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The Looma Suit(e) 16
Spades Tournament Rules

The Looma Suit(e) 16 is for all players interested in playing Spades in a friendly and fun environment.  Good sportsmanship and fair play are always encouraged along with creativity and networking with other Spade enthusiasts.

1.  Tournament Format:  The tournament will take place in 5 different locations over a 4 day period.  The number of teams will be determined according to the number of teams registered.

2.  Team Format:  Teams consist of 2 players.  There are no teams in cutthroat games.  All 4 players will play against each other.  Each team is connected to a card. Once players are assigned to a team, the cards will be shuffled and pulled into brackets. Once the brackets are complete (depending on how many teams registered) the Looma Suite 16 will begin.

3.  Time Limit or Points:  Each game will have a 30 minute limit per match or 300 points (whichever comes first) if neither team has reached 300 points in the time limit, the team ahead at the "stop" time of 30 mins will be declared the winner.

4.  If a hand is in progress at the "stop" time, it will be played out and the results added to the score to determine a winner.  If there is a tie score at the end of 35 min, a one hand overtime will be played.  The team with the highest score after the hand is played will be declared the winner.

5.  Cards:  A LOOMA NATION (N)DECKS are the only decks used in The Looma Suit(e) 16 Spades Tournament. The cards in each suit, except spades and wild cards, will rank from highest to lowest:

Spades: **K, **J, **10, **9, **6, **5, A, Q, 8, 7, 4, 3, 2

Clubs: *10, *K, **J, A, Q, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2

Hearts: *9, *4, A, K, Q, J, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2

Diamonds: *9, *6, A, K, Q, J, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2

**KGB Face Cards
*Wild Cards

Wild Cards Rank (High to Low):
10 Clubs (Highest)
K Clubs
9 Hearts
4 Hearts
9 Diamonds
6 Diamonds (Lowest)

KGB Face Cards Rank (High to Low):
K of Spades (highest)
J of Spades
J of Clubs
10 of Spades
9 of Spades
6 of Spades
5 of Spades (lowest)

*Click here to familiarize yourself with the cards*

6.  Trump suit (SPADES) ranks

7.  A Spade can be played at any time

8.  The dealer will deal all cards - 13 to each player.  Each dealer afterwards will be determined in clockwise order.

9.  No bidding in cutthroat.  No blind bidding.

10.  Bidding:  Each team has up to 2 minutes to bid per hand.  Once your bid is written, you are not allowed to change it.  Both partners must agree on bid prior to it being written down.  If you do not bid your hand within the alloted time, a minimum bid of 4 books could be allocated by the game officiate when alerted.

11.  Dealer must offer the player to their right, the opportunity to cut the cards after they are shuffled.

12.  The minimum bid allowed per partnership is 4.

13.  No table talk.

14.  No taking pics of the cards during the game.

15.  Playing out of turn/prematurely exposing a card will only be considered a violation if the exposed card is one of the following: face cards and wild cards.
At any time during the game, any player may ask, "What card lead."

16.  If a card is exposed during the deal, it is considered a misdeal.

17.  If a player does not have any wild cards of any suit and no spades, the hand is considered a misdeal.

18.  No throwing hand in.  Every hand must be played out.  If a player throws in their hand prematurely, that team will lose 100 points.

19.  Renege:  Reneging - 3 made books which will be passed to the opposing team.  If the reneging team does not have 3 books by the end of the game, books from the next game will be taken..

20. A card laid is a card played, and cannot be picked up unless you put the wrong suit down before the next card is played over it.  You cannot force a renege.

21.  Once a book has been won and is raked up by the winning team, that book is officially closed.  No player is allowed to reopen or turn a book over for inspection once the book is closed.  That includes the winning team.  It is the responsibility of the players to pay attention to what has been played.

22.  Match winners are responsible for turning in the score sheet.  Once the score sheet has been signed by both team captains and turned in, those scores are final.

23.  Any protest or rule clarification must be decided by the designated judge before the next book is played.

In the event of a team's score reaching 150 or below, the team automatically loses by mercy rule, except for the championship game.

25.  No switching partners

26.  Scoring:  1 book = 10 pts.

27.  Standings:  Games won, Total points scored.