THREE AT A TIME. ONE CARD TO PLAY.
3 Card Solitaire (Draw 3)
Solitaire Draw 3 — also called Turn 3, 3-card solitaire, or three-card Klondike — flips the stock three cards at a time and lets you play only the top card of each packet. The tableau, foundations, and win condition stay the same as classic Solitaire; the entire difference lives in the stock. That one change is why many players treat Draw 3 as the serious version of the game. The deal at the top of this page is always Draw 3, and it saves separately from your regular game.
TOP CARD PLAYS Learn Solitaire Draw 3 in 80 seconds: rules and 5 habits that win
The classic table with a three-card stock: how the packets work, how one play shifts them, five Turn 3 habits, and your real odds. Full written rules and strategy follow below.
In this video
01 · THE RULE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
What Turn 3 changes
Tap the stock and three cards turn over together; only the packet's top card is playable. Play it, and the card underneath becomes available — sometimes you can chain through all three. Pass on it, and the whole packet sits in the waste while you flip the next three. Nothing else moves: seven tableau columns, alternating colors, Ace-to-King foundations — standard Solitaire throughout.
02 · PLAY THE NEXT PASS NOW
Why the same deal plays harder
On any single pass you can reach roughly a third of the stock — whichever cards happen to land on top of their packets. The rest are visible but locked. What makes Turn 3 a planning game is that the alignment is not fixed: every waste card you play shifts which cards surface on the next pass. Skilled Turn 3 play is mostly bookkeeping — noticing the buried card you need, then setting up a play that changes the packet math before you recycle the stock.
PASS ONE
5♦ is playable Playing it removes one card from the rhythm.
NEXT PASS
6♥ now surfaces One useful play can unlock a different packet.03 · SAME TABLE, DIFFERENT PUZZLE
Draw 1 or Draw 3?
Both use the same seven-column Solitaire table. Draw 1 reveals every stock card in sequence; Draw 3 makes access itself part of the puzzle. If you want the one-card stock, open Solitaire Turn One. Move here when that access pattern begins to feel automatic.
| Draw 1 | Draw 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards turned per draw | One — you see all 24 stock cards every pass | Three, but only the top one is playable |
| Stock visibility | Every card surfaces in sequence | Cards can stay locked behind neighbors for a whole pass |
| Planning depth | Direct — consequences of each choice are visible | Much deeper — one waste play reshuffles the rhythm of the pass |
| Best for | Learning the game | The classic next step once Draw 1 feels routine |
04 · TWO FIXED DEALS
Practice the packet—not a lucky shuffle
Each lesson restarts to the same real Draw 3 deal. First expose a hidden tableau card, then work through the stock to release an Ace.
01Expose one hidden cardRead the tableau before spending the stock+
Same tableau, harder stock — try it. This practice deal runs Turn 3 and is separate from your game above.
02Release an AceUse packet order to reach a foundation move+
One more, with the three-card stock in play: dig an Ace out and send it up.
05 · FIVE HABITS
Turn 3 habits that raise your win rate
Classic Solitaire advice transfers, but these five habits are specific to the three-card stock — the difference between flailing at the waste and playing the variant on purpose.
01Read the tableau first+
Exhaust the tableau before you touch the stock. Every face-down card you flip through tableau moves is free progress; every stock flip spends information — and, in scored play, eventually a recycle.
02Track the locked cards+
Track the locked cards. When something you need slides past on the bottom of a packet, remember it — then look for a waste play that shifts the packet alignment so it surfaces on the next pass.
03Shift the packet alignment+
Budget recycles like a currency. Decide how many passes the position is worth before you start spinning the stock; two or three thoughtful passes beat six hopeful ones.
04Budget every recycle+
Keep empty columns loaded. An open column is your main tool for re-sequencing the tableau — but fill it with a King you have already located, or you have traded a tool for a hole.
05Keep foundations flexible+
Send cards to the foundations late. A 5 or 6 parked on a foundation cannot hold the black 4 or red 7 you will flip two passes from now — in Turn 3 you cannot simply draw your way back to flexibility.
06 · DEAL ODDS VS PLAYER RESULTS
Your real odds in Turn 3
PlaySolitaire measured a 38.0% completion rate across 12,190 eligible Draw 3 starts (95% CI 37.2–38.9%) in the corrected cohort: starts July 15–August 3, 2026; outcomes observed through August 5. Draw 1 measured 37.0% across 138,759 eligible starts (95% CI 36.7–37.2%). These self-selected cohorts cannot prove that either mode causes more difficulty. Completion rate records player outcomes; deal solvability asks whether a winning line exists. PlaySolitaire has no published Draw 3 solver ceiling. See the measurement methodology and full results.
12,190 eligible starts
win-rates-v2-2026-08-05 corrected cohort
138,759 eligible starts · 95% CI 36.7–37.2%
07 · KNOW THE OLD RULES
Vegas scoring and Draw 3 pass limits
PlaySolitaire uses unlimited stock passes and does not display a score. Traditional scored Draw 3 charges 20 points for each full stock recycle, while common Vegas rules allow three stock passes. This page does not add a Vegas mode or score display; the comparison explains the conventions that shaped Draw 3 play.
08 · CLEAR ANSWERS
Turn 3 FAQ
Is Turn 3 the same as Draw 3?
Yes — one variant, several names. Turn 3, Draw 3, 3-card solitaire, and three-card Klondike all describe flipping the stock in packets of three with only the top card playable. Apps tend to say Turn 3; the old Windows versions said Draw Three.
Can I switch this page to Draw 1?
This page always deals Turn 3 — that is its job. For one-card draw, use the 1 in the header's draw switch or head back to the classic game on the homepage. Your game there is saved separately, so nothing you do here touches it.
What is a good Turn 3 win rate?
In the reviewed cohort, players completed 38.0% of 12,190 eligible Draw 3 starts (95% CI 37.2–38.9%). This is a site-wide benchmark, not a personal target. The cohort is self-selected, so it cannot prove Draw 3 causes more or less difficulty.
Does using undo count as cheating in Turn 3?
We do not think so — undo is how you learn the variant. PlaySolitaire allows unlimited undo per game and never penalises them. The choice that actually matters strategically is the recycle, not the take-back.
How many passes through the stock do I get?
Unlimited on this page — recycle as often as the position needs. The traditional Vegas rule caps Turn 3 at three passes, which is worth adopting as a self-imposed discipline once you are winning regularly.
Are Turn 3 deals winnable?
Many are, but PlaySolitaire does not publish a Draw 3 solver ceiling. A measured completion is a player outcome; solvability asks whether any winning line exists. If a position is genuinely dead, the deadlock notice will say so rather than leave you grinding.