Why are empty columns important?

Empty columns give you temporary space to move cards, uncover hidden cards, separate mixed suits, and rebuild same-suit sequences. They are most useful when they increase mobility instead of simply holding a card.

Should I fill an empty column immediately?

Not always. Fill an empty column when it reveals a card, improves a run, or prepares a stock deal. Keep the last empty column open if you still need workspace.

Can you deal from the stock with an empty column?

No. Standard Spider Solitaire requires every tableau column to be filled before dealing from the stock.

Are empty spaces, vacant columns, and holes the same thing?

Usually yes. Players use empty spaces, vacant columns, empty piles, or holes to describe an empty tableau column in Spider Solitaire.

When should you not use an empty column?

Do not spend your last empty column on a move that reveals no card, repairs no sequence, creates no new space, and does not prepare a required stock deal.

Did the 75,000-deal study measure empty-column outcomes?

No. The study measured opening-board mobility, including legal top-card moves and same-suit top-card moves across 75,000 seeded deals. It supports the general value of preserving same-suit mobility and board space, but it did not test empty-column outcomes, win rates, or full-game solvability.

Spider Solitaire Empty Columns: How to Create and Use

Quick Rule

Empty Columns Are Valuable Workspace

The open column is not dead space. It is a temporary lane that lets you move cards, free a King, reveal hidden information, and rearrange other columns until the board gives you a better shape. The goal is not to keep the column empty forever; the goal is to spend it on a move that improves the next few decisions.

Use empty columns to expose face-down cards.
Move a King or legal run when it advances the tableau.
Keep one open when the board still needs flexibility.

Rule vs Strategy

What is legal is not always the best use of the space

The rule is simple: any single card or valid same-suit sequence can move into an empty column. The strategy is stricter. Spend the space only when it reveals information, repairs a run, separates mixed suits, creates another column, or gets the tableau ready for a stock deal.

Legal move: any movable card or same-suit run into the empty column.
Strong move: a fill that changes the next board state in your favor.
Weak move: using the last open space with no reveal, repair, or deal plan.

Untangling

Break Mixed-Suit Stacks With Open Space

Mixed-suit stacks are hard to move as a unit. Empty columns let you split the stack, rebuild same-suit runs, and restore mobility without forcing a bad lock-in. This matters most in 2-suit and 4-suit Spider, where a move can be rank-legal but still make the stack harder to move later.

Separate mixed stacks before they trap your best cards.
Rebuild same-suit sequences after the shuffle.
Use the empty column as a staging area, not a permanent parking spot.

Opening Data

Why Board Space and Same-Suit Mobility Matter

The site's June 2026 opening-moves study analyzed 75,000 seeded deals: 25,000 each for 1-suit, 2-suit, and 4-suit Spider. The data showed that legal top-card moves stayed similar by difficulty, while same-suit top-card mobility dropped sharply as more suits were added. That study did not measure empty-column outcomes, win rates, or full-game solvability. It supports a narrower takeaway for this page: use empty columns to preserve movable same-suit structure whenever the board gives you that option.

Study sample: 75,000 deterministic seeded opening deals.
Method: opening-board counts of legal top-card moves and same-suit top-card moves.
Practical takeaway: same-suit mobility is worth protecting when you spend an empty column.

Common Questions

Empty spaces, vacant columns, empty piles, and holes

Players use different words for the same tableau state. In standard Spider Solitaire, an empty space, vacant column, empty pile, or hole usually means a tableau column with no cards in it. The tactical question stays the same: does filling it buy a reveal, a cleaner suit run, or a legal stock deal?

Use the phrase that matches the rule: empty tableau column.
Remember that Spider is more flexible than Klondike because any card can fill the space.
Do not confuse an empty tableau column with the foundation spaces where completed suits clear.

Stockpile

Standard Spider Requires Every Column Filled Before a Deal

In standard Spider Solitaire, every tableau column must be filled before you deal from the stock. That makes empty columns useful, but only until you are ready to stop using the workspace and commit to the next deal.

Do not deal while any tableau column is empty.
Use the open column first if it reveals a card or improves a run.
Fill the column only when the move is worth giving up the space.