players feel "the real spade" should outrank the promoted diamond.

Joker joker deuce ace. Big Joker, Little Joker, 2♠, A♠. Only the 2♠ is promoted; the 2♦ stays a normal diamond. Remove two other low cards to stay at 52.

Joker joker ace. Big Joker, Little Joker, A♠ down to 2♠. At Spades Night: Jokers on, Deuces high off. The 2♣ and 2♦ come out.

Deuces without jokers. 2♦, 2♠, A♠ down to 3♠, with a standard 52-card deck. At Spades Night: Jokers off, Deuces high on.

Classic. A♠ high, 2♠ low, no jokers. At Spades Night: Jokers off, Deuces high off.

Here's how each setting looks on Spades Night, top trump first:

Is the 2 of diamonds a spade?

With deuces high, yes. It sits third in trump, below the two jokers, and it behaves exactly like a spade:

• Leading: it can't be led before spades are broken.
• Following: if spades are led, it's one of your spades. If diamonds are led, it's not one of your diamonds.
• Trumping: play it when you're out of the led suit, and it's a high trump.

An example. Diamonds are led: K♦ from the player on your right. You hold 2♦, 9♦, J♥, 7♥. You must play the 9♦, because the 2♦ isn't a diamond. On the next trick, clubs are led and you're out of clubs. Now the 2♦ wins unless someone plays a joker.

Without deuces high, the 2♦ is just the lowest diamond.

How card order changes strategy

Aces aren't what they used to be. In classic spades, the A♠ is a certain trick. With jokers and deuces, four cards beat it. Don't count it as a lock unless you hold it with length or with the cards above it.

Low spades grow up. With 16 trump in play instead of 13, spade length wins more tricks. Five small spades are worth more in House Rules than in Classic.

Nil gets riskier. Any joker, the 2♦ or the 2♠ makes nil close to impossible. You'll have to play it eventually, and it will usually win.

Track the top four. Once both jokers, the 2♦ and the 2♠ have been played, your A♠ is the boss trump again. Keeping count of those four cards is the single most useful habit at a jokers table.

For bidding with any order, see how to bid in spades. For how trump works in general, see trump.