Most people approach Klondike Solitaire the same way every game -- move whatever card seems available and hope for the best. That approach produces a win rate of around 20%. With the right strategy, you can push that number well above 40%. These seven techniques separate players who occasionally win from players who consistently win.
Klondike Solitaire has a theoretical maximum win rate of around 80% with perfect information and perfect play. In practice, even experienced players rarely exceed 30 to 40% because the game punishes impulsive decisions that seem reasonable in the moment. Every move either opens possibilities or closes them -- often both at once -- and the consequences don't become visible until several turns later.
The good news is that most losing games are lost by the same handful of mistakes. Eliminate those mistakes and your results change immediately. Here are the seven strategies that will have the biggest impact on your game.
This sounds obvious but many players hesitate, thinking an Ace might be useful in the tableau. It never is. Aces and Twos belong on the foundation -- full stop. Every time you leave one sitting in the tableau you are blocking a card slot for no reason. The moment you see an Ace or a Two that can go to the foundation, send it there.
Your hidden cards are your biggest obstacle. Every face-down card in the tableau is a mystery that could be the card you need most -- or the one that unlocks a whole sequence. When you have a choice between moving a face-up sequence and flipping a face-down card, flip the face-down card first. Information is your most valuable resource in Solitaire, and every revealed card gives you more of it.
Look at your seven tableau columns and identify which ones have the most face-down cards buried underneath. Those columns should be your priority targets. A column with five face-down cards is worth far more effort to unlock than a column with one. Every face-down card you reveal adds a new card to your available options -- and options are what win games.
In Klondike Solitaire, the leftmost column (column 1) has only one card, all face-up. The rightmost column (column 7) has six face-down cards under one face-up card. Column 7 is almost always your most valuable unlocking target early in the game.
An empty tableau column feels like a victory. It is actually a liability if you don't have a King to place in it immediately. Only Kings can occupy an empty column -- so an empty column without a King available is just wasted space that blocks your ability to make other moves. Before clearing a column, make sure you have a King in hand or in the waste pile that can fill it right away.
Many players hit the stock pile the moment they can't see an obvious tableau move. This is backwards. Before drawing, scan the entire tableau carefully -- often there are valid moves you haven't spotted. The stock pile is a resource to be managed, not a panic button. When you do draw, remember what you've seen. Cards that don't fit now might be exactly what you need three moves later.
It feels satisfying to race one suit to the top of the foundation as fast as possible. In practice this causes problems. If your spades are at 9 while your hearts are at 3, you're forced to keep cards in the tableau that could have gone to the foundation -- because they don't have the right card waiting for them. Aim to keep your four foundation piles within two or three ranks of each other throughout the game.
Before making any move, ask yourself: what does this move make possible, and what does it make impossible? A card moved from column 3 to column 5 might reveal a face-down card in column 3 -- but it also blocks column 5 from accepting a different card you're planning to place there. The players who win consistently are the ones who think two moves ahead, not just one.
Even with perfect strategy, some Solitaire deals cannot be won. Roughly 20% of Klondike deals have no solution regardless of how well you play. When you've cycled through the stock pile and exhausted every tableau move without progress, the game is most likely lost. The best response is to start fresh rather than forcing moves that don't exist.
The daily deal on SolitaireFix gives every player the same hand -- so if you're struggling, so is everyone else. Come back tomorrow for a new challenge and a fresh opportunity to apply these strategies.
The biggest improvement most players can make has nothing to do with a specific technique. It is this: stop playing Solitaire to pass the time and start playing it to win. The moment you slow down, look at the whole board before each move, and ask yourself what the best move actually is rather than just what the most obvious move is, your win rate will climb significantly.
Solitaire rewards patience and observation above all else. The cards are the same for everyone -- what separates a 20% win rate from a 40% win rate is almost entirely in how carefully you read the board before acting.
Play today's daily Solitaire deal on SolitaireFix -- free, no sign-up, same hand for every player worldwide.
Play SolitaireFix Now →