This means that both your bid and your partner are considered as one. If you make your contract, you are rewarded with points in proportion to the size of your contract, and if you fail to make your contract, you lose points also in proportion to the size of your contract. As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Your score is cumulative, and you keep playing hands until one team manages to pass the goal, usually five hundred points. The Cards A standard pack of fifty two cards, ranked from Ace down to two.
Spades are always trump.
Each player receives thirteen cards, dealt one at a time. Possible bids are from NIL to Thirteen. The sum of a partnership's bids is called the contract. If a player bids NIL, meaning they expect to win no tricks, then they may, depending on rule settings, be allowed to exchange up to three cards with their partner once everyone has bid. The player who bids the highest leads first and may play any card except Spades.