Online Comments About How African Americans Play The Card Game Spades

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about the card game "Spades".

This pancocojams post presents selected comments from several online articles and from one YouTube video about how Black people play the card game "Spades". 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/how-african-americans-play-card-game.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. The title for that post is "How African Americans Play The Card Game Spades (article excerpts)."

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/anthony-spice-adams-unk-king-of-spades.html for Part III of this pancocojams series entitled "Anthony "Spice" Adams - "Unk: The King Of Spades" & "When An Oldhead Takes Control of a Spades Game" (YouTube videos & comments)."

The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SELECTED ONLINE COMMENTS ABOUT HOW AFRICAN AMERICANS PLAY THE CARD GAME SPADES

The articles that are referenced in this post are excerpted in Part I of this pancocojams series on the card game Spades. 

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.    

WARNING: The video that is referenced in this pancocojams post and the articles that are referenced in this post contain profanity and the word that is commonly referred to as "the n word". Those words in this pancocojams post are given with abbreviated spelling.

Discussion thread #1
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2472vPF0qU&ab_channel=CrankLucas "WHEN YOUR PARTNER CANT PLAY SPADES (2018)" by Crank Lucas, September 21, 2018 
Summary statement: "HoodSportz presents SPADES

Here's an example of some of the things spades players deal with when their partner is a below par player."

Comments:
2018
1. K
"I usually don't comment until after I've watched the video but please crank don't do this

Spades creates more problems than it solves

I love Spades I wish there was a rule that said only people who know how to play Spades are allowed to play

please don't give people a reason to try Spades out who don't know what the f*** they're doing
-snip-
This is the way this comment is written in that YouTube video's discussion thread.

**
2. Geo Mag
"Lol playing with a non spade player is very frustrating"

**
3. Just stuff
"Spades will break families apart lol"

**
4. Low Key
"Iv seen spades ruin relationships and even marriages. This sh-t* is not a game"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

**
5. Robby Ivy
"Never been a card player. I'm telling you I have seen guns, knives, and cast iron skillets  pulled out.....When they break out the cards at the barbeque I'm out."

**
Reply
6. gary funderburk
"itsallaboutlove 24-7-365 That's why you check them at the cook out before playing. Also no talking while playing. And last but not least. Let someone who you know and neutral hold the cash. Cuz nobody wants problems lol 👊😂"

**
Reply
7. Clayton Phillips, 2021
"😳😳😳 that's why i don't care for learning how to play because black people literally take that game way to serious"

**
8. K3nny
"I only play spades when I'm locked up. Prison spades has a lot of differences (at least where I've done time). There is no sandbagging rule. They don't play deuces high or jokers. Spades don't have to be broken. The minimum bet is board (4), so there is no nil. Most people don't do blind bids for double points. The scoring system is different. Each counted book is 1 point and you play to 35. Talking across the table is automatic 3 book penalty just like getting caught renegging. If you bid a wheel and get it, it is 20 points. If you bid a Boston and get it, it is automatic win. Spades is one of the best ways to pass time. We always played for hours on end. Sometimes we changed it up and played dirty hearts for water or push-ups."

**
Reply
9. yung souichi
"I can already tell I'm too dumb for this game."

**
Reply
10. K3nny
"That's okay, so is 90% of the people who play it. Once you find a good partner, you better stick with them.

Jokes aside, it really isn't a hard game to learn. Bad players are just people who don't pay attention to what has been played already or have a habit of cutting their partner."

**
Reply
11. yung souichi
"Well, hopefully I won't have to go to prison to learn. It seems like dominoes was more prevalent where my father was (he's still locked up), at least that's what we always played when we visited. I can still play bones pretty well."

**
Reply
12. K3nny
" @yung souichi  Dominoes is just as common as spades where I was. I played sometimes, but preferred cards. What sucks is when they keep slamming the hard plastic dominoes on the steel tables at 2am when people are trying to sleep."

**
Reply
13. Israel Turner
"Everything you said is 100% correct. And we played for zoos and water too"

**
Reply
14. gary funderburk
"K3nny Hell yeah bro. When i was locked up with ol dude i was teamed with we knew each other game after two hands. Our record if i remember correct was 58-5. Only reason we lost cuz of 10s we couldn't stop. Its about the teamwork my dude."...

**
Reply
15. Cody Guthrie, 2021
"That's how they play in county jails in Tennessee"

**
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This comment refers to the partner in the video comment when he forgot that the Joker was  considered a spade according to the rules the players were using for that game.]

