Method one: past, present and future
This is one of the easiest layouts to understand. Place three cards from left to right. The first represents the background of the situation, the second its present condition, and the third a possible future development. It lets you observe events as a progression and see how one stage leads into the next.
It has a limitation, though: attention is spread across three periods. When you want a particularly specific answer to one question, some of that focus goes toward reconstructing the past and describing the present.
Method two: three cards for one question
For more complex questions I tend to prefer a different method. Ask a single question, draw three cards, and interpret them as one combined answer. Draw a separate significator to establish the overall tone or framework of the reading.
Here you do not force card one to mean the past or card three to mean the future. Instead, you consider how the images reinforce, complicate, or challenge one another in relation to your question. This requires more experience, because the story can get lost in a list of dictionary meanings.
Which method should you choose?
Past-present-future is helpful for exploring how a situation develops over time. For a complicated but specific question, I usually choose three cards and a significator. Decide which method you are using before you draw anything; do not rename the positions afterward.
If you are starting out, learn to read one card per question first. Do not move to a three- or four-card layout simply because you disliked the first answer. The number of cards should reflect the complexity of the question, not the intensity of your emotions.