Should You Create an Empty Column Before Another Stock Pass?

Create an empty column before the next stock pass when you already know how the lane will be used. The strongest case is a King in the waste that will become accessible on the next pass and can then release another waste card or move a useful sequence.

Do not clear a column simply because the stock is about to recycle. The clear must improve the planned pass.

Plan around a known King

Suppose K♣ appears late in the waste but no empty column exists. Before redealing, you can move 6♠–5♥ from a short column onto 7♦, clearing the lane. On the next pass, K♣ enters that lane and exposes the card beneath it in the waste.

The tableau move and the stock plan support each other; neither is useful alone.

The clear can change Draw 3 access

In Draw 3, playing the King removes one card from the stock cycle. That can shift later packet boundaries. If your target card was one position away from becoming topmost, the planned King move may unlock it on the following pass.

Record the target before redealing rather than relying on memory of every card.

Do not pay too much for the lane

Avoid sending 6♣ to a foundation early if 5♥ still needs it as a parent, or breaking a useful sequence merely to make the column visually empty. A forced clear that creates a larger block is not progress.

If no King is accessible and no rearrangement needs the space, keep working on reveals instead.

Before the redeal

1. Identify the King or run that will use the new column.
2. Confirm when it appears in the next stock pass.
3. Check what card the King move exposes.
4. Verify that clearing the column does not consume needed parents.
5. In Draw 3, note how many cards the planned pass will remove.

Test the setup in Play Klondike Draw 1 and Play Klondike Draw 3.

Sources used

• 1 PlaySoli implementation and editorial specification.
• 2 Current PlaySoli product rules: Solitaire Turn 1.
• 3 Current PlaySoli product rules: Solitaire Turn 3.