16. Paul Price
"The joker ain't a spade, it's homeless. That was funny"

**
Reply
17. KEITH MONTGOMERY
"In his defense some people don’t play with jokers though lol"

**
Reply
18. K
"Yes I have seen that happen but it is more common that the new player will renege by using a 2 of diamonds and say that's not a spade it's a diamond...😠"

**
19. Gifted Ent
"I don’t play spades with jokers... 👀"

**
20. Bobby Stallworth
"Real players take the jokers out"

**
21. The Grain
"Can't play baby spades bruh Ace high no jokers no kitty"

**
Reply
22. Manny Stylz
"🤣🤣 So true. Amateurs play joker joker deuce. Serious players Ace high only. And you BETTER not mess up OR ELSE"

**
23. Quique
"I've never played Spades w/ Jokers. How does that work? I mean their are 13 cards per person which make up a total of 52 but if you add 2 jokers wouldn't you have to take out 2 cards to make it even? If so which? Pinochle on the other hand is a better & more complex game."

**
Reply
24. Ceej hundo
"Quique u take out the 2 of hearts and diamonds fam"

**
25. Daryl Carr, 2019
"Okay, first of all, texting your spades partner is the same "violation" as actually talking to him/her across the table! I know Crank had to do this for the video, but still..."

**
26. Eric Callahan, 2020
"you cant text during the game  lol!"

****
Discussion Thread #2
From https://www.theroot.com/how-to-play-black-spades-part-1-1842460153 "How to Play Black Spades, Part 1" by Michael Harriot, 3/25/20 

1. Dave replies to Michael Harriot [the article's author], 3/25/20  9:34am
'"I learned the High Art of Spades from the military. The rules are much the same, probably due to the integration of the military and white folks penchant for lifting cool things and calling it ours. I suspect the biggest difference between the two forms is the number of fist fights that end the games. (You play Spades for 12 hours straight and see if you don’t punch your partner when they get you Set for the third time.)"

**
2. MrNails replies to Dave, 3/25/20 10:24am
"White dude here, and same. I learned from my black friends in the military, who had also proclaimed that spades is a game played in prisons and the military. I didn’t know so didn’t argue. 95% of the rules here applied to the game I played. Though to be perfectly honest, I prefer the Ace-high game. I don’t need all those trump cards!....

**
3. The Ghost of James Madison's Rage Boner reply to Dave, 3/25/20, 12:02pm
"Same. I played so much godd---ned* Spades in the Navy. Navy Spades, because the enlisted ranks are often minority-majority, is a weird hybrid of Black and White Spades. We usually played Ace High because people were always losing the jokers or playing with decks where someone who’d used them for other games had thrown the jokers out, but the sh-t*-talking was endless and intense and most of the reason we played. But no liquor, obviously.
-snip-
This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

** 
4. Non Sleeping Giant reply to Michael Harriot, 3/25/20 10:44am
"After having a decidedly non-black education up to that point, I decided to go to an HBCU out of high school. I had to rethink everything about the black experience once I got my first cussing out by my spade partner for dropping a book. I remember that loud proclamation of my deficiencies more vividly than the time I ran a Boston."
-snip-
HBCU = Historically Black Colleges And Universities

**
5. John Hascall reply to Michael Harriot, 3/25/20 10:58am
"Excuse my dumbassitude, but having only ever played Ace High, how the F do you play with the Jokers -- I have to assume you toss out two other cards -- which ones?

**
6. Dragonflyness reply to John Hascall, 3/25/20 2:44pm
"Usually the red 2's."

**
7. HoustonDude2016 reply to Michael Harriot, 3/25/20 11:12am
"I found a great spades partner. With other partners, we were OK, but together, we could practically read each other’s mind.

My wife hated him.

I’m going to miss her."

**
8. Mimi reply to Michael Harriot, 3/25/20 1:15pm
"I’ve been playing spades since about 6 or 7 years old and have never ended a game because someone had a bad hand (no trump, spades, etc.) or because someone had a “run” (we didn’t call it a Boston - I’m guessing that’s an East coast thing). If you had no trumps you had to play smart, hope your partner had something better and try to set your opponents. If you lost, you just take the next. Gotta play with the hand you’re dealt."

**
9. HuskyBro reply to Michael Harriot, 3/25/20 3:28pm
"running a Boston

 I’ve lived in WisCANsin, Chicago, Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona and Ohio. I have never heard any one mention that term in a game of spades. My cousin, who lived in Brookline once said he had to “run to Boston” but I think that’s different."

