Canfield Solitaire Rules: The Casino Patience Game

Most card games that ended up as casino offerings were designed for the house to win. Canfield Solitaire is unusual because one person built an entire casino around it, sold individual decks as gambling tickets, and paid back cash for every card a player moved to the foundations. The mathematics worked out strongly in the house's favor: the win rate is approximately 3%, and even partial wins usually returned less than the $52 buy-in. Richard Canfield's game was both a masterpiece of casino design and one of the hardest solitaire variants ever invented.

Richard A. Canfield and the casino game

Richard A. Canfield was an American gambler and casino operator who ran the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs, New York in the 1890s and early 1900s. He was regarded as one of the most sophisticated gambling operators of his era and ran establishments that attracted wealthy patrons in New York City and Saratoga.

Canfield offered a solitaire game as a casino attraction. The terms were structured as follows: a player purchased a shuffled deck of cards for $52 (representing the 52 cards in the deck, one dollar per card). The casino agreed to pay back $5 for every card the player successfully moved to the foundation piles. If a player won the full game, moving all 52 cards to the foundations, the payout was $260 on a $52 bet, a profit of $208.

The structure sounds generous but was calculated carefully. Breaking even required moving at least 11 cards to the foundations. Winning the full game at approximately 3% frequency meant the house collected on the large majority of plays. The game's genuine difficulty kept the odds firmly on the house side while providing players with a real sense of agency and skill.

Setup

Canfield uses a single standard 52-card deck. The deal creates four distinct areas:

• Reserve pile: 13 cards dealt face-down, then flipped face-up, forming a pile at the left. All 13 cards are visible but only the top card is available.
• Foundations: The first card dealt after the reserve goes to the first foundation. This card's rank is the base rank for all four foundations. All foundations must start at this rank, not necessarily from Ace.
• Tableau: 4 columns, one card each, dealt face-up.
• Stock: The remaining 34 cards, face-down.

The random base rank and wrapping

The most unusual aspect of Canfield is the random foundation base rank. If the 14th card dealt (the first foundation card) is a 7, all four foundations begin at 7. The first foundation immediately shows the 7 of whatever suit it is. The other three foundations wait for a 7 of each remaining suit to start.

Foundations build upward in suit, but they wrap around. If the base rank is 7, the sequence runs 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The King is followed by the Ace, which is followed by 2, and so on. A completed foundation in a Canfield game starting on 7 ends with the 6, not the King.

This wrapping rule is critical and easy to forget. In most solitaire games, Ace is always the bottom and King is always the top. In Canfield, the bottom and top shift depending on the deal.

Tableau and stock rules

Tableau builds: Columns build in alternating colors and descending rank, same as Klondike. A red 6 goes on a black 7.

The reserve: The top card of the reserve is always available to play to the tableau or foundations. When a reserve card is moved, the next reserve card becomes available. The reserve is not refilled during play.

Stock: Cards are flipped from the stock in groups of three (in the original casino version), with the top card of the waste available for play. Many digital versions offer a one-card draw option for a more manageable game.

Redeals: The waste pile may be turned over and redealt without limit in most versions of the game.

Empty columns: When a tableau column empties, it must be filled from the reserve if cards remain there. Only when the reserve is empty may you choose freely what to place in an empty column.

Why the win rate is about 3%

Several factors combine to produce the extremely low win rate. The wrapping foundation creates dependency chains that are less intuitive to plan. The reserve pile empties at a fixed rate driven by tableau needs, often stranding useful cards behind less useful ones. The four-column tableau is small, giving very little maneuvering room compared to Klondike's seven columns. And the three-card draw from the stock (in the casino version) means most cards cycle past in an inaccessible position for multiple passes.

Even with unlimited redeals, the combination of a small tableau and a wrapping foundation creates lock states that cannot be resolved regardless of how many times the stock is recycled.

Five strategy tips

1. 1

   Learn the wrapping sequence before the first move

   Note the base rank at the start of every game. Write out the full foundation sequence in your head: base rank up to King, then Ace, then 2 up to the card one below the base rank. Knowing this sequence prevents moves that feel right but are actually out of order.
2. 2

   Keep reserve cards moving

   The reserve pile is a constant drag on the game. Cards trapped in the reserve cannot go anywhere until the ones above them are moved. Prioritize plays that clear reserve cards over plays that merely rearrange the tableau.
3. 3

   Delay emptying columns when the reserve is non-empty

   Because an empty column forces you to place the top reserve card there, clearing a column prematurely can push an unhelpful reserve card into an expensive position. Wait until the reserve card you would be forced to place is one you actually want in that spot.
4. 4

   Send cards to the foundation as early as possible

   Unlike in some Klondike strategies where holding tableau cards improves flexibility, in Canfield there is rarely a benefit to keeping foundation-ready cards on the tableau. The small tableau means spare cards clog the layout. Move to foundations promptly.
5. 5

   Accept the 3% win rate and maximize foundation cards per game

   A realistic goal is maximizing how many cards reach the foundation per session, not winning every deal. Getting 15 to 20 cards onto foundations consistently is strong play. Full wins will come from favorable deals when you play optimally.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Richard Canfield?

Richard A. Canfield was an American casino operator active in the 1890s and early 1900s, known for high-end gambling establishments in New York and Saratoga Springs. He created the casino patience game that bears his name, selling decks for $52 and paying $5 per foundation card.

What is the reserve pile in Canfield?

The reserve is a pile of 13 face-up cards dealt at the start. All cards are visible but only the top card is playable. When a reserve card is moved, the next one becomes available. Empty tableau columns must be filled from the reserve until it is exhausted.

What is the wrapping rule in Canfield?

Foundations build up from a randomly determined base rank and wrap from King to Ace. If the base is 9, the sequence is 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The game ends when all four foundations complete their 13-card wrapping sequences.

Is Canfield the same as Demon Solitaire?

Demon is the British name for Canfield. The rules are essentially identical: reserve pile, random base rank, wrapping foundations, four-column tableau, three-card draw from stock. The name differs by country.

How many redeals are allowed?

Most versions of Canfield allow unlimited redeals of the waste pile. The original casino version also allowed unlimited redeals, though some rule variations cap it at two or three redeals to increase difficulty.