[TheCapn]

The game isn't a stacked deck in that the outcome can be determined but there is a specific point in the game where you are guaranteed to only have a few tiles available (ex: 1024 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 yields half the board) and you may or may not need a 2 to continue when the random selects a 4 locking your 2 in a corner or other similar manner.

I can't speak on statistics but I had best luck when following a set of heuristic rules that minimized the chances of locking valuable tiles in an unreachable location. If you stack the higher value blocks to a corner you're less likely to trap them with lower value blocks that are almost impossible to reach.

Ultimately I think the game is a better comparison to minesweeper where there are rules that will help you progress but at some point you're forced to guess and hope the outcome is in your favor.