Spider Solitaire tips for success 
by eSue

Don’t be discouraged by hundreds and hundreds of lost games. That is what I did. I won one game out of a hundred, then one game out of 76. Now after nearly 1,000 games I win 47% of the time. Follow the suggestions below and you WILL progress faster than I. But your more speedy progress will be no less enjoyable than my slower pace.

Spider Solitaire comes with Windows ME and above. That means if you have Win98, Win95, Win3.1, etc., you will have to download it from this site.

FIRST, Rick Holzgrafe has compiled an excellent set of rules. I studied them diligently and printed them out. I put them right next to my monitor and referred to them again and again. Please note that Rick's downloads are for Macs only. However the written instructions are universal and the best of any I’ve found. I am sure the download would be immensely helpful if you have a Mac. So, that’s the first tip, print out Rick's page! If the site has disappeared, eMail me and I will email Rick's rules. Use those rules until you get the hang of it, and then start implementing the suggestions below. And let us both tell Rick, thank you for Solitaire Till Dawn

note: I suggest that you stop with this first step and do a lot of practicing with Rick's rules. Concentrate on them, be sure you understand them. And only then proceed to my rules below.

The SECOND thing I learned was to use the undo key (or Ctrl Z) over and over and over and over yet again. Especially important is the first deal. Try different combinations by using the undo command. Keeping the suits together is important, but not as important as opening up at least one or more blank piles on the first deal. Note: this is not often possible, but keep trying. If you can’t open a blank pile on the first deal, it will be harder to open a pile after succeeding deals. No problem, keep practicing. Practice is what makes the difference.

THIRD, play the open pile to utmost advantage. Again, use the undo key to get a feel for different combinations. Regarding an open pile, before you fill it, be sure that all moves on exposed cards have been made. (In other words, don’t muddy the waters; clear them before going on.)

FOURTH in importance is to break up a run of suits in order to move cards around one or two blank piles. Suits will usually form and reform, sometimes easily. Be deliberate. Try to restrain eagerness when it seems that ‘finally something is going right;’ because what looks like a good move at first glance might be counter-productive in the longer run. I say again: Be deliberate. 

FIFTH, if a game seems promising, get a feel for all the cards exposed. Runs of suits can really sneak away from you with each deal when they are spread all over. So KEEP A RUNNING CHECK ON WHICH SUITES LOOKS PROMISING. If I am able to, I keep some piles as miscellaneous pile and herd desired cards in desired directions.

FINALLY, after I began to get a better feel and improve my winning (slowly), I used the save feature at the beginning of the game. Then if the game seems promising or almost (but not quite) winnable; then review and see which are the suits to concentrate on, reopen the game. Play it again, and be merciless protecting the chosen suit or suits with each deal. You will be surprised at the different results. I have played some games over three and more times, finally succeeding in winning the game.

After you begin to see improvement, tell me your progress. Even if you have only won once or twice, I’d love to hear from you. Spider is fun. But I digress. After you see improvement, let me know. I will give you a special secret. Email me at eSue@OnComputers.info. I can hardly wait until you eMail me, I want to share the secret weapon, but you gotta practice a lot until you see some wins (eSue snickers maliciously, hehehehe).


A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION:

MissM writes, “Does it help to move cards from the bigger piles?” 

If you are talking about the face down piles, the answer is a most definite No! The object is to open a slot at all costs, therefore, aim for the smaller piles. This is especially important towards the beginning of the game, less important later. If you are talking about the face up piles, the answer is, “it all depends on the situation.”

……………. Now, all you friends and fiends, let me hear some questions and budding success stories. When you send me questions (please?) I can add them to this FAQ section. It will help me make this site more interesting.

eSue 
eSue@OnComputers.info
www.OnComputers.info