Solitaire Strategy: Tips to Improve Your Win Rate

You’re a few moves away from clearing your Solitaire board, but one wrong move stalls the whole game. Sound familiar? You're not alone; most players rely on luck when winning is often just a matter of strategy.

But with a few smart techniques, you can seriously increase your chances of winning every single time.

In this guide, we’ll explore the best Solitaire strategy: simple, proven tactics employed by seasoned players. Learn them, internalize, and let these solitaire tips change how you play the game.

Solitaire is a classic single-player card game that blends strategy, logic, and cognitive skill. It is also known as Patience in parts of Europe. The goal is simple: build sequences and move all the cards to the foundation piles, organized by suit from Ace to King. Sequences in tableau are arranged in descending order from King down to Ace.

How to Win Solitaire Every Time: Best Solitaire Strategy

• Start with the tableau piles. Start by moving cards in the tableau piles before using the stockpile when the game begins. It opens up space and reveals more hidden cards.
• Use the stockpile when you run out of good moves. The best solitaire strategy is to draw from the stockpile only when there are no moves on the tableau. Sometimes a single new card can open up several moves. Make multiple passes through the stockpile if needed.
• Cycle through the deck more than once if necessary. Turn one card at a time from the stockpile instead of three. It gives you more control and makes it easier to use important cards.
• Count cards in the stockpile if you’re waiting on a specific one. Know how far a card is from being drawn. For example, if you saw a ♠A four cards ago, count the plays needed to cycle it to the top again.
• Play aces and twos to the foundation piles immediately. These cards are the starting point for the foundation piles. ♣A and ♣2 are not very useful in the tableau.
• Prioritize revealing facedown cards. When choosing between possible moves, go for the one that uncovers a facedown card, especially in columns with many hidden cards. The more face-up cards exist, the more clarity they bring.
• Build foundation piles evenly. Don’t rush to stack up one suit too fast. It is one of the most overlooked Solitaire tips. If you move too many cards of one color to the foundation piles, it could block your moves on the tableau.
• Move cards only when it helps your progress. Avoid random moves. One of the smartest solitaire tips is to make every move count—to reveal, clear, or build progress. But it’s also okay to shift part of a column to another column with fewer cards.
• Only make an empty column when you have a King ready. In Klondike Solitaire, only Kings can be moved into empty tableau spaces. Don’t clear a column unless you have a King to begin building it.
• Pay attention to color when stacking cards. Since stacks alternate by color, keep track of whether red or black cards are blocking key moves. More when choosing which King or Queen to play.
• Try to line up matching suits when you can. While alternating colors is required, arrange columns with matching suits (like a 7♥ over a 6♥) to easily move full sequences to the foundation piles.
• Use the undo button wisely. When you play solitaire online, don’t be afraid to undo a move. It can help you catch mistakes or try different paths without restarting the entire game. For example, if you moved ♠6 to ♥7 and realized later it blocked a more useful play, undo and try a better option.
• If you’re playing timed Solitaire, move quickly. Fast moves can earn bonus points when playing online. You can outscore opponents even if they build more foundations.

Winning Rate of Solitaire

Before learning the best solitaire strategy, players must know that not every solitaire game is winnable. Statistically, the average win rate for Classic Solitaire is 12.09%, meaning that only about one in eight games results in a win. It’s a low percentage, but that’s part of the appeal. Each victory feels earned.

Want to win two games back-to-back? That’s where things get trickier. The chances drop steeply to 0.146%, or roughly one successful streak in every 685 attempts.

And if you’re chasing five wins in a row? Brace yourself! Your odds shrink to just 0.0002583%, which means you'd need to play approximately 39,000 games to make it happen once.

In short, winning Solitaire is possible. But winning consistently is a true test of strategy and patience.

Klondike Solitaire Tips

• Flip the first card from the stockpile before doing anything else. It can open up more immediate moves and guide your decisions better.
• Always move an Ace or Two to the foundation piles when available.
• Prioritize moves for revealing facedown cards, especially from columns with the most face-down cards. The more facedown cards are revealed, the better
• Move cards purposefully. Each move should either expose cards or create new move possibilities.
• Don’t clear a tableau column unless you have a King ready to fill it. Empty spaces can’t be used for anything else, so keep them for real opportunities.
• Think a few steps ahead when choosing between a red King and a black King to fill a space. Choose based on the colors of the cards that are blocking progress.

FreeCell Solitaire Tips

• Try to clear an entire column when possible. An empty column gives you more room to move cards and start new sequences.
• Plan ahead instead of making random moves. Think multiple moves ahead to avoid blocking useful cards.
• Start by spotting the aces, twos, and threes. These are the first cards required to build your foundation piles.
• Only use free cells when you have no other move. They should be kept open when possible to move more cards at once.
• Be careful not to move cards to the foundation piles too early. You may need them in the tableau to continue your game.
• Freeing up an ace early is great, but don’t rush it if it means limiting your other moves. Sometimes it’s better to wait a few turns.
• Use the undo button if you get stuck. You can try different move paths and fix any mistakes.

Spider Solitaire Strategy

• Clear tableau columns whenever possible so you can move sequences or individual cards more freely.
• Always try to reveal face-down cards first. They increase the number of face-up cards, allowing you to make better decisions.
• When placing a card in an empty column, choose high-ranking ones, such as Kings, to allow for building longer sequences.
• Avoid putting low cards like 3s in empty spaces—they limit the number of cards you can play afterward.
• Use the undo button if you get stuck.