How to Score Solitaire

You can keep track of your score when you play Solitaire so you know how well you did, even when you do not officially beat the game. Keep the score manually or let the computer do the work when you play on your favorite PC.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Deck of playing cards without the Jokers
• Computer with Solitaire installed to keep track of points, shuffle cards and set up the game quickly and easily
• Notepad and pencil to track your score manually

Track Points for a Normal Solitaire Game

1. Shuffle the cards thoroughly and deal the cards into the Solitaire game.
2. Divide a notepad into 2 sections by drawing a line down the middle of the paper. On the left side, write '5' at the top of the area and on the right side, add '10.'
3. Place a mark under the 10 side of the paper each time you move a card to one of the foundations (where the Aces start the ascending card piles).
4. Add a mark under the 5 section for each card played from the waste stack (the cards you sort through) to the columns.
5. Total your points when all of the cards have been moved to the foundations or you can no longer play a card.

Score a Las Vegas-Style Solitaire Game

6. Shuffle the cards and set up the Solitaire game as normal.
7. Write down '-52' on your notepad, which represents $1 for every card laid down for the Solitaire game.
8. Play Solitaire until you have no moves left, focusing on moving cards to the 4 foundations.
9. Count the number cards played in the foundations and write this number down on your notepad.
10. Multiply the number of cards in the foundations by 5 and place this number above the '-52' on the page. For example, 20 cards will equal 100 points.
11. Do the math by subtracting 52 from your point total to get your game score.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep track of your scores to find out if you are getting better over time.
• When playing Las Vegas scoring, make the game more challenging by only going through the waste stack once when flipping each card or 3 times when flipping every third card.
• Play against a friend or two and compare scores to see who is the better player.
• Scoring your Solitaire game significantly increases the time each game takes.