Solitaire Strategy

Turn 3 Soitaire is an interesting version of Klondike Solitaire, in that it opens up new ways to solve the puzzle.

Strategies for 1-card draw, or Turn 1 Soitaire still generally apply, except that the cards in the hand are not all available; as you know, you can only play the third card you count out each time. So to the extent that you can, you need to control what cards become available and when.

If you go through the hand without moving any cards to either the columns or Ace piles, then the next time through, all the same cards, and only the same cards, will be available, because you’re just going to count out the same sets of three cards.

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary, Microsoft Solitaire remains the most played video game of ALL TIME! Inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame in 2019, millions of players choose Microsoft Solitaire Collection because it offers the BEST Solitaire card games in one app – Klondike Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, FreeCell Solitaire, TriPeaks Solitaire and Pyramid Solitaire! Solitaire Strategy Guide Playing solitaire can prove to be very rewarding. You get to spend the time in a pleasant way, you can keep your mind sharp and at the same time it’s also very entertaining, while it never gets boring. Learning how to play the game is very simple and it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to learn the rules.

For example, in 1-card draw, we deliberately refrain from playing certain cards in the hand. Maybe we’re holding back the 5♣ in our hand, in hopes of uncovering the 5♠ in a column. Either black 5 could be put on a red 6 in one of the columns, but moving that 5♠ allows access to the card(s) under it in its column. But in 3-card draw, if you go ahead and take the 5♣ in your hand, and put it on that red 6, then, after that pass through the hand, you'll be counting out different sets of three cards, and maybe that’s more important than waiting for the 5♠ to show up in one of the columns. There's more detail below.

We have to reconsider our strategy in 1-Card Draw of never moving a 2 from the hand to the bottom of a column. If you move a 2 from the hand to the bottom of a column, there are no lower cards to move onto it from another column (so putting that 2 down doesn’t help expose any cards, whether you’re playing 1- or 3-card draw). Also, the 2 covers at least the 3 that it's on, until the Ace shows up for that 2. So normally, it's not a good idea to move a 2 from the hand to a column.

Pyramid Solitaire Strategy

But when you’re playing 3-card draw, taking a 2 from the hand may be the only way to change the sequence of cards that will be drawn afterwards, as discussed above (and in painstaking detail below).

When you deal out three cards, it's not a good idea to play all three of those at once. If you play just one or two, then in the next pass through the hand, you will have different cards available for play. But if you play all three that are dealt out at one time, then you haven’t changed which cards get counted out afterwards. It's better to go ahead and play just one or two, rather than all three, so that in the following passes through the hand, you have different cards available to you.

Not only is it a bad idea to play all three cards that get dealt out at one time, but it can also be a bad idea to play a total of three cards in one pass through your hand - or six cards, or any other multiple of three.

Consider the 24 cards left after the seven columns are laid out. They become the hand, to be dealt out in eight instances of three cards. We'll number each card: card number 1 through card number 24. ALSO, those numbers remain with each card in the hand until the end of the game. So at some point you may have twelve cards in your hand, but they still have the original numbers that were assigned to them, anywhere from 1 through 24.

Before the first pass through the hand, the card numbers that we know may actually be played will be cards 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 - and more, but only if any of these are played.

Let's walk through this, and for an example, look specifically at the third and fourth instances of dealing out three cards. That's six cards, and they're identified, distinct from all the other cards in the hand, and for the duration of the game. These two instances of three cards are card numbers 7 through 12. Before them are cards 1 through 6, and after them are cards 13 through 24.

Okay, with that background, suppose that in your first pass through the hand, you move only card numbers 9, 8, and 12 to the columns or Ace piles.

This means:

When you deal out the third set of three cards - card numbers 7 through 9 - you were able to play the top one, number 9, and then the one below it, card number 8.
When you deal out the fourth set of three cards - card numbers 10 through 12 - you were able to play only the top card, card number 12.

Then through the rest of that first pass, you don't take any more cards from the hand.

So, in the second pass through the hand, in the first two instances of dealing out three cards, you'll still deal out the same cards, numbers 1 through 6 (and the playable cards are card numbers 3 and 6).

Then the next three cards will be the original card numbers 7, 10, and 11, and you're free to play number 11, if there's a place to put it. (Of course, this is because cards 9, 8, and 12 were played earlier.)

NOW - here's the key to this entire exercise: afterwards, you will see the same original, and playable, card numbers 15, 18, 21, and 24. And you may find that you still can't play any of them, which means of course that you still can't get to any of the cards below them.

Here's the fix: if, in that first pass, you had played only the original card numbers 9 and 12, or perhaps only card number 9 or 12, then during the second pass, nearly every card you see will be different. Instead of number 15 you'll see number 14; instead of 18 you'll see 17; and so on.

