Learn beginner strategy for Pyramid Solitaire. Pairing priorities, King management and stock use explained simply for new players.
Pyramid Solitaire looks deceptively simple — remove pairs of cards that add up to 13, clear the pyramid, win. In practice, the game has a strategic depth that most casual players never discover. The pairing decisions you make in the first ten moves determine which cards become accessible in the middle game; King management shapes whether the pyramid opens up or locks down; and stock use — when to draw, when to hold back, how many passes to preserve — is the difference between a hand that finishes cleanly and one that stalls with eight cards left and nowhere to go.
Pyramid Solitaire looks deceptively simple — remove pairs of cards that add up to 13, clear the pyramid, win. In practice, the game has a strategic depth that most casual players never discover. The pairing decisions you make in the first ten moves determine which cards become accessible in the middle game; King management shapes whether the pyramid opens up or locks down; and stock use — when to draw, when to hold back, how many passes to preserve — is the difference between a hand that finishes cleanly and one that stalls with eight cards left and nowhere to go.
Casual Pyramid players win roughly 10–20% of games. Players who apply the three strategic dimensions covered in this guide — pairing priorities, King management, and stock discipline — consistently win 25–40% of games with the same deals. The difference is not the cards; it is the order in which they are removed. Our free Pyramid Solitaire game is the best place to apply everything in this guide from your very next hand.
Pyramid Solitaire deals 28 cards face-up into a seven-row triangular pyramid — one card at the apex, two in the second row, down to seven in the bottom row. Each card in rows one through six is partially covered by two cards in the row below it; a card is only accessible when both cards overlapping it have been removed. The remaining 24 cards form the stock, drawn one at a time onto a waste pile. Remove pairs of accessible cards whose ranks sum to 13: Ace + Queen (1+12), 2 + Jack (2+11), 3 + 10 (3+10), 4 + 9 (4+9), 5 + 8 (5+8), 6 + 7 (6+7). Kings (rank 13) are removed singly. Win by clearing all 28 pyramid cards. For full rules, see our complete Pyramid rules guide.
The single most important strategic insight in Pyramid Solitaire is that not all pairs are equal. Removing a pair that uncovers two new pyramid cards is dramatically more valuable than removing a pair that uncovers zero. The correct pairing priority framework has three levels.
Tier 1 — pairs that uncover pyramid cards: Any pair whose removal exposes one or two previously covered pyramid cards. These are always the highest priority because they expand the accessible card population, giving you more options on every subsequent move. Among Tier 1 pairs, prefer pairs that uncover cards in higher pyramid rows (rows 1–4, counting from the top) over pairs that only uncover bottom-row cards — uncovering higher rows cascades more future accessibility than uncovering cards that were already one step from accessible.
Tier 2 — pairs between a pyramid card and a stock/waste card: A pyramid card paired with a drawn stock card removes one pyramid card while consuming a stock card. These are valuable when no Tier 1 pair is available, but they have a cost: each stock card used this way is gone from the pool available for future pyramid pairings. Prefer Tier 2 pairs involving pyramid cards in rows 1–4 over bottom-row pyramid cards — again, clearing higher pyramid positions cascades more future accessibility.
Tier 3 — pairs between two stock or waste cards: Two non-pyramid cards pairing together clears neither a pyramid position nor expands accessibility. These pairs are occasionally necessary to cycle the waste pile to a needed card position, but they should be treated as a last resort rather than a productive play.
Kings are Pyramid's most unusual cards — they are the only cards removed singly, without a pair, because their rank of 13 already equals the target sum. This makes them simultaneously easy to remove and strategically critical to sequence correctly.
Remove accessible Kings immediately in almost all cases. A King sitting on a pyramid row top or accessible in the waste pile costs nothing to remove and directly uncovers the two cards beneath it. Delaying a King removal provides almost no benefit and frequently costs one or two turns of accessibility that could have been opening new pyramid cards. The only exception: occasionally a King in the waste pile should be left one position down if the card currently above it is about to pair with a pyramid card and removing the waste King now would bury the more valuable pair opportunity.
