5 FreeCell Tricks That Separate Beginners From Experts

Experts Distinguish Live Cards From Dead Cards

A live card is one that can move somewhere permanent — onto the foundation, into a stable column, or into a cell it will leave immediately. A dead card is one that’s technically movable but leads nowhere useful. Beginners move whatever is legal. Experts look at a card and ask, “in three moves, will this be better or worse?” If the answer is worse, they leave it alone and cycle the deck or try a different column. Most lost FreeCell games are a graveyard of legal moves that went nowhere.