 "Photo: Jordan Colbert")
Whether the highest card is the Big Joker or two of Spades, a good game of Spades includes competition, partnership, and above all else, absolutely no reneging.
At Howard, the game of Spades is such a serious matter that several students have created a Spades Society, which is an organization composed of Spades lovers who practice their skills by friendly competition with others in the club.
The $75 cash prizewinner of the last tournament that took place on Labor Day was Elliot Moore, a sophomore actuarial science major. The next tournament will take place on October 11. It is $5 per team and the cash prize will be $150.
But tournaments are not the only thing that the Spades Society does. According to member Trevor Farrell, Jr. a junior chemistry major, the Spades Society "will teach people how to play, strategize and how to cheat."
So what is it about this game that has so many playing? Some have said it is the strategy involved.
"It's very competitive and it makes you think because you have to figure out who has the top cards; it's like a mind game," said senior international business major Chanel Frampton.
Sophomore computer science major Julius Jenkins agreed. He said he enjoys the bluffing that goes along with a typical Spades game.
"My strategy is being able to psyche out my opponent," he said.
As with any game, Spades has many rules that must be followed. According to freshman pre-pharmacy major Kimberly Miller, Spades is usually played with two teams consisting of two partners and the whole deck is distributed evenly among the players. In order to win, a team must have the highest number of books. A book is a hand that is played and won by the player who has the highest card, .
For players keeping score, bidding in essential. Teams usually set a winning score and play as many games as possible until one team reaches that number. According to Miller, bidding involves the teammates looking at their hands and estimating the number of books they will win each game. Jenkins said bidding causes him to count both his definite and possible books. "The king is a possible except when you have eight cards of the same suit; but if you have only two cards of a suit than that is a possible [winner]," Jenkins said.
For such a widely popular game, Spades is played at Howard in many different forms. For instance, according to www.pagat.com, the highest card in a deck of 52 cards in the game of Spades is the ace of Spades, followed by the king and so forth.
However, when asked what he considered the highest card, Moore replied "The big joker, little joker, two of spades, and two of diamonds."
Several players said that the many interpretations of the rules allow players much leeway.
