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How to Play Las Vegas Solitaire

Play double solitaire with two decks of cards.
deck of cards image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com

Many Las Vegas casinos offer solitaire as a gambling option for eager players. Las Vegas solitaire is a variation of classic Klondike solitaire, with a few key changes designed to gauge how much a player wins. The further he gets, the more he wins, and if the player successfully completes the game, he scores a jackpot. The strategy remains the same as with regular solitaire, and the virtues of discipline and patience still serve the player well.

Pay an upfront amount to participate in the game. Your base bet buys you one round in most Las Vegas casinos.

The dealer creates 7 stacks of cards in a single row; the rightmost stack has 7 cards, the one next to it has 6, the one next to it has 5 and so on. The topmost card of every stack is turned face up; the remaining cards are face down.

If any face-up aces are visible, the dealer moves them to form the start of a foundation. The object is to build four foundations, each consisting of one suit, with all of the cards in ascending order from ace up to king on each foundation.

If any 2s are face-up on the stacks and the ace of the corresponding suit is in a foundation, you may place the 2 on top of the ace. Higher numbers may be placed on the foundation in a similar manner if the next lowest card in the suit is present. For example, if the 6 of clubs is on the foundation and the 7 of clubs is face-up on a stack, you may choose to place the 7 on top of the 6 on the foundation.

If any face-up card is ranked one lower than another face-up card and has an alternating suit color, you may place the lower card on top of the higher card. For instance, you may place the 3 of spades on top of the 4 of diamonds if both are face-up on the stacks, or the 10 of clubs on top of the jack of hearts.

Turn any face-down card at the top of a stack face-up. Any face-up kings may be placed in an empty position where a stack has been completely spent.

Turn over the top card in the remainder of the deck if you have no more options in the stack itself. You may place that card anywhere in the stacks or the foundations if it fits with the parameters described in Steps 3 through 5.

You may go through the remainder of the deck one time before the game ends. When it does, the dealer counts up the number of cards in the foundation and pays a certain amount for each one.

Tip

Gauge the pay-off amount in relation to your initial bet before playing Las Vegas solitaire. If it's a $100 base bet and the house pays $10 for every card in the foundation ("upstairs"), you need 10 cards in the foundation to break even and 11 to get ahead.

Betting amounts and jackpots for completing the entire game successfully vary from casino to casino.

Warnings:

  • As with any gambling, place your bets responsibly with Las Vegas solitaire and never bet more than you can afford to lose.
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