TOURNAMENT
RULES & FORMAT
JJDD (JOKER-JOKER-DEUCE-DEUCE) will be the primary card order rules for most Spades Bowl tournaments. This format makes the high card order rank BIG JOKER, LITTLE JOKER, DEUCE OF DIAMONDS, DEUCE OF SPADES. See below for visual reference.
JOKER - JOKER - DEUCE - DEUCE
Some exhibition tournaments may feature an alternate card order ranking based on a demand and capacity basis. These tournaments will be clearly identified as so if and when executed.
ACE HIGH
JOKER - JOKER - DEUCE
JOKER - JOKER - ACE
ROUND ROBIN FORMAT
Each tournament will follow a round-robin format to determine which teams advance to the finals bracket.
• Teams will be split evenly into 2-4 divisions based on the total number of teams registered.
• All teams will play a total of 4-7 games rotating amongst the teams within their division.
• The teams with the best record after all rounds are completed will advance to the finals bracket.
• Both the semi-finals (if relevant) and finals matches will be single elimination matches.
Tie-breakers (If teams finish with the same record)
1. Wins vs. Tied Opponents - The team who won facing head-up or common opponents
2. Total Points Scored = The team with the highest combined point total from all matches
3. Total Points Differential = Total Points Scored - Total Points Against
8-Team Round Robin Example
TOURNAMENT RULES
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All matches are played to set point total or time limit, whichever occurs first.​
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Round Robin Matches = 300 or 350 points: 30 minutes
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Semi-Finals Matches = 350 points: 35 minutes
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Finals Matches = 500 points: No time limit
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Matches to 300 or 350 Points: 2 sets = Match Loss
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Matches to 500 Points: 3 sets = Match Loss
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Sandbags will be tracked but WILL NOT be counted toward your final score i.e. “bid 5, get 7” is 50 points not 52 points​
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Matches to 300 or 350 Points = 7 sandbag limit
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Matches to 500 Points = 10 sandbag limit.
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Reaching a sandbag limit DOES NOT count as a set.
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Blind bids are allowed but limited based on match point total.​
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Blind bids start at a minimum of (7) books.
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Matches to 300 or 350 Points: (1) Maximum blind bid
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Matches to 500 Points: (2) Maximum blind bids
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First player to deal is decided by who picks the first diamond or highest spade.
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No displaying or turning over cards during the deal and/or cutting process.
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No Spades and/or face cards is not considered a misdeal.
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The first hand DOES NOT bid itself. All hands will be bid on and scoring rules applied accordingly.
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The minimum bid for any team during any hand is “board” or 4 books.
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The dealing team gets the final bid each hand.
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Spades cannot be played until first used as a cut card.
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All books must be stacked separately, in the order won, by one player per team, per round. No mixing the order of books won for any reason.
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Winning a hand during any match with a “BOSTON” (winning all 13 books) is an automatic win.
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A renege challenge during any hand negates (3) books from the team’s final book count who loses the challenge.
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A player cannot be FORCED to renege.
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Bidding 10 books or more and winning your bid wins your team double the points i.e. 10 for 200 etc.
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FIRST 7 - Any team who wins the first 7 consecutive books of any hand receives an extra 100 points for that hand in addition to their points bid on.
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No cross-boarding: spoken words, gestures, coded language, coaching partner at any point while cards are in play.
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No side conversations with and/or assistance from spectators about any match during that match.
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All scoring rules are applied automatically and applied retroactively if necessary.
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No Nil bidding.
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No texting and/or talking on the phone while cards are in play. This includes the wearing of any bluetooth headset device.
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Any team caught cheating will be disqualified.
A more detailed rulebook with subsections will be available on-site if needed for further rule interpretation.
