Pyramid Solitaire is built around one simple rule: remove cards that add up to 13. Learn every valid pair, how Kings work, why suits do not matter, and how to make better pairing decisions once several matches are available.
The combinations you need
Pyramid Solitaire hangs on one number: 13. Most cards leave only as part of a pair whose values add up to that total, so once the combinations stick, legal moves jump out much faster.
There are six pairs to remember: Ace and Queen, 2 and Jack, 3 and 10, 4 and 9, 5 and 8, and 6 and 7. Kings are the exception. A King already counts as 13, so it can leave on its own.
That is the whole pairing system. If the layout, stock, and waste still feel fuzzy, the How to Play Pyramid Solitaire guide covers the full rules. Once the pairs themselves are familiar, the interesting question stops being whether two cards add up to 13 and starts being which legal pair you should take.
The six pairs (plus Kings)
The values never change:
Ace (1) pairs with Queen (12).
2 pairs with Jack (11).
3 pairs with 10.
4 pairs with 9.
5 pairs with 8.
6 pairs with 7.
Ace and Queen sit at opposite ends of the range, so they tend to stand out once you start thinking in totals. 6 and 7 are the opposite case: the ranks sit next to each other, which makes the pair easy to remember and also easy to grab too quickly. If two 7s are open for one 6, which 7 you use still depends on what each card is blocking.
A 4 and 9 may both be legal together, but if another 9 is trapped beneath that 4, spending the 4 now can change what becomes possible later. Spotting the pair is the easy half. Choosing which copy to use is where the hand gets interesting.
Kings leave alone
A King is already worth 13, so an exposed King can leave immediately. No partner, no wait for the stock, no second card to hunt down. If the King is available, it can go.
That makes Kings useful cards to uncover. Once the blockers above them are cleared, they do not create another matching problem. The pairing decision disappears; the work is getting them exposed.
Suits do not matter
Pyramid ignores the suit rules that drive games like Klondike and Spider. Colour, same-suit builds, and foundation climbs do not apply here. For how that grammar differs across the main variants, Types of Solitaire Games is the wider map.
A 6 of Spades can pair with a 7 of Hearts. A 4 of Diamonds can pair with a 9 of Clubs. An Ace of Clubs can remove a Queen of Spades. As long as the values add up to 13 and both cards are legally available, the pair works.
That makes recognition faster once you stop scanning for matching symbols. Think in numbers. Looking for a same-suit partner is wasted time.
Both cards have to be free
Knowing the right pair does not help if one of the cards is still covered. A 5 may sit directly beneath an 8, but if that 8 still has cards blocking it from below, they cannot leave together yet.
Only exposed cards count. If stock, waste, and "exposed" still blur together, Solitaire Terms Explained is a quick vocabulary pass. Pyramid is not a pure matching drill for that reason: you often know exactly which rank would solve the problem, and you still cannot reach it until the layout opens.
Two pyramid cards can clear each other
When two exposed pyramid cards add up to 13, they can leave together. Those matches are often among the most useful because removing two cards from the pyramid can open cards above them at the same time.
If an exposed 4 and 9 sit under different cards, taking the pair might free both branches of the board in one move. That is more than clearing two cards; it changes what you can see next. Before you take a pyramid-to-pyramid pair, glance at what sits above each card. Two legal matches can leave very different boards behind.
The waste can finish a pair too
The top waste card can pair with an exposed pyramid card when the values add up to 13. Waste shows a 10 and you have an open 3 in the pyramid? That match works. This is one of the main ways the stock helps clear cards that have nothing to work with inside the pyramid itself.
Treat the waste as a temporary partner. Draw again and the old waste card gets covered. In modes with multiple stock passes it may come back later, but it is no longer live. When a useful waste-to-pyramid pair appears, pause before the next draw and decide whether you want that match now.
Pyramid-to-pyramid is not always the better move
Clearing two pyramid cards can reshape the layout fast, but it is not an automatic rule. Say you have an exposed 6 and 7 in the pyramid, and the waste also shows another 7. You could remove the two pyramid cards, or you could pair the waste 7 with the pyramid 6 and leave the pyramid 7 where it is.
Which choice is stronger depends on what each move leaves behind. If the pyramid 7 is blocking something useful, taking both pyramid cards may open more. If that 7 looks like a partner for another 6 that is about to become free, keeping it may matter more. The arithmetic only tells you the pairs are legal. The board tells you which one to take.
When one card has more than one partner
You will sometimes see several copies of the same rank available: two exposed 9s and only one 4, for example. Both 9s are legal partners. Only one can leave with that 4. Look at which 9 is blocking more, and whether the other is likely to find another partner soon. You are still making a pair that adds up to 13; you are also choosing which version of the board you want afterward.
Treat scarce partners carefully
Every rank except King has only one matching rank, so partners get valuable when they run short. If you have already seen several 5s but very few 8s, the next 8 deserves a second look: more than one 5 may need it. You do not need perfect card counting. A rough sense of which ranks are common and which are missing is enough to stop you spending an important partner on the wrong card.
A legal pair can still hurt the board
Finding 13 is only half the job. One available pair might remove a 5 and 8 from the bottom edge and expose nothing, while another removes a 6 and 7 from the middle and opens a new card. Both clear two cards. Only one changes what you can do next. That gap between knowing the pairs and actually clearing the pyramid is a big part of why Pyramid feels harder than the pairing rule suggests.
When you can, prefer the pair that opens the board. For a fuller look at those choices, see Pyramid Solitaire Strategy: How to Win More Games.
Common pairing mistakes
Players often look only at the values and ignore the layout, tapping the first pair that makes 13 without checking whether another available match would help more. It is also easy to forget that suits do not matter and wait for a same-suit 7 when any available 7 would do.
Drawing from the stock too quickly is another trap. If the waste already matches something exposed in the pyramid, the next draw can bury a useful opportunity. Exposed Kings get overlooked for the same reason people get busy hunting partners: they do not need one, and removing them can open another part of the board. And identical ranks are not identical choices. Two exposed 8s share a value, but they may not share the same importance.
Learn the pairs until they feel automatic
At first, Pyramid can feel like constant arithmetic. After a few games, the six combinations should click into place so you stop recalculating and start asking which legal pair actually helps the board. Players who enjoy that clearing mindset often like Tri Peaks too, where the pressure is building longer runs instead of hunting a fixed total. That is the point where knowing the pairs turns into real play.
Knowing 13 is only the start
Pyramid has one of the simplest matching systems in solitaire: six pairs and Kings. That simple rule still sits inside a layout where the order of your choices matters.
Learn the combinations until you recognise them instantly, then look past the numbers. Watch which cards are exposed, what each pair unlocks, whether another copy of the same rank is available, and what you may need later. The best Pyramid players are not better at adding to 13. They are better at choosing which 13 matters.
Play Pyramid Solitaire and practise spotting the pairs as soon as they become available. If you want another non-foundation clearer beside Pyramid, Golf vs Tri Peaks is a useful side-by-side.
