The Nil Bid in Spades
This Nugget has been written by Spades Master on 19 Feb at 6:07PM
Category: Whist
- When an opponent bids nil, the other three players should underbid their individual hand by one trick. This will allow the necessary slack when it comes time to FORCE the nil bidder to take a trick. NOTE: If the nil player succeeds in getting his 100 pt. nil bid, he WILL win the game. It is of paramount importance that THE OTHER THREE PLAYERS UNITE TO FORCE THE NIL BIDDER TO TAKE A TRICK!! Otherwise, ALL THREE PLAYERS WILL LOSE!! Once the nil bidder is set back 100 pts, he is, for all practical purposes, eliminated from the game. The remaining three players can now resume thrashing one another at their leisure. 
-Consenting to unite against the nil bidder should be accomplished by unspoken agreement between the other three players. Things may lean toward unsportsmanlike conduct if players start kabitzing with other players about what specific card to throw, and that's not fair. If a player doesn't understand or underestimates the danger that a nil bidder poses, then that's a risk the other players will simply have to deal with (however excruciatingly frustrating that may be!)
-Last tip about nil bidders: HE IS UNLOADING HIS HIGH CARDS UNDERNEATH YOUR ACES AND KINGS!! OY! Refrain from playing your aces and kings at the start of the hand - throw your low cards first. DON'T GIVE THE NIL BIDDER A CHANCE TO GET RID OF HIS HIGH CARDS!! If all three players are united in this effort, then the nil bidder will find his task much more difficult to accomplish. Don't hand him the 100 pts. on a silver platter - make him earn it!
-Ok, so you're dealt a lousy hand and wish to go nil. Unless you have a catastrophically bad hand, DON'T go nil if you're the first bidder. Your opponents will immediately react because they will see your nil bid as a direct threat. It will force them to temporarily put aside their differences and work together until you are neutralized. Now they can deliberately underbid their respective hands (something they couldn't do otherwise if you were bidding third or fourth) and have a better chance to make you take a trick. By contrast, you have a much better chance of achieving your nil if you have a bad hand and are one of the last bidders.
-Consenting to unite against the nil bidder should be accomplished by unspoken agreement between the other three players. Things may lean toward unsportsmanlike conduct if players start kabitzing with other players about what specific card to throw, and that's not fair. If a player doesn't understand or underestimates the danger that a nil bidder poses, then that's a risk the other players will simply have to deal with (however excruciatingly frustrating that may be!)
-Last tip about nil bidders: HE IS UNLOADING HIS HIGH CARDS UNDERNEATH YOUR ACES AND KINGS!! OY! Refrain from playing your aces and kings at the start of the hand - throw your low cards first. DON'T GIVE THE NIL BIDDER A CHANCE TO GET RID OF HIS HIGH CARDS!! If all three players are united in this effort, then the nil bidder will find his task much more difficult to accomplish. Don't hand him the 100 pts. on a silver platter - make him earn it!
-Ok, so you're dealt a lousy hand and wish to go nil. Unless you have a catastrophically bad hand, DON'T go nil if you're the first bidder. Your opponents will immediately react because they will see your nil bid as a direct threat. It will force them to temporarily put aside their differences and work together until you are neutralized. Now they can deliberately underbid their respective hands (something they couldn't do otherwise if you were bidding third or fourth) and have a better chance to make you take a trick. By contrast, you have a much better chance of achieving your nil if you have a bad hand and are one of the last bidders.
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Nugget Comments
After a Player Forfiets
Posted on 4 Mar at 8:04AM by Spades Master
When a player times-out in Spades, he forfeits the game and is eliminated from further play.
The bad news is that getting a nil now is virtually impossible. Since there are now only three active players instead of four, your opponents have too much leeway to give you a trick.
The good news is that you can now consider your Queens and Jacks as possible tricks when bidding your hand.
The last bit of good news is that you cannot now lose the game-- the forfeit player already has that unhappy distinction. The worst you can finish now is third place.
The bad news is that getting a nil now is virtually impossible. Since there are now only three active players instead of four, your opponents have too much leeway to give you a trick.
The good news is that you can now consider your Queens and Jacks as possible tricks when bidding your hand.
The last bit of good news is that you cannot now lose the game-- the forfeit player already has that unhappy distinction. The worst you can finish now is third place.
New Players and Nil
Posted on 20 Sep at 6:58AM by Spades Master
After finishing about 250 Spades games here, It's been my observation that a new player adds a whole different dynamic that could greatly effect the outcome. New players are still grossly unaware of the danger that an opponent's nil bid poses.
If I see a new player in the game, I will bid nil more readily because my mind is at ease knowing that the new player WILL cover my high cards. Take advantage of the new player's inexperience and let him give you a 100 point nil gift.
This is not a theory - this is fact.
If you are a new player, and you are reading these nuggets about nils, then you will be greatly forearmed in your next match... you just may be the one who slaps me back on my next nil bid.
Either way, you are well on your way to becoming a very formidable opponent. Have fun and good luck!
If I see a new player in the game, I will bid nil more readily because my mind is at ease knowing that the new player WILL cover my high cards. Take advantage of the new player's inexperience and let him give you a 100 point nil gift.
:platinum:This is not a theory - this is fact.
If you are a new player, and you are reading these nuggets about nils, then you will be greatly forearmed in your next match... you just may be the one who slaps me back on my next nil bid.
Either way, you are well on your way to becoming a very formidable opponent. Have fun and good luck!
Correction
Posted on 4 May at 3:44PM by DoubleU
"NOTE: If the nil player succeeds in getting his 100 pt. nil bid, he WILL win the game."
That's only true in the Fast variety, for players with a non-negative score (or for the Short variety, for players with a score of not less than -50). In the regular variety, it helps to succeed at nil, but it only gets you halfway there. The player only wins if he had at least 100 points - AND if he/she was ahead.
That's only true in the Fast variety, for players with a non-negative score (or for the Short variety, for players with a score of not less than -50). In the regular variety, it helps to succeed at nil, but it only gets you halfway there. The player only wins if he had at least 100 points - AND if he/she was ahead.
clarification
Posted on 6 Jun at 12:57PM by Spades Master
good catch, doubleu. yes, if a player is already significantly behind in the score (at -50 for example), a successful nil will only get him back in the game. i was speaking in general, not for this specific variable. i should have wrote: the successful nil player will ULTIMATELY win.
in a standard card game of spades, the goal is usually 500 points, and the nil is worth 100 points.
here at goldtoken the goal is less than half that, at 200 points. but the nil is STILL worth 100 points, just as it is in a standard game. here, if a player successfully gets a nil, the vast majority of victories will be for the nil player simply because the other players don't have time to catch up to the low 200 point threshold. but I digress.
in a standard card game of spades, the goal is usually 500 points, and the nil is worth 100 points.
here at goldtoken the goal is less than half that, at 200 points. but the nil is STILL worth 100 points, just as it is in a standard game. here, if a player successfully gets a nil, the vast majority of victories will be for the nil player simply because the other players don't have time to catch up to the low 200 point threshold. but I digress.