Klondike Solitaire Turn 3
Turn 3 Klondike — the same variant as Draw 3 — flips the stock three cards at a time and lets you play only the top card of each packet. The tableau, the foundations, and the win condition are all classic Klondike; the entire difference lives in the stock, and that one change is why many players treat Turn 3 as the serious version of the game. The deal at the top of this page is always Turn 3, and it saves separately from your regular game.
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 Klondike throughout.
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.
| 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 |
Scoring and recycle limits
PlaySolitaire keeps no score — your moves and time are the record. In traditional scored implementations (the Windows lineage), Turn 3 charges 20 points for every full recycle of the stock, and the Vegas convention ends the deal after three passes. Those rules are worth knowing because they shaped how the variant is played: strong players still budget their recycles even when nothing is charging for them.
Your real odds in Turn 3
Solvability belongs to the deal, not the draw mode — solver studies put perfect-play solvability for three-card draw near 80%. Human results are another matter: published averages land between 10% and 20%. Our own telemetry adds a wrinkle — in June 2026, players who chose Turn 3 on this site won 33% of finished games versus 31% for Draw 1. That is self-selection, not easiness: the players who opt into the harder mode are simply stronger.
Turn 3 habits that raise your win rate
Generic Klondike 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Turn 3 FAQ
Is Turn 3 the same as Draw 3?
Yes — one variant, several names. Turn 3, Draw 3, 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?
Casual players commonly sit near 10%. With deliberate play — counting passes, tracking packet alignment — 15–20% is realistic. For reference, Turn 3 players on this site won 33% of finished games in June 2026, but that group self-selects for experience.
Does using undo count as cheating in Turn 3?
We do not think so — undo is how you learn the variant. PlaySolitaire allows up to 100 undos 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?
About four in five are solvable with perfect play, and every deal on this page is a fresh random shuffle — the same class of deals those studies describe. When a position is genuinely dead, the deadlock notice will say so rather than leave you grinding.