Audit all ten columns before the first move
Count the face-down cards in each column, then identify every legal destination for the exposed cards. A short column is only a useful target when its face-up cards have a complete route off the column.
Mark duplicate ranks, existing suited joins, and cards with only one destination. Duplicate ranks preserve alternatives; a unique landing rank can become a bottleneck if it is consumed too early.
Compare what a move reveals and what it leaves behind
A move that reveals a face-down card usually produces more information than one that merely lengthens a visible build. It is not automatically best, however: check whether the moved card can leave its destination later and whether it buries a useful suited run.
When two moves reveal a card, prefer the line that creates a suited connection, preserves alternative landing ranks, or continues to shorten the same empty-column candidate.
Plan a route to the first empty column
The first empty column often requires several moves. Choose a candidate column and account for where each exposed card will go. Protect any unique landing rank that the route depends on.
Once the column is empty, assign it a purpose before filling it: separate a suit break, hold a suited run, reveal another column, or help create a second empty column.
Finish the current tableau before dealing
A stock deal places a new card on all ten columns, including runs you have just organized. If the current tableau can still reveal a card, join a suit, reduce a suit break, or advance the empty-column route, take that value first.
Before dealing, confirm that every column is occupied, vulnerable suited runs are complete, and each exposed bottom card still has a plausible destination after it is covered.
Four opening checks
- Which move reveals a card and still leaves the moved card an exit?
- Which suited joins should be preserved, and which mixed builds will be costly to dismantle?
- Which column can realistically become empty, and where will each card go?
- Has the current tableau truly run out of useful work before the next stock deal?
A strong opening produces information, alternative landing ranks, and reusable space. A tidy surface alone is not progress.
Practice an openingOpening Strategy FAQ
Should the first move always create a suited build?
No. A move that reveals a face-down card or clearly advances the first empty column may be stronger. Compare the reveal with the mobility preserved after the move.
Should I target the column with the fewest face-down cards?
Not automatically. The best candidate also needs realistic destinations for every exposed card and must not consume landing ranks required elsewhere.
Why not make every legal build in the opening?
Each build consumes a landing rank, and every off-suit join creates a break that cannot move as a unit. A move that neither reveals a card, joins a suit, nor advances an empty column may reduce future options.
When should I take the first stock deal?
Deal only after useful reveals, suited connections, and empty-column progress are exhausted and all ten columns contain at least one card.