Calculation Strategy: 5 Tips

Calculation is won in the waste piles. Rules first? See how to play.

1. Know the four sequences

By ones, twos, threes and fours. Keep the next card each foundation wants in mind, and the one after that; the hint under each foundation shows the next.

2. A pile for kings

Kings come last on every foundation. Park them together on one pile and never put anything else on top of it.

3. Build down in need

Place a card on a pile whose top card will be needed later than it. A pile that reads, from bottom to top, "late, later, soon" unwinds itself.

4. One rank per pile when you can

Two cards of the same rank on one pile come off together once that rank is wanted twice. Stacking a rank is nearly always safe.

5. Look ahead before the stock runs low

With a few cards left in the stock, count which ranks the foundations still need and make sure they are not buried. A single wrong placement late in the deal costs the game.

Last updated 2026-10-21