Track buried Kings carefully. Kings buried in higher pyramid rows (rows 1–4) are among the most dangerous cards in the deck — each one blocks two cards beneath it and cannot be paired away, only removed singly when it finally becomes accessible. Identify buried Kings at the start of each game and plan your uncovering sequence to expose them efficiently. A King in row 3 of the pyramid requires clearing a specific path of four to six cards before it becomes accessible; knowing this early allows you to sequence those clearing moves deliberately rather than discovering the blockage mid-game.
Kings in the stock are not free. A King drawn from the stock must be removed immediately — it cannot be paired and if left on the waste pile it buries the card beneath it, potentially blocking a pair you need. When a King appears on the waste pile top, remove it before drawing again. If you draw a King and cannot remove it immediately because it is in the middle of the waste pile rather than on top, this represents a small but real sequencing cost that compounds if multiple stock Kings appear close together.
The stock in Pyramid Solitaire is not a backup — it is an active strategic resource whose management determines the outcome of the game's final phase. Most implementations allow one, two, or three passes through the stock. Every draw decision has permanent consequences for later passes.
Exhaust all available pyramid pairings before drawing. Before each stock draw, check every accessible pyramid card against every other accessible pyramid card and against the current waste pile top. Only after confirming no pyramid-to-pyramid pair and no pyramid-to-waste-top pair exists should you draw. Drawing prematurely when a pyramid pair was available is one of the most common sources of lost Pyramid games — the drawn card changes the waste pile top and may bury the card that would have completed the pair on the next draw.
Track which cards you need from the stock. As the game progresses, you will have pyramid cards whose partners have not yet appeared — a 4 of Hearts in the pyramid waiting for a 9 of any suit, a 6 of Clubs waiting for a 7. Keep a rough mental note of which ranks you need from the stock. When drawing, notice each card as it passes through the waste and register whether it is a card you need. This mental tracking prevents the common mistake of cycling past a needed card without recognising it and then needing to complete an additional full pass to reach it again.
Preserve stock passes for the endgame. In implementations that allow multiple passes, the later passes are typically more valuable than the early passes — the pyramid has thinned by then and fewer cards remain to pair. If you are playing a two-pass or three-pass version, be especially conservative with stock cards in pass one: every stock card used to pair a bottom-row pyramid card in pass one is a card unavailable for a critical top-pyramid pairing in pass two or three. Pass one should prioritise pyramid-to-pyramid pairings; stock cards in pass one are best reserved for cards that will uncover rows 1–4.
1. Always Remove Kings the Moment They Become Accessible
An accessible King removed immediately uncovers two pyramid cards at zero cost. A delayed King removal is a wasted turn of accessibility. Remove every accessible King without hesitation — it is the closest thing to a free move in Pyramid Solitaire.
2. Prioritise Pairs That Uncover Higher Pyramid Rows
When multiple pairs are available simultaneously, always choose the one that uncovers cards in the highest pyramid row. Row 1 (apex) and row 2 uncoverings cascade the most future accessibility; bottom-row uncoverings cascade the least. This single priority ordering is the most impactful strategic habit in the game.
3. Check All Accessible Cards Before Drawing From the Stock
Before every stock draw, check every accessible pyramid card against every other accessible pyramid card. Missing a pyramid-to-pyramid pair because you drew before checking is the most common preventable mistake in Pyramid Solitaire.
4. Use the Waste Pile Top as a Pairing Resource, Not Just a Draw Point
The waste pile top is always accessible and should be evaluated against all accessible pyramid cards before every draw. The habit: after drawing each stock card, immediately check whether the new waste top pairs with any accessible pyramid card before drawing again.
5. Track Which Rank Partners You Still Need
Identify the ranks still needed to complete pyramid pairs. If you have a 5 in the pyramid and both 8s have already been discarded in unproductive stock pairs, that 5 may be unremovable — recognising this early saves you from building a strategy around clearing a card that cannot be cleared.
