Odds of Winning Solitaire: Tips for Success

You won’t win every game of solitaire you play in your life. Indeed, you’ve played many times in the past and ended up stuck with no more moves to play. It makes you wonder if you’re bad at the game or if this is just how hard solitaire is supposed to be.

But what are the odds of winning solitaire every time you load the game up?

We can’t give a simple answer to this question as it depends on many factors. However, we’ll try our best to explain the odds of winning in this guide, providing you with more context to understand how likely you are to be successful in your solitaire games.

Solitaire Win Rates Based On Types

Telling you the odds of winning solitaire is mainly difficult because there are so many variants of this game with different rules and ways to win. Playing traditional solitaire (often called Klondike Solitaire) will be entirely different than playing Pyramid Solitaire. Some types of this fun card game are harder than others and we’ve picked out the main varieties along with their expected win rates:

• Klondike Solitaire - 10-20% win rate without using any hints or undoing your turns
• FreeCell Solitaire - 99% win rate as most games are technically winnable with the right moves
• Spider Solitaire - Has around an 80-90% win rate for the easiest derivative (one suit spider solitaire) this decreases to 55-65% for two suits and 5-15% for four suits
• TriPeaks Solitaire - 90-95% of this type of solitaire are winnable
• Pyramid Solitaire - Only 0.5 to 5% of games are winnable if you only use one round of the deal pile

Why are some games harder than others? It depends on the goal of the game - for instance, Pyramid Solitaire is difficult as you only clear cards when a pair adds up to 13. This means you’re looking for specific combinations all the time, rather than just matching suits or colors.

Another factor is how many cards you see at the start of a game. Versions like FreeCell are easier than others because you see all the cards and can plan. When you only see a handful of cards and depend on the luck of the draw when flipping new ones over, your chances of winning diminish.

Best Strategies To Win More Spider Solitaire Games

While seeing the win rates for other solitaire games is useful, you’re here because you’re interested in spider solitaire. The win rate is reasonably high when you play the easiest version of this game - and that’s also a big tip to start winning more often. Play one-suit spider solitaire and you’ll win around 9 out of 10 of your games.

Practice!

Our main advice is to practice as much as you can. 247 Spider Solitaire lets you do this with unlimited plays across all derivatives of Spider Solitaire. Start with the easiest and then move up to two suits before attempting even more suits for more difficulty. The more you play, the more you pick up on how to play the game and manipulate the playing table.

Use the undo button

Another big tip when playing online solitaire is to use a trial-and-error approach:

• Move cards to the relevant piles
• Undo your move and try a different one

This is handy when you’ve got a couple of possible moves to make with one card. E.g. you have two 9s and you don’t know which one to move to the 10. Try one, and then undo the move and try the other to see which one reveals a better card underneath. The undo button is your best friend as you can correct mistakes and try again. You start using this button less and less as you become more experienced in the game.

Focus on many empty columns

Boost your chances of winning spider solitaire games by trying to create empty columns on the table. This happens when all cards in a column are turned over and moved elsewhere. An empty column is then free for any card to move into - or you can move a huge sequence to this space. As a result, it can free up more cards and create even more empty columns. Think about this when you have many cards of the same value on the board; it makes sense to move the ones with fewer cards behind as this paves the way for a space.

Always look for same-suit sequences

If you’re playing spider solitaire using multiple suits, we suggest focusing on matching suits whenever there’s a chance. While you can move cards between suits to create opportunities for new cards to be flipped over, always prioritize same suit sequences as this is the main goal.

Be patient and don’t rush

Lastly, we recommend taking your time and being patient. After all, “solitaire” goes by the name “patience” in many parts of the world. A key aspect of playing the game involves taking your time and not rushing into things. Don’t worry too much about the time limit - it’s just there for fun - and focus on the cards and what you can do with them. It often feels like a game is going nowhere, only for things to open up after a few minutes and you clear up.

Practicing Spider Solitaire Online

As mentioned before, 247 Spider Solitaire is a great place to practice this game and get better at it. You can play unlimited games every day and get to choose the difficulty level by adding in more suits. The more time you dedicate to a game like Spider Solitaire, the easier it becomes to spot patterns or understand which moves make the most sense.

Is there an element of luck involved? Yes - and that’s why the win rate is never 100% for this game. It can depend on the way the cards are dealt, though we strongly believe you’ll increase the odds of winning every game by following the strategies above.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.