Spot cards are the smaller players of the card deck.

While most players sit down and count up their high card points first, the spot cards are the cards that theoretically rank the lowest in value – but this doesn’t mean they’re limiting or any less useful to your game.

Used right, spot cards can win tricks just as much as any of the Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks in the hand.

For introducing newer players to the game, spot cards are much like pawns and can gain much of the same power in a different game.

Here are 5 things you can do with spot cards when you find them.

1. Discard Them

Every game that’s ever been played has sure tricks and not-so-sure tricks.

When spot cards are read in context, sometimes it’s pretty obvious that cards aren’t going to be trick-winners. This is a good reason to consider some spot cards as ones that you can discard right off the bat.

When you discard a spot card like this, several things might come from it.

• Your partner has a stronger card that fills in the gap and turns it into a winning trick.
• The card gets discarded and becomes a trick for an opponent, but opens the opportunity for another sure trick in your partnership.
• The card is discarded, and might have had a use later in the game if played differently – when everyone else has run out of the trump suit, spot cards can turn into real game savers.

2. Communicate Your Hand

Bidding is bridge’s way of communicating what you have in your hand, but there are other ways to get the message across to your partner. One of these ways is putting down your cards.

The passing of unauthorized information is prohibited, but deducing something from what you see on the table isn’t. Spot cards can be used to communicate elements of your hand to a sharp-eyed bridge partner, and they can be used to set the tone, saying, “Hey, partner, what have you got for this one?”

3. Set the Suit

The trump suit for the game says which suit tops all others, but once everyone has ran out of what you’d call “good cards in the right suit”, it’s time to battle out with what’s left – and when you stop following suit because of this, spot cards are extremely useful for “setting the suit.”

Spot cards can be some of the most powerful cards in your hand at this point. A spot card in the right suit at the right time can mean a winning card that would in another context have been a losing trick for your partnership.

4. Trump Another Suit

Pawns can become royalty if they make it to the other side. In bridge, let’s say that spot cards can occupy the same role: When everyone’s out of cards in the trump suit, it’s the spot cards that have their time to shine – or win tricks. Of course, this doesn’t always work, but it’s pretty damn great when it does.

5. Distract from Later, Better Tricks

When you aren’t winning tricks with them (or outright discarding your spot cards), they can also be used as a worthy distraction. Just like you might at times, opponents might be distracted by honor cards during the game that a keen opportunity for the use of a spot card opens up.