Now this is likely what they call counting the cards, but it is what you need to do in this game: avoid playing three cards in a single pass, or six, or any other multiple of three.

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Okay, before we're sued for false advertising let's admit upfront that Klondike is a game where even the best strategy isn'tgoing to help much. Wins are rare no matter what you do; and evenwith casino scoring, you're going to lose money. But you can improveyour scores, and since Klondike is easily the most popular solitaire(in the United States, if not the world) we think it's worthyof study.

In this article we'll primarily be studying the 'casino'version of Klondike, the toughest variety there is. That's thegame you can expect to lose, both on average and on almost everygame. But the techniques are applicable to other variations, andwe'll add a few tips for the easier varieties before we're done.The 'familiar' variant included in Solitaire Till Dawnis tough enough that you'll still lose most games; but you canwin many more than the 'strict' variant, and with casinoscoring you can actually show a profit.

Before you start

You'll need a copy of the sample game; click hereto download it. You'll also need SolitaireTill Dawn to play the sample game; click hereto download it. Make sure you have version 2.1 or later becauseearlier versions don't have a move counter. The latest releaseis version 3.0. The upgrade is free to registered owners of anyearlier version.

If you don't know how to play Klondike, see the Rulesfor Klondike before going any further. If you don't know howto use the Undo and Redo commands to watch a sample game beingplayed, see Using the Sample Games.If you see a word that's unfamiliar to you, you can probably clickit to see its definition. Now you're ready to start!

The Strategy

We begin at the very start of the sample game, with the initiallayout complete and no cardsmoved yet. We're in luck: the A is availableand could be moved to the foundationsimmediately. There's never any reason to delay playing up an Ace(although we'll see that there may be reasons to delay playingother cards), but we have a habit: we always dealonce before moving any cards. That first deal shows us one morecard, and gives us a little more information to work from. Sometimesit can make a difference.

Tip 1: Deal once, immediately

The first card dealt is a 3. We could play itonto the 4, but we're in no hurry. There's a faint chancewe'll find and prefer the 3, and to preserve thatfaint hope we'll play the Ace first. That's a risk-free move,and we may find something to our advantage under the Ace.

What we find is a 4, and while it is playable we nolonger see any reason to procrastinate on the 3. A seriesof obvious moves follows, until move 7.

Tip 2: Play higher cards first

At move 7 we have a King that could be moved to an empty space,and we have two opportunities to create an empty space. Whichshall we choose? Although the difference is subtle this time,we choose to move the 5-4 rather than the 3 because the 5 is ahigher-ranking card than the3. Doing so helps preserve our ability to organize the buildsof low-ranking cards.

Tip 3: Don't mix suits(if you have a choice)

What do we mean by 'organizing the builds of low-rankingcards'? We mean that it's best if you have builds of onlySpades and Hearts, and other builds of only Clubs and Diamonds-- or the other way around: Spades with Diamonds, and Clubs withHearts. We think of it as 'braiding' the suits. Supposeyou have two builds that go from the 5 and 5down to the 2's, and that contain only Spades and Hearts. Thenwhen you get the A and A, you canbuild on them all the way up to the 5's. But if one build containsa 3 instead of a 3, you could get stuckat that 3.

How easy is it to braid your builds? Very difficult, becauseusually you don't get much choice. It's much more important tomove cards, any cards, than to obsess about keeping the suitsstraight. If you have only one black 3, and only one red 4 toplay it on, you should probably just play it without worryingabout the suits. But sometimes you get a choice, and then youshould be more careful.

How important is it to braid your builds? Not very, becauseeven if you do manage it, often it won't matter. But once in awhile, you'll find that it can save a game to be able to run sucha braid of suits up to the foundations in order to reach the cardshidden beneath them.

So, to recap: at move 7 we chose to play the 5-4 instead ofthe 3. We did this in order to delay the 'braiding'of the lower-ranked 3 until later, when we might have some choiceabout the suit we play it onto. All in all, it's a mighty slimhope, but if you want to improve your score at Klondike you haveto seek every tiny advantage -- and then play a lot of games,so that these tiny advantages have time to add up and become noticeable.

And after all that careful thought and explanation, a moveor two later another King appears, and we wind up moving the 3onto that 4 anyway. Oh, well!

Tip 4: Preserve your options

Another way to say this is 'Don't move a card until youcan gain something from it.' At move 12, the newly-revealed8 could be moved onto the 9. But wewon't do it yet. It doesn't gain us anything right now: the movewould create an empty space which is useful only if we have aKing to put in it, and we don't have a King. And delaying themove preserves an option: we may find the other black 8 in a while,and if the 9 is still free, we can choose to move either 8 ontoit.

