How many cards do you lay out in Solitaire?

You lay out 28 cards in 7 piles for Klondike Solitaire. The first pile gets 1 card, the second 2, and so on up to 7 in the last pile. Only the top card of each pile is face up. The other 24 cards form the stock you draw from.

What is the difference between draw 1 and draw 3 Solitaire?

In draw 1, you turn one card from the stock at a time, so every card becomes playable in turn. In draw 3, you flip three cards at once and can only play the top one, so many cards stay buried. Draw 3 is harder and has a much lower win rate.

What can go in an empty space in Solitaire?

Only a king, or a face-up sequence that starts with a king, can be moved into an empty tableau column. If you don't have a king available, the space stays empty. That's why it's usually a bad idea to clear a column when no king is ready.

How does Vegas scoring work in Solitaire?

In Vegas scoring, you start each game $52 in the hole and earn $5 for every card you move to a foundation. You need 11 cards on the foundations to come out ahead ($55), and a complete win of 52 cards pays $260, a net gain of $208. The usual version is draw one with one pass through the stock.

What are the odds of winning Klondike Solitaire?

It depends on the rules and your play. Wikipedia puts typical win rates somewhere between about 18% and 43%. Draw 1 with unlimited passes is the most winnable; draw 3 with limited passes wins far less often. Some deals can't be won no matter how you play.

Can you move cards off the foundation in Solitaire?

Most versions allow it. You can take the top card of a foundation back to the tableau if it fits there, such as a red 6 onto a black 7. Windows standard scoring charges 15 points for the move, and some strict players don't allow it at all.

How many times can you go through the deck in Solitaire?

Unlimited passes is the most common home rule. Stricter versions allow three passes, and Vegas scoring usually allows just one. When the stock runs out, flip the waste pile back over without shuffling it and keep going if a pass remains.

How to Play Solitaire: Klondike Rules and Scoring

1Object of the game

Move all 52 cards onto the four foundations, one pile per suit, each built in order from ace up to king. The tableau and the stock are where you dig out and arrange cards until they can go up to the foundations.

2Setup

Shuffle a 52-card deck. Deal a row of 7 piles from left to right: 1 card in the first pile, 2 in the second, and so on up to 7 cards in the seventh. That uses 28 cards.
The easy way to deal: lay 7 cards in a row with the first one face up and the rest face down. Then deal a row of 6 starting on the second pile, turning its first card face up, and continue until the seventh pile has 6 face-down cards and 1 face-up card on top.
Place the remaining 24 cards face down above the layout. This is the stock. You will turn cards from it onto a face-up waste pile beside it.
Leave space above the tableau for four foundation piles, one for each suit. They start empty.
Decide before you start whether you'll turn the stock one card at a time (draw one, easier) or three at a time (draw three, harder), and how many passes through the stock you allow.

3The play

There are no turns in the usual sense. You keep making legal moves until you win or run out of moves.
Any ace that becomes available goes to its own foundation. Then build each foundation up in the same suit: 2, 3, and so on to the king.
On the tableau, build down in alternating colors. You can put a black 9 on a red 10, then a red 8 on the black 9.
You can move a whole face-up sequence from one pile to another as a unit, as long as the card at the bottom of the sequence fits where you are putting it.
When you move the last face-up card off a pile, turn the next face-down card face up. If a pile becomes completely empty, only a king (or a sequence starting with a king) may go there.
When you are stuck, turn cards from the stock onto the waste pile. The top waste card is always available to play to the tableau or a foundation. In draw-three, you flip three cards together but can only use the top one, and you reach the next only after playing that one.
When the stock is empty, turn the waste pile over, without shuffling, to make a new stock, if your rules allow another pass.

4End of a hand

A game ends when all 52 cards are on the foundations, which is a win, or when you have used up your allowed passes through the stock and no legal moves are left, which is a loss. Shuffle and deal again to start a new game.

5Scoring

Most people play Klondike simply to win or lose. Scoring is optional and comes from computer versions and casino play. The table shows the standard scoring used by Windows Solitaire.

For	Points
Waste card to tableau	5
Waste card to foundation	10
Tableau card to foundation	10
Turn over a face-down tableau card	5
Foundation card back to tableau	−15
Recycle the waste pile (score can't go below 0)	−100
Vegas: cost to play one game	−$52
Vegas: each card placed on a foundation	+$5

Timed Windows games also subtract 2 points for every 10 seconds and give a time bonus of 700,000 divided by your time in seconds for games longer than 30 seconds. In Vegas scoring you play draw-one with only a single pass through the stock, so you break even at 11 cards (11 × $5 = $55, a $3 profit) and a full win of 52 cards pays $260, a profit of $208.

6Winning

You win when all four foundations are complete from ace to king, all 52 cards. With scoring, you compare your point total or your Vegas bankroll against your earlier games. Wikipedia puts the odds of winning between about 18% and 43%, depending on the rules and how carefully you play, so losing plenty of deals is normal.

