# Why Aces and twos need a plan in Golf solitaire

In Golf most cards have two ways in: a 7 can follow a 6 or an 8. An Ace has only one. Without a plan, Aces sit on top of their columns waiting for a 2 that has already gone, and every card beneath them counts against your score. Here is why the bottom of the deck is almost as awkward as the top, and how to clear it.

## One neighbour at each end

In Card Lounge [Golf](../play/golf.html) you move the top card of any column to the waste when it is exactly one rank higher or lower than the top waste card. Suit never matters; only a rank difference of exactly one counts. There is no wrap-around, so a King and an Ace are not neighbours. That leaves both ends of the deck with a single neighbour:

- **An Ace** connects only to a 2. An Ace in a column can be played only when a 2 is the top waste card, and with an Ace on the waste only a 2 can be played next.
- **A King** connects only to a Queen, and nothing may be played on a King at all.

So an Ace is nearly as awkward as a King, with one difference that matters: an Ace on the waste still accepts a 2. A King always ends the run. An Ace ends it only when no 2 is free.

## Everything depends on the 2s

There are four 2s in the deck, and each Ace in a column needs one of them on the waste at the right moment. A 2 is flexible, since it can follow an Ace or a 3, which makes it tempting to play the first 2 you see. Before you do, ask whether an Ace is about to be uncovered.

Two stacking patterns are better than they look:

- **A 2 lying on an Ace** in the same column. Play the 2 onto an Ace or a 3, and the Ace beneath it can follow at once, because the waste now shows that 2.
- **An Ace lying on a 2.** Once a 2 reaches the waste, the Ace goes, and the 2 underneath can follow it onto the Ace.

The bad case is an Ace uncovered just after the last available 2 has gone. Once all four 2s are on the waste, any Ace still in a column can never leave, and neither can any card beneath it.

## Worked example

Each column is listed top card first. The stock plays no part in this run.

```
Waste: 3♣
Col 1: 2♣  4♦  J♦
Col 2: 3♥  A♠  7♦
Col 3: 4♠  9♥
Col 4: 8♠
Col 5: 10♥
Col 6: Q♣
Col 7: K♦
```

Two cards fit the 3♣: the 2♣ and the 4♠. The 3♥ is the same rank, not a neighbour, so it has to wait.

**Down first.** Play the 2♣ from column 1, uncovering the 4♦. The waste 2♣ wants an Ace or a 3. The A♠ is still covered, so you play the 3♥, which uncovers the Ace one card too late: the waste shows 3♥, and the only free 2 has already gone. Finish with the 4♦ or the 4♠. Three cards, and the A♠ is stranded with the 7♦ beneath it.

**Up first.** Play the 4♠, then the 3♥ (uncovering the A♠), then the 2♣ (uncovering the 4♦), then the A♠ itself. Four cards, and the Ace is gone. The waste shows A♠ and no other 2 is free, so the run ends, while the 4♦ waits for a 3 or a 5.

No order clears more than four cards here. Going up first works because it delays the 2 until the Ace is ready for it.

Notice that the Hint button would highlight the 2♣. It is a legal move, but the hint looks only one card ahead, so it cannot see that the 2 is needed later. Trace the whole run yourself before you play.

## Aces late in the round

As the stock shrinks, keep a count of the 2s that could still reach the waste: those in the stock, and those in the columns that are not buried beneath the Ace itself. If an Ace is stuck and no such 2 remains, write that column off and spend your remaining draws on the others.

A drawn Ace is not always wasted. It starts a run if a 2 is free on top of a column, and from there the run can climb. A drawn King never starts anything.

## Try it

You have just drawn the A♥. Each column is listed top card first:

```
Waste: A♥
Col 1: 2♠  3♦  9♣
Col 2: 4♣  5♥  10♦
Col 3: 2♣  A♣  J♠
Col 4: 8♦
Col 5: 10♣
Col 6: Q♠
Col 7: K♥
```

What is the longest run you can make?

Answer: six cards, 2♣, A♣, 2♠, 3♦, 4♣, 5♥. The A♣ under the 2♣ works as a bridge that lets the run turn and climb through the second 2. Starting with the 2♠ gives only four: either 2♠, 3♦, 4♣, 5♥, which strands the 2♣ and A♣, or 2♠, 3♦, 2♣, A♣, which strands the 4♣ and 5♥.

For the same problem at the other end of the deck, read [Golf without Kings](golf-no-kings.html), and look up any unfamiliar term in the [glossary](../glossary.html).