Like our previous choices, later events may make our choicesworthless. The other black 8 may never appear; or perhaps theother red 9 will show up so that there's no shortage of destinationsfor black 8's. But sometimes, sometimes, leaving a choice openwill benefit you later on. It's worth doing.

Still if a homeless King comes along, we'll move that 8 likea shot. Placing a King in an empty pileis a pretty valuable thing to do, usually much more importantthan a little flexibility in placing 8's.

Tip 5: Reduce disorder and expose cards

At move 21, we have another interesting choice. There is anavailable red 7, and two black 6's that could be moved onto it.One is on the discard pile,one in the tableau. Whichshould we move?

This is a toughie. Every card left on the discard pile blocks the cards beneath it,and the pile can get quite full. (Remember, we're playing 'casino'or 'strict' Klondike, where we're not allowed to pickup the discard pile and redeal from it.) In this as in any solitaire,the more cards you have exposed, available, and ordered, the betteroff you are. A large discard pile means a lot of cards that areblocked and disordered, so playing from the discard pile is good.On the other hand, the 6 in the tableau is covering sixface-down cards. These cards are not only blocked and disordered,they are hidden: we don't even know what they are.

On the whole, we prefer to play from the tableau unless weknow there are important cards down in the discard pile. In thiscase, we remember (because we were paying attention!) that thereare only two cards under the 6 in the discard pile, and they arenot currently very important ones. So here we decide to play fromthe tableaus.

After that move, we again have no interesting choices untilmove 36, when we could play the black Queen onto the red King.We decide to procrastinate -- perhaps the other black Queen willappear later and prove more tempting.

Tip 6: Don't be greedy

At move 44, we have just played the 2 onto theAce, and we could follow it with the 3 -- butwe don't. This may seem surprising: under casino rules, everycard played to the foundations is worth $5. Why turn down easymoney?

But we might need that 3 later! The A and 2have not yet appeared. If the 2 appears in the discard pile beforewe find the Ace, the 2 could get buried. By keeping a black 3available, we have a storage space for the 2 that couldsave the entire game.

In general, you should never play any card to the foundationsunless you are guaranteed that you won't need it as a holdingplace for a lower-ranked card. The easiest way to remember thisis by a simple rule: don't play any 3's to the foundations untilall the Aces have been played. Don't play any 4's until all the2's have been played. Don't play any 5's until you have all the3's, and so on. That simple rule is too strict, and can be brokensafely in a number of different cases; but if you want an easy-to-remember,no-thought rule, that's a good one.

At move 49 the missing 2 does appear -- butwe don't move it onto the 3 that we have carefullysaved for it. There's nothing under the 2 and we have no homelessKings, so there's nothing to gain right now from moving the 2:that's Tip 4, preserve your options. We preserve the option ofplaying the 3 up to the foundations, to make money and to exposewhat's beneath it. Yet we won't play the 3 yet, becausea homeless King could still appear and then we'd want to movethe 2. That's Tip 4 again.

At move 51, we get a break: the 3 is dealt. Now we cango ahead and play up the 3, and replace it with the 3.All our options are still open, we've made a little money, andwe've found a temporary home for the 3 while wewait for the A to show up: a very useful move.

Tip 7: Strike while the iron is hot

At move 55, we deal the 4, and immediatelyplay it to the foundations. That seems to flout Tip 5 (don't begreedy). If we saved the 4 in the tableau, it might serveas a holding place for the missing 3. But of course wecan't save the 4 in the tableau, because we don'thave any red 5's to put it on. In this case, it's better to takethe money and run, because otherwise the 4 might simply get buriedin the discard pile.

At move 65, we have just played the A and 2to the foundations, and we have an opportunity to play the 3as well. This time we take it, even though the 2 still hasno other home. The reason is that we have only one homeless Kingleft (somewhere -- we haven't found it yet), and we also havean empty space to put it in when it shows up. We therefore willnever need to move the 2 to make room for a King, so wewill never need a 3 to move it onto. We can play up the 3safely.

The 4 goes up immediately afterward; since all black3's have already gone to the foundations, there is no reason forany red 4 to linger. But the 5 stays behind, incase the 4 shows up.

Tip 8: Late in the game, count cards

At this point (move 67), we have three cards left unseen andface-down in the tableau, and two left undealt in the hand.This is a pretty even distribution, and doesn't help us much.But in some games you'll find that you have two in the hand andsix in the tableau, or the other way around. From this you canmake some shrewd bets: that last Ace I need is probably in thediscard, or probably in the tableau. And with that informationyou can start bending the usual rules. Perhaps you shouldn't normallyplay that 3 up to the foundations, but that last Ace is probablyunder it, so you'd better go ahead.