6. Do Not Use Stock Cards to Pair Bottom-Row Cards If a Better Option Exists
Bottom-row pyramid cards that uncover nothing are the lowest-value clearing targets. Spending a stock card to remove one is a trade that costs you a future pairing resource for minimal gain. Exhaust all pyramid-to-pyramid pairing options first.
7. Leave the Waste Pile in a Useful Position Before Cycling
When you reach the end of the stock and begin a new pass, the card on top of the waste pile is the first one accessible in the new cycle. Before completing a pass, aim to leave the waste pile topped by a card that pairs with an accessible pyramid card — giving you an immediate productive move at the start of the next pass.
8. Clear One Side of the Pyramid Before Spreading Across Both
Rather than removing pairs randomly across the full bottom row, focus clearing effort on one half of the pyramid until a column opens up toward the apex. A clear vertical channel through the pyramid — even a partial one — exposes more high-row cards faster than evenly thinning the bottom row.
9. Recognise Unremovable Cards Early and Adjust Your Plan
If both partners of a pyramid card have already been used in stock-to-stock pairs or discarded in ways that make them inaccessible, that pyramid card is permanently stuck. Recognising this early — rather than discovering it in the final five moves — allows you to adjust your remaining strategy around it, or to resign and start a new hand without wasting further time.
10. Count the Remaining Pyramid Cards When the Stock Is Half Done
At approximately the halfway point of the stock, count how many pyramid cards remain and estimate whether enough pairing resources remain to clear them. If fifteen or more pyramid cards remain and the stock is half exhausted, the hand is likely heading toward a partial clear — shift strategy to maximise the number of pairs made rather than fixating on a complete clear that may not be achievable.
The most damaging mistake in Pyramid Solitaire is removing pairs between two stock or waste cards when pyramid pairs were available. Stock-to-stock pairs are almost never productive: they consume two cards from the future pairing pool without uncovering a single pyramid position. Before removing any stock-to-waste-pile pair, confirm that no pyramid card is accessible whose partner is also accessible or sitting on the waste top.
The second most common mistake is ignoring buried Kings until they become an emergency. A King buried in row 3 of the pyramid requires a specific sequence of uncoverings to reach; discovering this blockage in the endgame when the stock is nearly exhausted leaves no options for resequencing. Identify all buried Kings on the first scan of each hand and incorporate their uncovering paths into your opening move sequence.
Apply the three-tier priority framework: first, pairs between two accessible pyramid cards where at least one removal uncovers a new pyramid card (highest priority, always prefer pairs that uncover higher rows); second, pairs between an accessible pyramid card and the current waste pile top; third, pairs between two stock or waste cards only when no pyramid pairing option exists. Within each tier, prioritise by which removal uncovers the highest pyramid row. This framework consistently produces more complete clears per session than any other approach. Play our free Pyramid Solitaire game and apply the framework from your next hand.
Remove accessible Kings immediately in almost all cases — they uncover two pyramid cards at zero cost and delaying them provides almost no benefit. Track the positions of Kings buried in the pyramid at the start of each hand, and plan the uncovering path for each buried King before the mid-game makes resequencing impossible. Remove Kings from the waste pile top before drawing additional stock cards — a King on the waste pile top blocks access to the card beneath it until it is removed. See our solitaire win rates guide for the full analysis of why King management has an outsized impact on Pyramid win rates.
No. Approximately 60–75% of randomly dealt Pyramid hands cannot be completely cleared even with perfect strategy — the pairing combinations simply do not exist in the dealt arrangement. In these hands the goal shifts from a complete clear to maximising the number of pairs made and minimising the pyramid cards remaining. A hand that clears 24 of 28 pyramid cards is a strong result even without a complete clear, and the strategic habits in this guide produce more of these strong partial results in addition to more complete wins. For the full context of unwinnable rates across solitaire variants, see our solitaire win rates guide.