I’m playing the windows version of solitaire. I haven’t ever played before. I think I get the idea, but I can never get more than a few cards into the suites pile before I hit a dead end. I get stacks and stacks of the cards that are mixed colors, but the whole game seems like it is based on luck, not skill.
What am I doing wrong?!?!
Arrgg…it is griving me crazy!!!
I logged in this morning to tackle all the world’s problems and help solve the mysteries of the Universe…does solitaire count?
Yes, it is mostly luck, but some skill is involved. Don’t jump the gun placing cards, think back to what cards you’ve seen that you want up there (are there any Kings?) and work towards getting runs put together to aim for that goal. If you just pile on every card that fits the winning is rare. If you go about it with some thought the winning will come eventually. Sometimes you have to pass on that Three of Clubs so you can dig down a bit a place that King of Spades.
There are basically two elements of skill: First, when you have a choice of two different cards you can uncover. In general, you want to uncover the stack with more face-down cards under it. Secondly, you have to decide when you want to move a card up to the suit stacks. Suppose, for instance, that you’ve got A234 of diamonds already up, and the 5 of diamonds in the playing area. Do you want to move it up? Maybe, or maybe you want to leave it there so you can put a black 4 on it. The game is mostly luck, though, and you shouldn’t expect to win too often. To maximize your chances, choose the “draw one” and “standard scoring” options (standard scoring will let you go through the deck an infinite number of times).
three pointers:
When given a choice between placing a card from the playing area vs. placing a card from the deck it is usually better to play from the playing area (you get to turn over another card in the stack). Of course, you should check what card is open if you used the card from the deck.
When you have a choice between two cards, both on the playing area, choose the one from the LARGER pile. (unless the card of choice is a King; then play from the smaller pile)
Never play a card from an empty pile unless you need the open space for a King.
If you’re frustrated by hitting a dead end in Solitaire, it may help to consider that the mavens in Las Vegas have calculated the odds on this (as they calculate the odds on everything).
The Vegas style scoring, which you can activate on Windows solitaire, goes as follows:
Before the game, you buy the deck at $1/card, for a total of $52. For each Ace and consecutive suit card you put up, you win $5 back. Therefore, your break even point is to place at least eleven cards at the top of the playing field, for $55 and a net gain of $3. However, this being Vegas, they have obviously set the breakeven point just beyond your statistical grasp.
Therefore, the Vegas professionals have determined that, over the long haul, a player will average less than 11 winning cards per hand. You may win some games (52 winning cards), but you will lose a great many more. Solitaire is not a game you should expect to play successfully.
I believe the casinos and bookmakers have even come up with the odds of winning ten consecutive hands of solitaire. It’s only slightly more probable than Keanu Reaves winning an Oscar for Best Actor.
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If you’re playing “draw three”, you should play the cards towards the end of the deck first. When you play a card closer to the beginning, you’ll see new cards the following time through. The game will let you move cards from the suit stacks back to the playing board; this is occasionally useful.
If you want skill you might want to try FreeCell instead.
FreeCell allows you to win (almost) every game if you have the skill.
I won a game!!
My problem was I was playing draw 3 vegas style. Playing the game like a normal person makes it a little more enjoyable.
Thanks forall of your help.
Here’s a Windows Solitaire question I was pondering earlier this week. When you win and the cards starts jumping off the suit piles, in the lower left, it always says “Bonus: 0”. What would you get a bonus for?
I discovered by accident that in some (early?) versions of Freecell that you can maintain your high score by hitting Control-Alt-Delete, and hitting “No” when they ask you if you want to leave the game.
A few seconds later, you’ll get a pop up “not responding” window and you can then exit the game without ruining your percentage. It’s cheating, yes.
An even better combination: Control-Shift-F10. Select “Abort” (the default), and your next move will result in a win.
Of course, if you’ve already tanked the game you can hit the sequence all you want to no avail.
According to this site the chances of winning are about 1 in 30. Therefore the chance of ten consecutive wins is 1 in 590,490,000,000,000. Can I have 1 cent on Keanu Reeves at that price?
If you’re going through the stock in threes, pay attention to where the cards you want are. Try to avoid playing 3 cards from the stock early in a run, as it will not change the order.
I was so (moderately) excited by my results playing Windows solitare that I considered whether it was worth going to Las Vegas.
Luckily, I decided to pick up a deck of cards and try my technique there. The result was that I could win regularly in Windows; with the same technique lost with real cards.
Looking closely at the results, I concluded the Windows game was loaded in my favor by placing aces closer to where they would be drawn.
So, in answer to your question, delve a little deeper into the Windows version. It’s cheating in your favor, so you should be able to win.
Is Solitare actually played in Vegas? I’ve been there a few times, and while I’ve never LOOKED for the Solitare tables, I certainly haven’t SEEN any there. That would be about a boring game for the dealer, wouldn’t it?
If it’s not, why is it called “Vegas” scoring?