Each game is made up of several hands during which teams will either add or subtract points. Hand - The process of dealing, bidding and playing all cards until 13 books are won.Following Suit - Playing a card from the same suit as the first card played.Cutting also occurs when one partner beats their partners winning card. Cut or Cutting - When the lead (non-spade) suit being played gets beat by a Spade from a player who does not have any cards from the lead suit remaining.This is considered cheating and highly frowned upon. Cross-boarding - Any form of verbal and/or non-verbal communication during a hand which directly or indirectly reveals the contents of a players hand or game strategy.Spades cannot be used as the lead suit in any hand until this occurs. Breaking Spades - Playing the first Spade of a hand as a cut card.Most Spades games determine this an automatic win. Boston - The act of embarrassing your opponent by winning all 13 books in a hand.Board - The minimum amount of books any team can bid each hand.Books should be kept face down on the table in the order they were won. The player who plays the highest ranking card wins the book. Book - The sum of all four cards played by each player during a hand.Most games dictate a team must be down a minimum of 100 points to blind bid and also incorporate a minimum blind bid, typically starting at 6. If not successful the team is considered to be set and loses points. The point total is typically doubled for a successful blind bid. Blind Bid - The act of bidding the hand before each team member has seen their cards.The bid equals the total number of books the team must win, or risk being set. The bid is the sum of each team members single bid which are combined to determine the total team bid. Bid - The number of books each player will predict to win during a hand, announced by each player before the hand begins.