7A worked hand

You are playing draw-one with standard scoring and start at 0. You turn a card from the stock and it's the A♠. Move it straight to a foundation: waste to foundation is 10 points. The top card of your second pile is the 2♠, so it goes on the ace: tableau to foundation, 10 more points, 20 total. That leaves a face-down card on top of the second pile. Turn it over for 5 points, 25 total. It's the 10♥. Next you turn the 9♣ from the stock and place it on the 10♥: waste to tableau, 5 points, 30 total. Four moves, 30 points. Now suppose you finish the game in Vegas style instead. You paid $52 to play and got 12 cards to the foundations before you ran out of moves. You collect 12 × $5 = $60, so you end the game $8 ahead. Had you only reached 10 cards, you'd collect $50 and be $2 down. In Vegas scoring every card after the eleventh is profit.

8House rules

The rules above are the version most US players use. These are the variations you are most likely to run into; settle them before the first deal.

Draw three: Turn three cards from the stock at a time and play only the top one. It's much harder than draw-one, and it's the classic setting in many computer versions.
Vegas scoring: You pay $52 per game and win $5 for each card placed on a foundation. Wikipedia describes it as draw-one with a single pass through the stock.
Limited passes: Allow only three passes through the stock, or only one, instead of unlimited passes. Some rule sets for draw-three allow two redeals, meaning three passes in total.
Play from foundations: Most versions let you move a card back from a foundation to the tableau when it helps. Windows scoring charges 15 points for it; strict players don't allow it at all.
Standard (Windows) scoring: Score points for every useful move and lose points for recycling the stock and moving cards off the foundations. Good for comparing your games over time.

9Mistakes people make

Only a king, or a sequence headed by a king, can fill an empty tableau column. A queen or lower can't go there.
Tableau piles build down in alternating colors (red on black, black on red), while foundations build up in the same suit from ace to king.
In draw-three, you may only play the top card of the three you flipped. The cards under it become available only as you play the ones above.
The first pile starts with 1 card and the seventh with 7, for 28 cards in the tableau and 24 in the stock.

10Playing better

Turn over face-down cards whenever you can. Freeing hidden cards matters more than almost any other move.
Work on the longest piles first. The seventh pile has six hidden cards, and getting into it early opens up the game.
Don't empty a column unless you have a king ready to move into it. An empty space only accepts a king.
Be careful about moving low cards to the foundations too quickly. A red 5 on its foundation can't hold a black 4 from the tableau, and you may need it later.
Before flipping the stock, check the tableau for every possible move. In draw-three, playing a card from the waste changes which cards show up on later passes.
When you have a choice of two kings to fill an empty column, pick the one of the opposite color to the queen you want to move onto it next, such as a black king for a red queen.

Solitaire (Klondike): questions people ask

How many cards do you lay out in Solitaire?: You lay out 28 cards in 7 piles for Klondike Solitaire. The first pile gets 1 card, the second 2, and so on up to 7 in the last pile. Only the top card of each pile is face up. The other 24 cards form the stock you draw from.
What is the difference between draw 1 and draw 3 Solitaire?: In draw 1, you turn one card from the stock at a time, so every card becomes playable in turn. In draw 3, you flip three cards at once and can only play the top one, so many cards stay buried. Draw 3 is harder and has a much lower win rate.
What can go in an empty space in Solitaire?: Only a king, or a face-up sequence that starts with a king, can be moved into an empty tableau column. If you don't have a king available, the space stays empty. That's why it's usually a bad idea to clear a column when no king is ready.
How does Vegas scoring work in Solitaire?: In Vegas scoring, you start each game $52 in the hole and earn $5 for every card you move to a foundation. You need 11 cards on the foundations to come out ahead ($55), and a complete win of 52 cards pays $260, a net gain of $208. The usual version is draw one with one pass through the stock.
What are the odds of winning Klondike Solitaire?: It depends on the rules and your play. Wikipedia puts typical win rates somewhere between about 18% and 43%. Draw 1 with unlimited passes is the most winnable; draw 3 with limited passes wins far less often. Some deals can't be won no matter how you play.
Can you move cards off the foundation in Solitaire?: Most versions allow it. You can take the top card of a foundation back to the tableau if it fits there, such as a red 6 onto a black 7. Windows standard scoring charges 15 points for the move, and some strict players don't allow it at all.
How many times can you go through the deck in Solitaire?: Unlimited passes is the most common home rule. Stricter versions allow three passes, and Vegas scoring usually allows just one. When the stock runs out, flip the waste pile back over without shuffling it and keep going if a pass remains.

Sources

Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

How to Play Solitaire, Bicycle Cards. Read September 28, 2026.
Klondike (solitaire), Wikipedia. Read September 28, 2026.
Klondike Solitaire rules, BVS Solitaire. Read September 28, 2026.

Also on the table: Kings in the Corner, Spit, Speed, War.