Continue learning: How to play · Rules and scoring · Bidding · Strategy
Quick answer
Yes. If you hold the suit led, you must play that suit. You may discard another suit or play a spade only when you cannot follow suit.
Watch who runs out of a suit
When a player discards a different suit, note the suit they could not follow. Leading your ace in that suit later may give that player a trumping opportunity. Track suit information before trying to remember every individual card.
Protect the contract
In partnership games, an unnecessary overtrump can waste a high spade when your partner already has the winning card. Check who currently wins the trick before committing a trump.
Once a contract is secure, extra tricks may still carry a cost under bag rules. If nil is available, protecting or attacking it changes normal card choices; read the selected scoring rules first.
Practise one decision at a time
For your next hand, focus on following suit and identifying the winner correctly. Then practise counting reliable winners before bidding. Improving these decisions is more useful than adopting a fixed bid for every hand.
Must you follow suit in Spades?
Yes. If you hold the suit led, you must play that suit. You may discard another suit or play a spade only when you cannot follow suit.
How should beginners choose a bid?
Count likely winners, then consider suit length and trumping risk. Aces and high spades are useful starting points, but no fixed bid fits every hand.