Klondike mixes luck and decisions. The deal is luck; what you do with it is skill. These twelve habits come from how the game's structure works, and each comes with its reason, so you can tell when an exception applies. New to the rules? Start with how to play Solitaire.
1. Reveal face-down cards first
Every face-down card is hidden information, and 21 of the 28 tableau cards begin hidden. Among legal moves, prefer the one that turns a card over, and when two moves both do, uncover the column with the most hidden cards first because it is the biggest source of new options.
2. Aces and 2s go up immediately
Nothing sits on an Ace, and a 2 is only ever needed as a base for a black 3 or red 3 if you hold both. In practice you can send them to the foundations at once. Be slower with higher cards.
3. Keep the foundations balanced
A card on the foundation cannot support a card on the tableau. A 6 is safe to send up once both opposite-colour 5s are already there, because nothing will need to be placed on it. Racing one suit far ahead leaves you short of landing spots.
4. Do not rush to empty a column
An empty column is only useful if a King is available to fill it. Emptying a column with no King in sight just wastes the cards you moved. Before you clear one, check where the Kings are.
5. Choose which King goes first
When a space opens, prefer a King that already has a Queen of the opposite colour ready to follow, so you gain a long run at once. Placing a King with nothing to follow it gives you a column that does little.
6. When two cards can take the same card, look underneath
If a red 6 could go on either of two black 7s, check which 7 sits on top of face-down cards. The move that frees the hidden card usually wins out, but if the other black 7 is the one a needed 6 will later want, think before you commit.
7. Before you draw, make every available tableau move
The stock is a resource that should be used last. Drawing too early changes which card sits on top of the waste and can bury a card you needed.
8. In Draw 3, count the cards
With Draw 3 you see every third card on a pass. Playing a card from the waste shifts the later ones by one position, so the cards you can reach on the next pass change. Experienced players deliberately play or skip a card to line up the next pass.
9. Move small runs, not single cards, when it helps
Moving part of a run can expose a card you need, but it also splits up a good sequence. Check that the cards you leave behind can still be moved later.
10. Bring foundation cards back when it frees something
Most online versions, including this one, let you take the top foundation card back down to the tableau. It is a legitimate tool when one buried card is blocking an entire column.
11. Look for the cycle
If you go through the stock twice and nothing has changed, the position is stuck. Undo several moves rather than playing on; this is what the Undo button is for.
12. Accept that some deals are lost
Even with perfect play, some random deals cannot be won. The games on this site use deals that a solver confirmed can be won, so a loss is on the player and not the shuffle. Read how this is checked on the winnable Solitaire page.