**
10. Blaquestarr reply to Michael Harriot, 3/27/20 1:15pm
"Thank you for this. I need to have my partner read these tutorials, because he refuses to let me teach him or play with me. He also leaves the room whenever I’m hanging with his college friends and I break out a deck of cards to play. They all went to a PWI, so they are scared to play spades with me... which means I’m doing it right.

I grew up in a religious household and wasn’t allowed to own any cards that weren’t skip or Uno because playing cards mean gambling. However, I learned still learned how to play spades at church. They taught me how to do score so they wouldn’t have to do it. After a couple of years of being the numbers girl, they eventually let me on the table. I became a spades player in college where I learned that every region has different house rules and found my trash-talking art. I always had a razor tongue and wit, but there are some words you can’t use in the sanctuary (or at a church picnic). My HBCU spades experience refined my playing style til now, these youngins can’t even come to the table. *sigh* I want a real game of spades soooo bad...."
-snip-
PWI= Predominately White Institution [university/college]

****
Discussion Thread #3
From https://www.theroot.com/how-to-play-black-spades-part-2-the-glossary-1842513840 "How to Play Black Spades, Part 2: The Glossary" by Michael Harriot, 3/26/20 

1. DarkSabreX to Michael Harriot, 3/26/20 4:41pm
"Why is there no mention of “Running a yard”? I logged my Spades time in Chicago, and ain’t nobody there calling it a Boston. I get 10+ books, I just ran a yard on that ass."
-snip-
Here's the definition that Michael Harriot gave for "Boston" in that article:
"Boston: When one team wins all 13 books.

A Boston is significant because it means a team won every possible book in the hand. It requires a great hand, remarkable skill and flawless execution. As we discussed earlier, some house rules dictate that a team that bids and makes a Boston automatically wins the game."

**
2. BedandBreakfastMan reply to Michael Harriot, 3/26/20 7:10pm
"Man, this brings back memories. Horrible, horrible memories. I remember going out to a bar as a “youngster” (translation - anyone in their twenties to a black person 40 or older) and while there was drinking and dancing going on in the bar, there was also a table in the corner where there was ALWAYS a spades game going on. Me and my equally drunk friend not only made the mistake of calling “next” but got our collective asses so thoroughly kicked that we had to leave the bar. Have you ever had your sh-t* handed to you by a 60 year old woman who not only beat you but talked sh-t* about you while she did it? I DID!"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

**
3. Enkidu reply to Michael Harriot, 3/26/20 8:38pm
" “In white spades, books are called “tricks.” No one knows why, but I suspect they find it hard to believe that black people can make books. They probably thought it was a trick.” *

Back from when I was but a wee whiteling I can remember my parents playing spades with friends, and books vs. tricks was an issue. Now I understand that they must have been playing by white rules and tricks at our house and black rules and books at the Garrets’ house."
-snip-
*This is a quote from Nichael Harriot's article.

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Visitor comments are welcome. 

How African Americans Play The Card Game Spades (article excerpts)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series about the card game "Spades".

This pancocojams post presents excerpts of several online articles about how Black people play the card game "Spades". 

While the authors of these articles use the term "Black people", they actually refer to Black Americans (African Americans). 

The rules that African Americans use for Spades and the terms that we use for that game are different from the rules and terms that most non-Black Americans use (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spades_(card_game) or https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/spades/ official tutorial  ). 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/online-comments-about-how-african.html  for Part II of this pancocojams series. The title for that post is "Online Comments About How African Americans Play The Card Game Spades".

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/anthony-spice-adams-unk-king-of-spades.html for Part III of this pancocojams series entitled "Anthony "Spice" Adams - "Unk: The King Of Spades" & "When An Oldhead Takes Control of a Spades Game" (YouTube videos & comments)."
The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT HOW BLACK PEOPLE PLAY THE CARD GAME SPADES

The article given as #1 contains most of that article except for a video. The other article excerpts contain a smaller portion of those articles. I encourage you to read each of each of these entire articles.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

WARNING: With the excerption of the excerpt given as #1 in this post, articles excerpts about how Black people play the game of Spades as well as many of the comments for those articles include profanity and what is commonly referred to as "the n word". Abbreviated spelling is used for those words in this post. 

