# Spider Solitaire Addicts: What's Your Record?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Tags:** board-card-word-game\
**Created:** [October 30, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593 "2001-10-30T20:47:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![SpiderWoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SpiderWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpiderWoman)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/101 "2015-04-04T15:13:32Z")

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I usually don’t play for score, but to win no matter how long it takes and god knows how many undos. My percentage is @40%. In Advanced I find that there are some games that just cannot be won when the cards don’t fall right, so I don’t care about the percentage because it does not reflect my skill, and I find it more enjoyable when I don’t care.

A high score is usually in the 1080 range, but on April 1st of all days, I had a 1155 score. Has anyone had a higher score in Advanced?

My lowest is 513 (908 moves)

I find the most important thing to do is to get two open spaces, almost any game can then be won. With 3 open spaces, all games can be won. Thus for the first row I try to find the cards that leave me at least one opening to move around with. Over the years I have had Spider with no undos and don’t enjoy the game without them because the game just ends and there is no trying to find the right combinations.

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**Author:** ![pianoman8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5fc32e/32.png) [@pianoman8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianoman8)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/102 "2015-04-10T05:20:37Z")

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I play one suit Spider Solitaire. I’m after lowest score, not number of wins. Winning is almost always possible in one suit. My lowest score was a 90 (Wed, May 23, 2012), which I don’t expect to ever beat. To date I’ve played 2878 games. I know, I know… get a life!

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**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/103 "2015-04-10T13:58:21Z")

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Man, I can’t believe my thread from October 2001 is still alive and kicking!

My OP got 3 responses (one of them mine) at the time, then went dormant for _nine and a half years_. But starting in 2011, it’s gotten a dozen or two posts every year since. It’s resurrected frequently enough that it can’t really be called a zombie anymore.

I don’t play anymore, but I’m glad y’all are still enjoying the game, and this thread. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Nerwmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nerwmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nerwmi)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/104 "2015-04-20T16:33:52Z")

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[Hi everyone…just discovered this thread looking for some feedback on my playing which I use for relaxation in between writing.  
I just play intermediary and average just above 50% over several thousand games.  
You can up your chances dramatically by doing the following.  
When the cards are dealt check them. If there are two or more you cannot move on the first go…reshuffle. The reshuffle does not count in your stats.  
You have a 90 percent chance of winning if you can move all the cards at the outset and 80% chance of winning if there is just one odd one out.

Not sure if this is fair, but its the way I do it

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/105 "2015-04-21T15:42:30Z")

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> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#):
>
> I’ve won twice on 4 suits after playing more than 500 times! Those wins were special days in my life…

I won the 4 suit version the first time I tried it. Now I won’t try it again because me win record is 100% and it can only go down from there.

1 suit isn’t really a game for me, it’s a kind of mindless pastime for late nights. My real goal in one suit is to outrun the game - get the cards off to the point where there are less than 10 and you can’t fill before dealing. I usually play 1 suit on the phone or tablet( Brainium version, not Windows) and if you get there you don’t have to back up to deal.

Interestingly enough, I am almost as likely to reach this goal on the 2nd or 3rd deal as I am the last and I think once I got there on the first deal.  
I win 2 suits about 65% of the time.

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/106 "2015-04-21T15:47:39Z")

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> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Yes, that can be done, I’ve done it. And you lose unless you undo.

The version of the game I use for my phone and tablet will let you deal without undoing if you actually get to that point. I’ve hit that benchmark several times - once on the first deal, even.

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**Author:** ![ewebasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9de053/32.png) [@ewebasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ewebasher)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/107 "2015-05-13T15:42:58Z")

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> [@marconegao](#):
>
> Since this seems to be still going, I’d like to share my stats as well.  
> I play the MobilityWare Spider and I try mostly no-undo games.
> 
> 4 suit record  
> Games won: 56 (6.02%)  
> Games lost: 875  
> Shortest winning time: 07:55  
> Longest winning time: 28:33  
> Average winning time: 15:03  
> Fewest winning moves: 163  
> Most winning moves: 358  
> Wins without undo: 42  
> High score: 72303  
> Longest winning streak: 3

Impressive high score!

Update to my longest game - had just about given up but after 248 minutes and 7336 moves recorded my 237th win out of 239 games…

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**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/108 "2015-05-13T19:53:17Z")

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Does anyone else do Easy mode the hard way (deal all the cards first)? [e: the method Trinopus mentioned many years back]

My statistics are from a few years. I still play on XP now and then when I have to wait for something for a few minutes, although it occasionally takes longer. I try to alternate between each difficulty level each time. No undos or resets.

Easy: 19-193 (8%)  
Medium: 90-124 (42%)  
Hard: 24-196 (10%)

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**Author:** ![Diemand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Diemand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diemand)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/109 "2015-07-18T20:01:28Z")

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I play 4 suit, alot! I didn’t like playing just any game and playing ‘honest’; I didn’t win enough that way to be fun and worth all the time I ‘wasted’.

I now play still using 4 suits, unlimited undos (even back to the beginning) AND I get to pick the game. So I often pass many layouts if I don’t ‘like the look’ of them.

