2026-10-18
Middle cards in Higher or Lower: how to call a 6, 7 or 8
Exact Higher or Lower counts for a 6, 7 or 8, why a fresh 7 is an even call, and how the cards already seen tip it one way or the other.
The card notes
Card Notes: Solitaire Strategy and Card Game Guides
Worked examples and practical guides for Klondike, FreeCell, Spider, Pyramid, TriPeaks, Golf, Yukon, Blackjack and more, written for the tables on Card Lounge.
2026-10-18
Aces and Kings in Higher or Lower: the guesses you cannot lose
With an Ace showing in Higher or Lower nothing is lower, and with a King nothing is higher. Exact counts, how ties work, and when other cards turn safe.
2026-10-18
Six decks in one shoe: what 312 cards mean at the blackjack table
Count the Card Lounge blackjack shoe exactly: 24 of every rank, 96 ten-value cards, a reshuffle below 78 cards, and how little one hand shifts the mix.
2026-10-18
Doubling at the blackjack table: one card, twice the play chips
How Double works in Card Lounge blackjack: first two cards only, exactly one more card, and the play-chip arithmetic of a doubled win, push or loss.
2026-10-18
Reading your Card Lounge statistics: what played, won and best really count
What each Card Lounge statistic records, how abandoned rounds lower your win rate, what counts as a move in each game and how to track your progress honestly.
2026-10-18
Memory Pairs: why a red seven never matches a black seven
Card Lounge Memory Pairs matches rank and colour. See why almost every grid hides four cards of some rank, and how naming cards by colour saves turns.
2026-10-18
Why Aces and twos need a plan in Golf solitaire
With no wrap in Card Lounge Golf, an Ace connects only to a 2. Learn to time your twos, clear an Ace in the middle of a run and count the twos still to come.
2026-10-18
Golf solitaire on a budget: making 16 stock cards last
Treat the Golf stock as a budget of 17 runs: read the counters, work out which cards are still to come and leave column tops the next draw can reach.
2026-10-18
The last few stock cards in TriPeaks: how to play the endgame
When the TriPeaks stock runs low, list what each stranded card needs, count the helpers still unseen and sometimes cut a chain short to leave easier cards behind.
2026-10-18
Opening the TriPeaks peaks: which cards to clear first
A TriPeaks card turns face up only when both cards beneath it have gone. Learn to clear neighbouring cards, use the shared base cards and keep all three peaks moving.
2026-10-18
Why some Pyramid pairs that make 13 can never be removed
In Pyramid a card can never pair with a card that rests on it. Learn to spot these blocked pairs and count how many partners must come from the stock.
2026-10-18
Three passes through the Pyramid stock: how to plan each one
Plan your three Pyramid stock passes: the waste works as a stack, every pass repeats the same order, and the third pass is the last chance for each card.
2026-10-18
Before the first move: a five-point scan of a FreeCell deal
Every FreeCell card starts face up, so you can read the whole deal first. A five-point scan of Aces, twos, short columns, Kings and top cards, worked through on deal #1.
2026-10-18
FreeCell long runs: how each empty column doubles your move
Free cells add one card to a FreeCell run move, empty columns double it, and an empty destination column does not count. Worked counts show when a long run moves in one go.
2026-10-18
Spider stock timing: when to deal the next ten cards
Each Spider deal drops one face-up card on all ten columns and needs every column filled first. A pre-deal checklist and a worked two-suit position show when to deal.
2026-10-18
Spider suits: why a legal build is not always a movable run
In two-suit and four-suit Spider any card goes on the next rank up, yet only same-suit runs move or leave the table. Learn to count pieces and repair mixed builds.
2026-10-18
Yukon or Klondike: what changes when there is no stock?
Yukon deals all 52 cards and lets any face-up card move with the cards on top of it. Compare the deal, move rules, empty columns, foundations and Finish with Klondike.
2026-10-18
Yukon empty columns: which King should get the space?
Only a King can fill an empty Yukon column. See which Kings need the space, which can ride along on the card beneath them, and when to keep a column full.
2026-10-18
Unlimited recycles in Klondike: making every pass through the stock count
What a recycle does in Klondike Draw 1 and Draw 3, what each pass costs in moves, why Draw 3 repeats the same cards and how the game decides No moves left.
2026-10-18
Klondike foundations: when to play a card up and when to wait
When a Klondike card should go to its foundation and when it should stay: a quick safety test, a card stranded too early, a rescue from the foundation and Finish.
2026-10-18
Hint, Auto move and Undo: learning without spoiling the deal
How to use Hint, Auto move and Undo in Card Lounge solitaires without spoiling the game: when to ask, what a hint means, and how to replay a deal.
2026-10-18
Memory Pairs: a simple method for fewer turns
A turn-by-turn routine for Memory Pairs: match on rank and colour, explore in a fixed order, never waste your second card, and count your turns.
2026-10-18
Higher or Lower: counting what is left in the deck
With a 5 showing, 16 unseen cards are lower, 3 equal and 32 higher. Learn to count the deck, read the on-screen numbers and build a streak of 10.
2026-10-18
Soft 17 explained: hard and soft totals at the blackjack table
Hard and soft totals, why the dealer stands on soft 17 at Card Lounge, and 3:2 blackjack payouts in play chips, such as 75 chips on a 50-chip bet.
2026-10-18
Yukon: moving whole piles to reach face-down cards
Yukon lets you move any face-up card with everything on top. A worked example shows how to dig out face-down cards and when to empty a column.
2026-10-18
Golf solitaire: why a King on the waste ends your run
In Card Lounge Golf nothing goes on a King and there is no wrap. Learn to read all seven columns, play Kings last and keep your score low.
2026-10-18
TriPeaks chains: which card to play when two of them fit
Plan longer TriPeaks chains on Card Lounge: compare two playable cards, use duplicate ranks and the King–Ace wrap, and draw only when nothing fits.
2026-10-18
Which Pyramid pairs make 13, and which should you take first?
Every pair that makes 13 in Pyramid, when a card is available, how the three passes through the stock work, and how to decide which pair to remove first.
2026-10-18
One, two or four suits: which Spider should you play?
How the number of suits changes Spider: with one suit every descending run moves, with two or four only same-suit runs do. Choose the level that suits you.
2026-10-18
Why is an empty column so valuable in Spider?
An empty Spider column sorts mixed suits, digs out hidden cards and gives Kings a home. Learn to use it well, and why it must be filled before you deal.
2026-10-18
What does a FreeCell deal number mean?
FreeCell deals 1 to 32000 follow the classic Microsoft numbering, so a number always gives the same layout. How to read deal #1, and how to use numbers to practise.
2026-10-18
How many cards can you move at once in FreeCell?
How free cells and empty columns set the FreeCell move limit, with worked numbers, and why every card you park in a free cell shrinks the runs you can move.
2026-10-18
Draw 1 or Draw 3: what really changes in Klondike?
In Draw 3 Klondike only every third stock card shows unless you play from the waste. See which cards you can reach, why order matters and how to plan a recycle.
2026-10-18
Which Klondike move should you make first?
A simple order of priorities for Klondike openings: free the Aces, turn over hidden cards in the longest columns and know when a card should stay in the tableau.