The expert players bid 5 with only 4 tricks or underbid a 5 hand?
The expert players use several major Spades bidding and play conventions as serious tournament players do. This include a ‘Big 5’ bidding convention that only the expert players use. The player may in fact only have 4 tricks to bid on, but it is a special bid when bid before their partner to show that they have good Nil protection. THE “BIG FIVE” BID — If you bid before your partner, a five bid will show that you have at least (in Spades) the Ace or King, AND a range of 4-6 tricks. This will allow your partner to consider a Nil if he/she has a safe hand and a potential trump loser such as the King or Queen or Jack. Obviously, the trump suit of partner cannot be of more than three-card length, and preferably low cards accompanying the honor card. This is probably the most useful and confusing convention that we find ourselves explaining frequently. However, it will allow your partner to bid Nil on much more risky hands (even with the KS!), and those extra Nils can easily lead to more w