Article #1
From https://www.bet.com/shows/black-card-revoked/content/season-1/listicle/02/the-official-rules-to-spades.html  "The OFFICIAL Rules To Spades" by BET staff, MARCH 2, 2018 
"Since the dawn of time, people have gravitated toward games as a way to unwind, compete, and connect with their loved ones. This is especially true for us in the Black community. There are the all-time favorites, like Uno, and Taboo, which have clearly defined rules, with possible slight variations. All in all, though, you can be certain that if nothing else, everyone who played along got some enjoyent out of the experience (even if they didn't say "you can stand under my ______." "RIHANNA!" for umbrella, and cost your team the match).

But, quite possibly the most contentious game in the Black community, even moreso than 2K, is Spades. Everybody has different rules, and conveniently, they seem to take effect as each hand is played. …

Here to put an end to the madness, we present to you, the OFFICIAL rules to Spades

[video inserted]

Spades is played with four people - two on each team. Before the cards are distributed, the two of hearts, and the two of diamonds are removed, which should make for a total of 52 cards (including both jokers). Dealing and playing are done to the left (clockwise). And of course, first hand bids itself. If your partner jumps out there all crazy with a bid as soon as everyone looks at the first hand, it's not too late to get hungry out of nowhere and go get another plate of food. It's not worth the struggle of trying to teach them to play as you go. Refer them to this list instead.

Next is the order of the cards. From highest to lowest they are "Big" Joker, "Little" Joker, 2 of Spades, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 of clubs. You can tell which joker is which because usually, the big will have a larger picture than the small. But who knows, you might want to swtitch it up, and make it the other way around. Either way, just make sure that you and the other players agree from the outset.

The person to the left of the dealer is the first person to play. They can lead with anything except for a spade. Each player after them must follow suit if able. If they'reunable to follow suit, they can play any card. A "book" that has a spade is won by the highest spade played. If no spade is played, the it's won by the highest card of the suit that led. The winner of each book leads to the next.

After the first hand is played, the books are scored in multiples of 10. So, if you and your partner won 7 books, you would have 70 points. From now on, when the cards are dealt, each team will make a prediciton about how many books they believe the can win. The team that is not dealing places their bid first, and then the dealer's team for that hand places their bid. If either team scores under their number of anticipated books, then that amount of points is subtracted from the team's score.

Last, but not least...DON'T RENEGE! If you have the suit, you have to play on suit. If you play off suit, and get caught, your team loses 3 books to the other team. Not a good look."

 ****
Article #2

WARNING: This article includes profanity. Those words are given here with abbreviated spelling.". 

From https://deadspin.com/a-caucasians-guide-to-spades-1781268460 "A Caucasian's Guide To Spades" by Michael Harriot, 6/15/16
"Whether it is played in the back of a college cafeteria, at a bachelor party, or during a Black cookout—not a barbecue, because barbecues are different from “cookouts”—no activity solidifies the bonds of melanated people like a game of Spades.

[…]

Know the rules.

We cannot give one set of rules because winning at Spades will depend on who you’re playing with, but let’s try.

Simply put, the game requires two teams (each composed of two people), with each player playing a single card per turn. The first player plays a card, and the subsequent players must play a card of the same suit. The highest card of that suit wins those four cards (called a book) unless one of the players plays a spade. Spades is always the trump card but, and here is the key, one can only use a spades to trump another suit (called cutting) if—and only if—they don’t have a card of the initial suit played.

So if the first player leads with a diamond, you will try to beat his or her diamond with your own diamond. You can cut their diamond and win the book with a spade if you have no diamonds. If you play a spade while you still have a diamond in your hand, you are the lowest, most despicable form of human cheater who probably brings store-bought potato salad to cookouts and tell people you made it. This is called reneging.

The one steadfast commandment is that the house makes the rules. To become a consistent player you must be flexible enough to handle the infinite number of variations. The key is knowing the rules before you sit down to play the game. If they are playing with jokers—a card that will play higher than every other—ask them to show you each one. In some houses they will write on the card which one is which. If they use both the deuce of diamonds and/or deuce of spades as a trump card, for example, make sure you find out which of the two is higher. You can’t win if you don’t know the rules, and losing is no fun. Remember, Spades is not about fun, it is about winning. If you want to have fun, play Uno.

 Scoring is complicated.

At the beginning of each game, each team will place a bid for how many books they think they can win during the game, based solely on the cards in their own hands. Spades uses a complex scoring system that awards 10 points for each book bid, and one point for each book a team makes above their bid. The game ends when a team reaches 500—except during a cookout, party, and family reunion situations, when the goal is usually shortened to 350. In situations with special circumstances (no paper, no pencil, the participants are too drunk to perform addition and subtraction, etc), it is sometimes acceptable to play until one team makes 13 more books than their opponent.

