How to win at solitaire

Every deal here can be won, but only by someone who plays it well: the solver that checks each deal could see under the face-down cards, and you cannot. These are the habits that turn a lost game of Klondike into a won one, each with the reason behind it. If you are new to the game, read the rules first.

Turn over face-down cards first

Of the 52 cards, 21 start face down in the columns, and the game is won or lost on getting to them. A move that turns a card over gives you a new card to play with; a move that only shuffles face-up cards around gives you nothing.

So before anything else, look for the move that frees a face-down card. When there is more than one, pick the column with the most cards face down: the long columns on the right hold the most hidden cards, and they take the longest to dig out.

Play from the columns before the waste

When the same card could come from a column or from the waste, take it from the column. Playing from a column may turn a card over; playing from the waste never does. The waste card will still be there, and in draw one it comes round again anyway.

The stock is your reserve, not your first move. Look over the whole table before you draw.

Do not rush cards up to the foundations

Putting a card up feels like progress, and aces and twos should always go up at once: nothing can go on them in a column. But a three, four or five may still be needed in a column to hold a card of the other colour.

A card is safe to put up when both foundations of the other colour already have the card below it. With the two of hearts and the two of diamonds up, the three of spades is safe: no red two will ever need a black three to lie on. Without that, think before you send it up. You can take a card back down from a foundation, but it costs a move and is easy to forget.

Empty a column only when a king is waiting

An empty column takes only a king. Emptying one when no king can move in leaves you a space you cannot use, and costs you the card you had there as a place to build on.

When you do have a king to place and a choice of kings, pick the one that frees the most: the king whose move turns over a card, or the one of the colour your next queen needs.

Keep both colours going

A long run in one column is only useful if you can add to it. If all your red queens are buried and you have two black kings out, the kings wait. When you choose between two equal moves, choose the one that keeps a place open for both colours of the next card down.

Draw three: every card you take moves the rest

With draw three, only every third card of the stock comes to the top of the waste. Each card you play from the waste shifts the whole sequence by one, so the cards that come up on the next pass change.

That cuts both ways. Playing a card you do not need can bring the one you need to the top; holding a card back keeps the stock the way you know it. On the first pass, draw through the whole stock and note where the cards you want lie before you commit.

When you seem stuck

• Go through the stock again. With a card or two gone from the waste, a different card is on top this time round, even in draw one.
• Move part of a run. Splitting a run can free the card under it for a foundation, or make room for a card from the waste.
• Take a card back off a foundation if it would let you place the card you are holding.
• Undo. On your own you can take moves back as far as you like. Cards that have been turned over stay face up, so it will not show you anything new, but it will let you try another line.

Racing a friend

In a race you play the same deal as your friend, so the difference is in the play, not the cards. Against the clock, cards on the foundations are what count, and turned-over cards break a tie: in the last minute, put up everything that goes. To the last card, a steady game beats a fast one; a wrong turn you cannot undo costs more than a few seconds of thought.

Ready? Play solitaire, and try draw three once draw one comes easily.