Stock Rule
Learn when the stock can be dealt, why empty columns block a deal, and how to use the 50-card stock pile without burying useful moves. Regular browser games can save locally, so you can continue a run later from the same device.
Quick Answer
Standard Spider Solitaire uses a 50-card stock. You get five stock deals, and each deal places one face-up card on every tableau column. You cannot deal while any column is empty. After the fifth stock deal, the stock is gone and you must finish with the cards already on the tableau.
Evidence and Practice Board
This page combines the implemented game rule, the standard 104-card Spider layout, a repeatable practice seed, and the site's June 2026 opening-board study. The study gives stock-row context; it does not claim full-game win rates or prove the best stock click for every board.
| Evidence | Observed value | Player takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Standard stock geometry | A standard Spider deal starts with 54 tableau cards and 50 stock cards. The stock is spent as five rows of 10 cards. | Every stock click is scarce. Treat it as one of five board-changing decisions, not an unlimited refresh. |
| Empty-column rule | The live game blocks a stock deal when any tableau column is empty, matching the standard rule used on this page. | Use empty columns as workspace, then refill them deliberately before the next deal. |
| First-stock-row evidence | The June 2026 study found 7.15 to 7.17 average first-stock-row rank-fit possibilities across 25,000 seeded starts per mode. | A stock row often creates rank fits, but it also lands on every column and can bury useful structure. |
| Same-suit friction | Average same-suit top moves dropped from 6.46 in 1 suit to 3.20 in 2 suits and 1.61 in 4 suits. | Stock timing matters more as suit friction rises because clean movable runs become harder to preserve. |
| Practice seed | The playable board on this page uses seed stock-rules-practice-1-suit; its opening top cards are As, 7s, 6s, Js, 9s, Js, As, 9s, 2s, 3s. | Readers can practice the stock rule on a repeatable easy-mode board before moving to 2-suit or 4-suit pressure. |
Method note: opening-study numbers come from 25,000 seeded starts per mode using the live deck model. The practice seed is deterministic so the initial board can be repeated, but it is not a win-rate or solvability claim.
Decision Table
| Situation | Check first | Best action |
|---|---|---|
| The stock button will not deal | Is any tableau column empty? | Fill every empty column first; standard Spider requires all 10 columns to contain a card. |
| A useful reveal still exists | Can a move flip a face-down card or expose a cleaner run? | Make the reveal before spending a stock row. |
| A same-suit move is available | Will the move preserve a clean sequence that can move again later? | Use the same-suit move before adding 10 new cards. |
| You are counting remaining deals | How many 10-card stock rows are left? | Plan around five total stock deals: 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, then 0 cards. |
| You have already dealt four times | Only one 10-card stock row remains. | Treat the next stock click as an endgame decision, not a casual refresh. |
| The stock is empty | No more cards can enter the tableau. | Solve with the current tableau: protect same-suit runs and use open columns carefully. |
Direct Rule
The stock deal touches every tableau column. Because of that, standard Spider Solitaire requires each of the 10 columns to contain at least one card before the stock can be used. If the stock button appears blocked, scan for an empty column first.
Card Count
A standard Spider Solitaire layout starts with 54 cards in the tableau. The remaining 50 cards stay in the stock, split into five 10-card rows. Each stock click places one new face-up card onto each tableau column.
Timing
A stock deal can rescue a stuck board, but it can also bury same-suit runs and turn clean columns into mixed-suit clutter. Use the tableau first when it can still reveal cards, protect sequence mobility, or make an empty column useful before the next row lands.
Study Context
The site's June 2026 opening-board simulation used 75,000 seeded deals: 25,000 each for 1-suit, 2-suit, and 4-suit Spider. Across the sample, the first stock row created about 7.15 to 7.17 rank-fit possibilities on average. That sounds useful, but same-suit mobility still fell sharply as suits increased.
Practice Path
The embedded board starts in 1-suit mode so the stock rule is easy to see. Once you can remember the filled-column rule and the five-deal count, move to 2 suits and 4 suits where a legal stock row can create more mixed-suit cleanup work.
Endgame
Once all 50 stock cards have been dealt, there is no refill. At that point, your job is to work the visible tableau carefully, keep space open for final runs, and avoid splitting same-suit sequences without a clear reason.
Play Next
Spider Solitaire gets easier when you apply one idea at a time inside a real deal. Regular games save locally after moves, so longer runs do not have to be finished in one sitting.
Use the strategy timing checklist behind each stock click.
Read the deeper stock-timing article with the same evidence table.
Use open columns without blocking your next stock deal.
See the 75,000-deal data behind first-stock-row potential.
See how 104 cards split into tableau, stock, and completed runs.
Add moderate suit pressure after learning the stock rule.
Practice the rule in the hardest standard mode.
Use a fresh date-seeded board for repeatable daily practice.
The usual reason is an empty tableau column. Standard Spider Solitaire requires all 10 columns to contain at least one card before the stock can deal the next 10 cards.
A stock click deals 10 face-up cards: one new card onto each of the 10 tableau columns.
No. Standard Spider Solitaire requires every tableau column to contain at least one card before you deal from the stock.
You get 5 stock deals. The stock contains 50 cards, and each deal places 10 cards, one onto each tableau column.
Deal only after you have checked for useful tableau moves, hidden-card reveals, same-suit builds, and empty-column opportunities.
There are no more stock deals. Keep working the tableau, use open columns carefully, and focus on uncovering or completing the remaining runs.
Yes. After 5 stock deals, all 50 stock cards have been added to the tableau. From that point, you must win with the cards already visible or uncoverable on the board.
No. The study measured opening-board mobility and first-stock-row potential moves, not full stock-timing outcomes. It supports a narrow takeaway: the first stock row usually adds rank-fit possibilities, but it can still bury useful same-suit structure.
The embedded practice game starts from the deterministic 1-suit seed stock-rules-practice-1-suit. It is a repeatable board for practicing the rule, not a claim that the board is representative of every deal.