Scoring is complicated.

At the beginning of each game, each team will place a bid for how many books they think they can win during the game, based solely on the cards in their own hands. Spades uses a complex scoring system that awards 10 points for each book bid, and one point for each book a team makes above their bid. The game ends when a team reaches 500—except during a cookout, party, and family reunion situations, when the goal is usually shortened to 350. In situations with special circumstances (no paper, no pencil, the participants are too drunk to perform addition and subtraction, etc), it is sometimes acceptable to play until one team makes 13 more books than their opponent.

Know The Lingo

Spades comes with a particularly interesting set of jargon that you’ll need to know if you want to succeed:

Joker, Joker, Deuce: This designates the order of the most important cards in a game. Although “Joker, Joker, Deuce” is the most common hierarchy played, “King High, no Jokers” is the truest form of the game, usually only played by old Black men...

Make-em, Take-em: This is not just a Spades rule, it is common sense. If you win a book, it is your responsibility to rack it. If you sit there contemplating or hesitating over your book, someone will take your sh-t*, and just as in life, possession is nine-tenths of the law. You must be on point at all times and during all phases of the game. All you have in this world are your books and your partner. If someone touches your books, you have the right to do to them what you will...

Dime or Boston: A “dime” is when a team wins 10 of the 13 possible books. A “Boston” is when a team wins 13 of the 13 possible books. If you hear either of these words it means you need to concentrate on that particular hand like you’re taking the S.A.T. to be admitted into heaven. If you or your partner bids a dime, you are about to humiliate your opponent. Likewise, having someone “bid a dime” or “run a Boston” on you is not only a sure loss, but the equivalent of being castrated...

Set: The most disappointing thing in Spades and a valuable lesson—getting “set” means you bid too much, reached too high and failed. When one bids an amount of books and cannot make them all, the amount of the bid is subtracted from their score. Overbidding is the only way to lose points in Spades, but you can’t win if you underbid. If you are afraid of getting set, you shouldn’t partake in this activity. Just like life, however, getting set is not the end of the world. You just have to fight back.

Know your partner.

I cannot overemphasize this. Selecting a partner in Spades should be taken as seriously as choosing a husband or a wife. I proposed to my Spades partner James on a warm September evening at a church picnic, and we have been together ever since. Taking a partner is akin to putting another person’s life and Spades reputation in your hands, and should not be treated lightly. You will eventually have to learn the intricacies of eye contact, non-verbal cues and even a little light mind-reading together. The greatest Spades player in the world is nothing without a good partner, and an experienced partner can make a beginner look like a pro. Never take a random partner without watching them play at least one hand, and avoid jumping from partner to partner. Don’t be a Spades ho.

Never trust anyone.

A seasoned player holds the cards in such a way that doesn’t look paranoid, but ensures that no one else can see his hand. Watch the dealer, too, because he or she might stack the cards (even though a successful case of card-stacking has never been verified). Assume all your opponents are out to get you, and would stab you in the throat with a rusty Phillips head screwdriver if given the chance… because they would, if it meant they could stop you from “setting them.”

Leave your emotions at the door.

This is not a pastime for the sensitive, so if you are prone to having your feelings hurt, you should play jacks or double-dutch…. Part of the beauty of Spades is the vitriolic sh-t*-talking…. This is why I don’t play Spades with my mama anymore.

Know how to bid.

Like in life, Spades is not about which cards you get, it is about knowing what to do with the cards you are dealt. Bidding is the key to the game of Spades, and perhaps the biggest obstacle in bidding is the “possible.” How one bids the “possible” says everything about their character, self-esteem and interpersonal relationships... 

Never, ever renege.

Whether it is because of a genuine error or a cheating tactic, don’t ever renege, period. You would rather call your grandmother a whore… at her funeral… as you’re giving the eulogy. The love of God and all the prayers of the righteous can’t save you from the scorn that accompanies reneging. If you or your partner happens to renege, your only recourse is to rack the book and put it in the middle of the other books you’ve won before anyone notices it. If someone does notice it, tell them the rules say they must pick out the exact book, then tell them they are wrong—even if they are right. Never admit to a renege. …
-snip-
This article and the other articles that I've come across online about Spades that are written by Michael Harriot are somewhat tongue in cheek (include some jokes that are written to appear serious).  

