How to Set Up Solitaire — Card Layouts for Every Popular Variant

Setting up solitaire correctly is the first step to a good game. Get the deal wrong and the game won't work. This guide covers exact dealing instructions for the most popular solitaire variants — whether you're playing with a physical deck on a table or just want to understand how the digital version lays out the cards.

Klondike Solitaire Setup (Classic)

Klondike is what most people mean by "solitaire." Here's exactly how to deal it:

What you need

One standard 52-card deck, shuffled well.

Dealing step by step

1. Column 1: Deal 1 card face-up.
2. Column 2: Deal 1 card face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
3. Column 3: Deal 2 cards face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
4. Column 4: Deal 3 cards face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
5. Column 5: Deal 4 cards face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
6. Column 6: Deal 5 cards face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.
7. Column 7: Deal 6 cards face-down, then 1 card face-up on top.

That uses 28 cards. The remaining 24 cards go face-down in a pile to the upper-left — this is your stock (draw pile). Leave space for 4 foundation piles in the upper-right.

Quick count check

Want to learn the full rules? Read our How to Play Solitaire guide.

Play Klondike Solitaire free online →

Spider Solitaire Setup

Spider uses two full decks (104 cards total). You can play with 1, 2, or 4 suits.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle both decks together into a single 104-card pile.
2. Columns 1–4: Deal 6 cards each (5 face-down + 1 face-up).
3. Columns 5–10: Deal 5 cards each (4 face-down + 1 face-up).

That uses 54 cards. The remaining 50 cards stay in the stock pile, face-down. There are no visible foundation piles — completed sequences (K through A of the same suit) are automatically removed.

Quick count check

Full rules: How to Play Spider Solitaire →

Play Spider Solitaire free online →

FreeCell Setup

FreeCell is unique: every card is face-up from the start. No hidden information — pure strategy.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Deal all 52 cards face-up into 8 columns.
3. The first 4 columns get 7 cards each.
4. The last 4 columns get 6 cards each.

That's it — all 52 cards are on the table. Above the tableau, you have:

• 4 free cells (upper-left): temporary storage, one card each.
• 4 foundations (upper-right): build up by suit, Ace to King.

There is no stock pile and no waste pile.

Quick count check

Play FreeCell free online →

Pyramid Solitaire Setup

Pyramid Solitaire has a distinctive triangular layout.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Deal cards face-up in a pyramid shape:
   • Row 1: 1 card
   • Row 2: 2 cards (slightly overlapping row 1)
   • Row 3: 3 cards
   • Row 4: 4 cards
   • Row 5: 5 cards
   • Row 6: 6 cards
   • Row 7: 7 cards
3. Each row overlaps the row above it, so only the bottom row (7 cards) is fully exposed.

That uses 28 cards. The remaining 24 cards form the draw pile. The goal is to remove all cards from the pyramid by pairing cards that add up to 13 (King = 13 and is removed alone).

Play Pyramid Solitaire free online →

Yukon Solitaire Setup

Yukon is like Klondike but with no stock pile — all 52 cards are dealt to the tableau.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Deal 7 columns in the same staircase pattern as Klondike (1 card, 2 cards, ... 7 cards).
3. Now deal the remaining 24 cards face-up — 4 cards each on top of columns 2 through 7.

Column 1 has just 1 face-up card. Columns 2–7 each have their original face-down cards plus 4 extra face-up cards on top. There's no stock pile at all.

Full rules: How to Play Yukon Solitaire →

Play Yukon Solitaire free online →

Golf Solitaire Setup

Golf is a fast, simple game with 7 open columns.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Deal 7 columns of 5 cards each, all face-up. Overlap the cards so you can see every rank.
3. The remaining 17 cards form the stock pile, face-down.
4. Flip one card from the stock to the waste pile to start.

Only the bottom card of each column is available. Remove cards that are one rank higher or lower than the waste card, regardless of suit.

Full rules: How to Play Golf Solitaire →

Play Golf Solitaire free online →

TriPeaks Solitaire Setup

TriPeaks has a unique layout of three overlapping peaks.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Deal 3 cards face-down in a row with gaps — these are the peak tops.
3. Deal 6 cards face-down, 2 overlapping each peak card.
4. Deal 9 cards face-down, 3 under the previous row.
5. Deal 10 cards face-up as the base row, overlapping the row above.
6. The remaining 24 cards form the stock. Deal 1 to start the waste pile.

Total: 28 cards in the peaks (18 face-down, 10 face-up) + 24 in the stock.

Full rules: How to Play TriPeaks Solitaire →

Play TriPeaks Solitaire free online →

Canfield Solitaire Setup

Canfield has a distinctive reserve pile and random foundation starting rank.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Deal 13 cards face-down into a single pile — this is the reserve. Flip the top card face-up.
3. Deal 1 card face-up to the first foundation. This rank sets the starting rank for all foundations.
4. Deal 4 cards face-up, one to each of 4 tableau columns.
5. The remaining 34 cards form the stock pile.

Full rules: How to Play Canfield Solitaire →

Play Canfield Solitaire free online →

Scorpion Solitaire Setup

Scorpion uses nearly the entire deck in 7 columns of 7 cards.

Dealing step by step

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.
2. Columns 1–4: Deal 3 cards face-down, then 4 cards face-up (7 cards each).
3. Columns 5–7: Deal all 7 cards face-up.
4. The remaining 3 cards are set aside as a reserve, dealt later when stuck.

Full rules: How to Play Scorpion Solitaire →

Play Scorpion Solitaire free online →

Complete Solitaire Card Layout Reference

Tips for Setting Up with Physical Cards

• Shuffle well: Riffle shuffle at least 3–5 times. A poorly shuffled deck creates clumped sequences that make the game too easy or too hard.
• Use a large table: Klondike needs about 3 feet of width for 7 columns with enough overlap to see card ranks. Spider's 10 columns need even more room.
• Overlap face-down cards tightly: Only the face-up top card needs to be fully visible. Overlap the face-down cards so they take up less space.
• Leave room for foundations: Reserve space above or beside the tableau for the foundation piles before you start dealing.

Or skip the table entirely and play solitaire online for free — the cards deal themselves.