Is Every Game of Solitaire Winnable? (And How to Win More Games)

In short, not every game of Solitaire is winnable. In Klondike Solitaire, the most played version of the game, according to mathematicians, about four out of five deals are solvable, which comes out to about 82%.

But the rest are unwinnable no matter what Solitaire strategies you use. The exact odds of winning depend on the rules, the placement of facedown cards in the tableau, which Solitaire variation you’re playing, and how good you are at playing (no judgment!).

If you regularly play Solitaire, you’ve probably experienced both ends of the spectrum—hands that feel smooth and strategic and others that stall almost immediately. Whether you’re a newbie to this card game or want to increase how often you win, this post will help you understand the true chances of winning your next Solitaire game.

What Does “Winnable” Mean in Solitaire?

A game of Solitaire is winnable if it is solvable, meaning it is possible to clear the tableau of all the cards by arranging them in their foundation piles. To calculate how many Solitaire deals are solvable, mathematicians often use Thoughtful Klondike because this variant treats every card as a face-up card. This removes chance and focuses only on whether the deal is solvable under perfect conditions. According to researchers, 82% of Thoughtful Klondike deals are winnable.

But the real-world odds of winning Solitaire depend on

• The version of Solitaire you’re playing: Each version of Solitaire has a range of differences that impact your ability to win. Whether the game is eased by free spaces to store cards in FreeCell or complicated by building same-suit sequences in the Spider tableau, each version has a unique set of challenges that affect your odds of winning.
• Your level of skill: How often and how well you play definitely factor into the equation. If you think your skills need to level up, you can start implementing some new Solitaire strategies when you play.
• How the cards fall: When you shuffle a deck of cards, you face an almost unimaginable number of possible deals—according to mathematicians, about 8 × 1067. That’s an 8 followed by 67 zeros. However, not all deals are winnable. In some deals, the cards are arranged in a way that makes it impossible to reach the foundation piles—for example, if an ace or another key card is buried under higher cards of the same suit in the tableau. When that happens, no amount of skill or Solitaire strategies will change the outcome.

All in all, how many deals you can win will end up being less than the perfect 81% to 82%. But this gap between theory and practice explains why winning Solitaire feels so rewarding. Although you may be given a mathematically winnable Solitaire deal, it still takes the right choices, a bit of luck, and sometimes a lot of patience to actually get that win.

Do Different Solitaire Variations Have Different Chances of Winning?

Yes—the chances of winning Solitaire vary a lot depending on which version of Solitaire you play. All Solitaire variations have very different winning odds, especially in real life.

This table details some popular variations and their win rates based on Solitaired’s data:

• Classic Solitaire: Solitaire Turn 1 is an easier version of Klondike Solitaire because you can access each stockpile card one by one. Turn 1’s win rate on Solitaired is 33% and 11.1% for Klondike, which is the same as Turn 3 Solitaire.
• FreeCell is famous for being the easiest version of Solitaire. The free cells used for temporary storage during gameplay go a long way in making this version more solvable than others. For Solitaired, you can expect a 41.86% win rate.
• Spider Solitaire is much tougher. Depending on how many suits you play with, the probability of winning drops sharply. With one suit, the easiest, the odds of winning are 52.29%, but with Spider 2 Suit, the rate drops to just 16.6%. With Spider 4 Suits, the hardest, the win percentage is a mere 6.2%.
• Pyramid Solitaire is one of the hardest. Because cards must be paired to add up to 13, many deals run into dead ends quickly. The overall odds of winning are 30.05% on Solitaired.

These differences show why no two types of Solitaire card games are quite the same. Some, like FreeCell, reward planning and patience, while others, like Spider Solitaire and Pyramid Solitaire, lean heavily on how the deck of cards is dealt at the start.

Tips and Strategies to Win More Solitaire Games

If you’re ready to challenge the winnability of a Solitaire game, you just need to brush up your skills to take on the deal. While you can’t control every deal, you can maximize your chances when you do get a winnable one.

Regardless of which version you choose, these tips can help you get closer to a win the next time you play:

• Prioritize moves that create a cascade of moves. A single smart play can sometimes unlock a chain reaction, where one card frees another, which then opens a new space or flips a facedown card. These cascades are some of the most effective ways to make progress in any version of Solitaire, because they maximize how much you accomplish with just one move.
• Uncover hidden cards early. Make moves to uncover new cards in the tableau. The more face-up cards you reveal, the more options you’ll have, and the less likely you’ll get stuck.
• Think ahead, not just in the moment. Don’t jump on the first legal move you see, like stacking a card in the tableau or sending it to the foundation piles. But sometimes the “obvious” move blocks you from uncovering a facedown card or opening a more flexible sequence. By planning in advance, you’re more likely to spot paths that lead to freeing critical cards and improving your overall chances of winning.
• Empty columns and use them wisely. Even if the version you’re playing limits what card can be moved into an empty space, an empty column always gives you more flexibility to arrange cards. So use this new space as a storage space to rearrange sequences or to create lengthy sequences that help you feed foundation piles.
• Learn from the undo button. The undo button can help you experiment with different paths and understand how sequences develop. Over time, this improves your planning skills, even when you play without it.

Play to Win on Solitaired

The good news is that many Solitaire games can be won, and your win percentage improves with patience, practice, and smart decision-making. Regardless of what version you prefer, every shuffle offers a new challenge, and even if the odds are stacked against you, the fun comes from finding the best path forward. If you’re ready to put theory into practice, you can play Solitaire online and test your own chances of winning across different Solitaire variations.