This sample game doesn't illustrate the point, so we've hadto get a bit hypothetical. Sorry about that, but Klondike is hardenough to win without waiting for a game that will perfectly illustrateevery tip!

Tip 9: Very late in the game, go for the gold

And here's another tip that's unnecessary in the sample game:when there are only a couple of cards left in the hand, it's usuallybetter to play cards to the foundations than to continue to makenice builds. With only a couple of cards left to play, the chancesof getting a nice build that will enable further play may be veryslim. Time to grab every $5 bill you can reach.

But in our sample game, there's no need for tips 8 and 9. Atmove 68 we deal the A, and from there on out we haveno troubles at all. At move 82 the last card is revealed (we mighthave done it sooner, actually) and we have a guaranteed win.

Solitaire Tips To Win

Summary

We've seen nine tips for success at Klondike. Here they areagain:

Deal once, immediately -- Every revealed cardis a strength, giving you more information on which to base yourchoices. It never hurts and sometimes helps for your first moveto be to deal.

Play higher cards first -- It's more importantto organize your lower-ranked cards than your higher-ranked ones,because the lower ones block the higher ones. Playing the highercards first may give you more options for organizing the lowercards later on.

Don't mix suits -- It's best to 'braid'your builds in paired suits, because then you can send entirebuilds to the foundations together if you have to. But give thistip a low priority, and follow it only when you actually havea choice of suits.

Preserve your options -- Don't make a playunless there's an immediate benefit to doing so. Later on youmight find that you'd prefer a different play.

Reduce disorder and expose cards -- Good advicein all solitaires. Expose and make available as many cards asyou can, and minimize the number of cards that aren't in neat,orderly builds.

Don't be greedy -- Don't play a card to thefoundations if it still has a potential use in the tableaus.

Strike while the iron is hot -- But if a cardappears in the discard that can be played to the foundations,and can't be played to the tableaus, go ahead and playit up.

Late in the game, count cards -- Countingcards can sometimes give you a strong hint on where to find themissing cards you need. Late in a game where this is true, ignorethe other tips and do what you need to do to expose those cards.

Very late in the game, go for the gold --When you're sure you have only another card or two to play, givein to your greed. You probably won't get much more useful buildingdone, and so you'll be better off just playing up every card youcan. This tip is useful for improving your score in a game youexpect to lose.

Tips for easier varieties of Klondike

We've been studying strict or 'casino' Klondike,where you deal one card at a time and are allowed no redeals;and where a red 3 on a black 4 can't be picked up and moved ontothe other black 4. Many people prefer an easier-going variation,in which such cards can be moved, or in which the deal is threecards at a time, and the discard can be picked up and turned backinto the hand whenever the hand is emptied. The strategy is differentfor such variants. Here are some useful tips for them:

Don't worry about braiding if your rules allowyou to move that red 3 back and forth between the two black 4's.Instead, look vigorously for chances to do exactly that. You maybe able to play the 4 to the foundations even thoughyou can't yet play the 4.

Prefer tableau plays to discard plays -- Ifyou have a choice between playing a card from the tableau or onefrom the discard, you're probably better off choosing the tableau.Remember, you'll get many more chances to play discarded cardsbecause you can pick up the discard pile and deal from it overand over.

Vegas Solitaire Strategy

Don't play three in a row from the discard pile-- It's important to see different cards every time you deal outthe hand. If you deal a packet of three cards and play only oneof those cards, then the next time you deal past that point you'llsee different cards. But if you play all three, the next timethrough the only difference you'll see is that one packet of threecards is missing; all the other exposed cards will be the same.That can easily leave you stuck. It's usually better to skip playinga card, even a valuable one, rather than play three in a row.

Play first from the end of the hand -- Eachtime you pick up the discard pile to begin dealing anew, dealonce all the way through the hand without playing anything. Noticewhich cards can be played, and remember what the last playablecard was. Then pick up the discard pile and deal again; this timeignore all playable cards except the last one that you noticed.That way all the earlier playable cards will still be there onthe next deal, ready to be played. This kind of careful, miserlydealing will get the most out of the cards in the hand.

All right, you've read the tips, studied the sample game, andyou're ready to take on Klondike -- congratulations! But don'tget your hopes too high. We find that by using these techniquesfor strict or 'casino' Klondike we can win about threetimes as many games as we can when we just play every playablecard without thinking about it. But (brace yourself) that meansthat instead of winning about one game in a hundred, we win aboutthree games in a hundred. Instead of losing almost $11 per gameon average, we lose a little more than $6. These tips won't turnyou into a Klondike wizard -- but they'll help.

If you have any new tips for our collection, please writeto us! We'll add your tips to this page and sign your nameto them.