5 Great Card Games Like Spades – Fun Alternatives and Real Money Options

Spades is one of the most popular trick-taking card games but it is fun to play. The game was invented in the late 1930s and became popular during World War II. Soldiers would play the game, and it eventually made its way into US households shortly after.

There’s a good chance you’ve already played Spades before. If you didn’t know, there are a lot of card games like Spades that you might enjoy as well.

Unfortunately, Spades is not a game you can find when you play at a live dealer online casino. I’ll still provide you with some real money games like Spades you can play online, but they won’t be the closest thing to it.

For the games that are the closest thing to Spades, well, you’ll have to keep reading.

If you’re looking for the best casino games like Spades, you’ll find that one of them is Euchre.

Like Spades, Euchre is a trick-taking game played by four players. In fact, Euchre is even older than Spades, dating all the way back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

The game made its way into the US, and it’s theorized that German settlers were the ones that pushed it along. Nowadays, it’s commonly played throughout the Midwest.

The objective of Euchre is to be the first team to reach a certain number of points, which is usually 5, 7, or 10. It’s similar to Spades in that way, but in that game, you are usually going to 500 points.

As you might know, the Spade is the trump suit always. However, the trump suit is decided by the top of the remaining cards after they’ve been dealt in Euchre.

The card ranking can be a bit more confusing than in Spades because it doesn’t follow the standard layout.

In order to win in Euchre, you must reach the total amount of tricks you bid on beforehand.

Looking for casino card games like spades you can play for real money? Unfortunately, not many exist. If you want some skin in the game, consider signing up at a reputable online casino to find some games you might like.

Continuing with the more accurate card games like Spades, we have a game called Contract Bridge.

As you probably guessed, Contract Bridge is played with four players with partners sitting on opposite ends of the table.

Spades is played with either 52 or 54 cards, but Contract Bridge is played with just the standard 52. Instead of the Spade suit being the highest rank, Ace is the highest in Contract Bridge. Both games are also played clockwise.

In Contract Bridge, the two players are competing to win contracts, which are leveled one through seven. You bid to determine the contract, and the group that wins the bidding tries to get their contract while the other pair is aiming for tricks.

Spades is a bit simpler when it comes to bidding, which makes Contract Bridge similar to Euchre in that way.

Both Contract Bridge and Spades use the standard ranking of cards, but the trump suit in Contract Bridge is determined by the contract.

Contract Bridge is a bit more advanced than Spades, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on what you are looking for.

Yet another one of the top card games like Spades is Whist. If you were having a hard time with the rules of Euchre and Contract Bridge, you’ll be happy to know that Whist is a bit easier to understand.

Like Contract Bridge, Whist uses a standard 52-card deck. You also sit across from your partner and play against another pair.

The confusing parts of the other games are typically about the bidding aspects or the trump suits. In Whist, there is no bidding, and the trump suit stays the same. Spades has a similar layout, but again, the trump suit is always a spade.

Whist follows the standard ranking, with Ace being the highest rank. You earn points in Whist by winning tricks. The winner is decided by whoever’s tricks rank higher.

Spades is easier to understand than Euchre and Contract Bridge, but Whist is easier than all three. If you’d rather play a game that’s easy to learn, consider playing Whist instead of Spades.

Next, we have Pinochle, which you might prefer if you have more than four people who want to play.

You can play with up to 8 players with certain variations of Pinochle, making for a fun game night at your next large gathering.

Don’t have a large group, but still want to play some card games like Spades? There are more variations of Pinochle that allow just two players to play.

You still need two decks to play since the 2 through 8 cards are removed, and you use two sets of the rest. The ranking of the cards is standard, except the Ace is high.

Your main objective in Pinochle is to earn points by combining certain cards. As you can probably guess, each combination has a specific value.

Unlike Whist, Pinochle does have a bidding system. The goal is to estimate how many tricks and melds your pair earns. Whoever has the highest bid will also determine the trump suit for that hand.

Pinochle takes a little longer to understand than Spades, but it can be incredibly fun once you get the rules down.

Rounding out the last of casino games like Spades is Hearts. Now, you’re probably guessing that the rules are the same, except the trump card is different. It’s a good guess; I’ll give you that. However, it’s entirely wrong.

Surprisingly enough, the rules between Hearts and Spades are different. Well, they still have a lot of similarities, but it’s not as many as you might’ve thought.

Both games are trick-taking games, as the rest of the ones on this list are. That said, Hearts is different in the way that you want to avoid certain cards rather than hope to draw them.

You want to avoid the hearts and the Queen of Spades because they have high values. The rules are similar to golf in Hearts because the lower score wins. Hearts are worth one point, while the Queen of Spades is worth a whopping 13.

Any groups of three out there? You’ll be happy to know that between three and six players can play Hearts, but four is the ideal number. This is because there are no partnerships in Hearts.

There’s a strong argument for Hearts being easier to pick up than Spades. It’s also a bit more flexible because you can play with three to six players.

If you are looking for real money Spades alternatives to play right now, any of these three will do. They are as close to Spades as the other games on my list, but they are some of the most popular card games for a reason.

Blackjack and baccarat are probably the closest two out of the three to Spades, but poker shares certain elements as well.

Spades is a great game to play, but unfortunately, it’s not a game that you can play for real money online. That’s where these casino card games have the advantage.

You won’t have much trouble finding real money versions of them online, and I even provided some top-notch sites where you can play them.

These casinos are all safe and easy to sign up at. They also have a wide variety of games to play and generous welcome bonuses to help get you started.

If you want to play real money games like Spades online, it’s important to use a safe online casino, so make sure you do that.

If you enjoy the liveliness of these games, I recommend playing at a live dealer casino for real money. Check out my ranking of the best live dealer games at Ignition Casino for some good recommendations.

Footnotes:

• History of Euchre is courtesy of Euchre Fun.