To date, the best win % I’ve gotten is 98%. The best win in a row stat is about 62.

I’m trying to find out, if it’s been calculated mathematically, how many variations there are and how many are winnable. Anyone know if this has been done?

(On a separate note, I play FreeCell until I win the game. So far I’ve been very lucky/successful. I shudder to think of how much time I’ve spent playing these games instead of doing something ‘more productive’ with my time/skills. :o )

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**Author:** ![davidsurvey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@davidsurvey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidsurvey)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/110 "2015-08-17T04:50:32Z")

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Games won/Games Started 990/1032 (95.9%)  
Total Time Played 579:25:06  
Average Game Time 33:43  
Fastest Win 7:53 in 253 moves  
Current Win Streak 508 Longest 508  
Average Win Time 33:53

Playing Spider-4  
With of course using Undo  
iPad using Card Shark

Not recorded on game stats. Longest game was around 6 hours

image here

[http://s18.postimg.org/tyqqjxny1/screenshot\_109.jpg](http://s18.postimg.org/tyqqjxny1/screenshot_109.jpg)

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**Author:** ![mathman94803](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@mathman94803](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mathman94803)\
**Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/111 "2015-08-20T03:23:52Z")

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i am currently, and have been, playing for about a year and a half without a loss in the  
single suit category…i realize it is not the most difficult but there have been some challenging games…currently at 19325…

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**Author:** ![luciferio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@luciferio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luciferio)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/112 "2015-09-25T11:05:10Z")

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Hello, I play 2 suits, just fomated my pc a few days ago and so far I have 27 straight wins .

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**Author:** ![SpiderSolitaireAddict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@SpiderSolitaireAddict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpiderSolitaireAddict)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/113 "2015-11-26T03:19:22Z")

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Hey, are any of you still around?

Does the app that you use for Spider use two decks of cards?

I play Spider with two decks (of physical cards), four suits and win about 15% of the time.

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**Author:** ![armourjr111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ab992/32.png) [@armourjr111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armourjr111)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/114 "2016-01-26T22:29:49Z")

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not sure if anyone still checks this post, and kind of embarrassing but here are my stats on my iPhone, which is where I play all my spider solitaire games:

two suits  
games won: 6,191 (99.74%)  
games lost: 16  
shortest winning time: 2:15  
longest winning time: 59:36  
average winning time: 5:22  
fewest moves: 112  
high score: 25,923  
current winning streak: 2,189

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**Author:** ![SpiderSolitaireAddict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@SpiderSolitaireAddict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpiderSolitaireAddict)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/115 "2016-01-27T00:04:50Z")

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> [@SpiderSolitaireAddict](#):
>
> Hey, are any of you still around?
> 
> Does the app that you use for Spider use two decks of cards?
> 
> I play Spider with two decks (of physical cards), four suits and win about 15% of the time.

Oops, correction: I play with two suits, not four.

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**Author:** ![GrannyGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/82dd89/32.png) [@GrannyGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrannyGeek)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/116 "2016-02-08T19:37:42Z")

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I don’t know when I started Spider Solitaire (maybe 2 months ago), but my record so far is:

1 suit, 1,327 consecutive games.

When I lose a game I will go to 2 suits.

I just finished a year long project and have lots of time on my hands until I start the next one.

:smack:

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**Author:** ![Diemand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Diemand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diemand)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/117 "2016-03-04T22:41:15Z")

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My OS is Windows 10; I use the basic Microsoft Solitaire Collection to play 4-suited Spider. In this version, I’ve played 296 games and won 267 for a rounded win percentage of 90%. : ) I couldn’t do this without choosing the games I play (based on seeing the 1st lay-out) and relying heavily on the undo button. I don’t know how many games in a row I’ve won but based on 10 games for every percentage point, I think it’s between 20-30 games. I wish someone did the math and came up with the number of games/combinations 4 suit Spider has as well as the number of games that are solvable. The only thing I don’t like about the version I am playing is that I can’t find a specific number assigned to the game as there is in FreeCell. I would love to be able to load one of my losing games as I get better at problem solving the game.

Allowing for the above game playing criteria, I think there is a kind of pattern in the first layout of cards that help identifies the game as having a high probability of being solvable. Ask me and I will try and explain, otherwise, try to note the first row layout of the games you’ve won and see if there is a consistency.

Needless to say, I’ve spend a little too much time on this distracting game! Happy playing to all.

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**Author:** ![Diemand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Diemand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diemand)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/118 "2016-03-06T08:06:35Z")

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Oops, replied to wrong post.

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**Author:** ![HandyguyCincy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HandyguyCincy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HandyguyCincy)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/119 "2016-05-14T19:46:44Z")

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I am currently at 140 wins and no losses on the 2 suit version. this involves a lot of “undos” and some very long games. Any one else running a streak?

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**Author:** ![HHP565](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d78d45/32.png) [@HHP565](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HHP565)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spider-solitaire-addicts-whats-your-record/90593/120 "2016-08-10T23:47:59Z")

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My record is currently 89% of 100 games in the 4 suit version. I took a screen shot of the totals page as proof, but I’m not clever enough to know how to post it here. I start over every time I complete 100 games. I’m shooting for a 90% 🙂

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