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Excerpt #3 
From https://www.theroot.com/how-to-play-black-spades-part-1-1842460153 "How to Play Black Spades, Part 1" byMichael Harriot, 3/25/20 9:00AM
…"For years, The Root was asked to create a tutorial for our spades-illiterate readers but—for a number of reasons—we have never answered the call. The first reason was that we simply assumed that it already existed. However, after looking at Bicycle playing cards’ [https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/spades/official tutorial], we were shocked to discover that most of the spades-related instructions were sorely lacking the black perspective. First of all, they refer to “books” as “tricks.” What the f—k* is a trick?

The biggest reason that we resisted offering a spades tutorial was that we weren’t sure it was possible. Everyone at The Root knows how to play spades but no one could specifically remember being taught. I erroneously assumed every black person was born with the innate ability to play spades, season chicken and hit the exact notes on Frankie Beverly’s wail in “Before I Let Go.”

Well, we have a trick for your ass.

While this tutorial will not make you a “spades player,” it will teach you the basics of the black version of spades (which is a different version than the Caucasian version. White Spades is a game).**

**A white person once told me they “enjoyed” playing spades. Spades is not for “enjoyment.” Spades is about dominance. It is a conduit for shit-talking. It’s exciting and scary. Then again, white people love scary sh-t* like bungee-jumping and hang-gliding. Come to think about it, spades is black people’s version of bungee-jumping—You might get smashed or you might end up flying.

We’re gonna teach you how to play spades."...
-snip-
This is the way this article was written, except for the abbreviated spelling for the curse word. 

…And—if you are really diligent, maybe someday you will be lucky enough to find the one thing we are all searching for:

 A true “partner.”...
-snip-
The italic font was the way that article was written. I added the link for that Bicycle Playing  Cards website.
-snip-
Click https://www.theroot.com/how-to-play-black-spades-part-2-the-glossary-1842513840 "How to Play Black Spades, Part 2: The Glossary" by Michael Harriot, 3/26/20. 

Comments from Part I and Part II of Michael Harriot's articles on Spades are included along with some other online comments in an upcoming pancocojams post about that card game . 

****
Excerpt #4

WARNING: This article includes profanity.

From https://medium.com/@JackieWilliams/how-to-play-spades-with-black-people-b563c0f5e779 "How to Play Spades with Black People" by Jackie Williams, April 24, 2018
"Summer is almost here! Probably the most popular time for Black families to get together and enjoy cook-outs, family reunions and my favorite activity- Spades.

I’m being incredibly selfish with this post, because I LOVE spades, and nothing irritates me more than someone sitting down at the Spades table not knowing the rules of the game or worse, the rules when you play with Black folk.

So, I’m going to provide some much needed common sense rules on how to play spades this summer.

Note: This is for the Spades Beginner or Enthusiast who hasn’t played with Black people before. Learning how to play Spades is the easy part…here’s something you’ll actually need to survive a full game:

Rule #1: Do not play if you cannot shuffle.

No matter the family member, their politics, their age, what they did or didn’t do, everyone is invited to play. BUT, before you throw down cards you have to learn how to shuffle. Nothing is worse than getting a hand with 10 out of 13 cards from the same suite because you didn’t shuffle enough. You partner will be pissed. I will be pissed. Everyone will be pissed.

Rule #2: Joker, Joker, Deuce.

This is pretty common but the top 3 cards in most Black folk games are Big Joker, Little Joker, and the 2 of Spades respectively. So, if you forget the Ace of Spades doesn’t beat the Two of Spades, you’re in trouble… and likely going to get to set.

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Rule #5: You have a maximum of 10 seconds to play your card.

We don’t have too many rules in Black Folk Spades, so we play fast. Yes, the quick decisions make the game go faster, but it also gives a chance for more teams to play.

Please don’t make the game unenjoyable by taking your precious time. Think on your feet and keep it moving.

Rule #6: Make Em, Rake Em.

I can’t say this enough. If you win a book you better take your cards, stack them into a pile, and put them on your side. If you don’t, I will rack them myself and add them to my books, since you clearly didn’t want it enough."

Rule #7: Talking Sh-t* is Mandatory.

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Please leave your sensitive ears at the door if you’re thinking about playing at the grown folks table.

Rule #8: Winner Stays at the Table.

If you lose, please get your ass up from the table.

Rule #9: Have Fun (Kinda).

Spades is really only fun if you win. Just kidding. But seriously, most families are crazy competitive. So yes, get a drink and have a good time but don’t forget to have your game face on. Because we play to win."
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*This word is fully spelled out in this article.

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