So why are we discussing negative boards?
Because it's helpful to recognize what your chances are of winning a game.
If you're the kind of person that likes to win, you may decide this board isn't worth playing.
I'm not judging.
On the other hand, you may accept the challenge of playing a difficult board and revel in the outstanding achievement of winning the game.
This should be the poster board of a negative Solitaire board:
You've got two 5's of the same color.
That's a killer.
You've got two queens of the same color.
Another killer.
No aces.
More low cards than high.
The cards don't mesh, which means two things:
They're not consecutive cards of different colors like a red 7 on a black 8.
Also, they've not gapped cards of the same color as a red 8 and red 6 in which a black 7 will give you a 3-card sequence and give you a turnover (in which you expose a face-down card).
Also, there are no cards that you can turn from the stock that will give you a gapped sequence.
For example, a black J you can put on the queen, but since you don't have a black 9 on the board, you're not setting up the possibility of a red 10 helping you.
I'd give this board less than a 5% chance of winning the game.
Here's another example of a negative board:
The 2 red jacks are a killer.
Even if you get a black queen, you won't be able to put it on the board to place a red jack on it.
The 2 is isolated, and there are no 3's, 4's, or 5's to build on to place the 2.
The 7, 8, 9 look good, but they're all the same color.
If you don't turn over a black 8 or 10 soon, you're in big trouble.
You're looking at about a 10% chance of winning this game.
Here is Another negative board:
Two black J's are a huge negative.
No aces.
You have an isolated 2 with no 3's or 4's to connect.
The 7 and 9 are also isolated, given they are different colors.
The two redeeming factors are you have a black KJ and a red J9 that will give you a 3 cards sequence with a red queen or black 10.
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