Keep the next needed cards at the tops of the corners.
The four Aces are ready from the start, but every other card must be placed carefully. Your choices determine which cards stay reachable and which piles you will want to gather first.
Last updated: September 2026
Track both colors
The foundations build upward in color, rather than suit. Either red 2 can play on either red Ace; either black 2 can play on either black Ace. Each foundation still needs one card of every rank through King.
Watch the two lanes of each color separately. If one red foundation advances while the other remains low, keep a useful low red card available for the slower lane. Building only one lane can leave a matching card buried behind a rank that cannot yet move.
Place stock cards for later access
When a dealt card cannot go to a foundation, it can enter any of the four corner piles. Only the top of each pile can later reach a foundation. A low card placed under a high card may wait until many foundation ranks have been built.
Try to place cards so an exposed top card is likely to become useful soon. This does not require strict rank sorting: the two foundation lanes of a color may advance at different speeds. The useful question is which top cards can be played after the next few stock cards arrive.
Plan the one redeal
When the first stock is exhausted, you may gather the four corner piles once. Choose each pile in turn. Their cards are kept together without shuffling, and the last pile gathered becomes the first pile dealt on the new stock pass.
Before choosing, inspect each pile. If one pile contains a card that will soon fit a foundation, consider gathering it late so it appears early in the second pass. A pile whose first cards still need several foundation ranks can be gathered earlier and dealt later.
Use waste moves before they disappear
You can move a top corner card to a foundation while the stock is available. Doing so uncovers the next card in that pile and may change where the current dealt card should go. Check the corner tops before placing another card on them.
On the second pass there is no further gathering. A useful card buried under unplayable cards can remain trapped when the stock ends, so prioritize moves that clear the corner tops.