Witr Salah help

I've been taught that the Witr is three rakaats just like salat Maghrib, except no "taahiyatul awwal" on the second rakaat, and to read "al Kaafirun" on the second rakaat and "Al Ikhlas"on the third rakaat after Fatihah

I have been recently told by a respected brother on LI,that you can pray the Witr for any odd rakat such as 1,3,5,7,9.

Some rulings regarding witr:

Al Witr
The single prayer (odd number of rak’aat) done after salat al-isha. This is separate from the rawaatib but has its own
value as well. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) would never miss this salah even when he was traveling. It
is an odd number: 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.

- When does its time start, and when does it end? Once salat al-isha has been prayed. The end time is fajr time.
Even for those who believe that isha ends at half of the night, witr extends until fajr.

- How many rak’at is witr salat? According to Imam Abu Hanifah: 3 like salat al maghrib. According to the
majority: the minimum is one. Also, according to the majority of the fuqaha, do not pray it like maghrib. If you
are praying 5 or 7, then it is seven continuous rak’ah with tashahhud at the end.

- What should be recited in it?
It is the same as any other salah except that the majority of the fuqaha usually pray two rak’ah first and the imam
recites Surah Al ‘Ala and Surah Al Kafiroon, and in the last rak’ah, the imam usually recites Surah Al Ikhlas.
According to the madhab of Imam Abu Hanifah: recite the three quls.

- What is the ruling of qunut in witr salat? The majority of the fuqaha say that the qunut is optional. Some do not
allow for qunut to be made in witr. According to Imam Abu Hanifah: it is part of the witr and performed before
going to the ruku’ and the du’a is made silently. When finished, the imam says Allahu Akbar and moves to the
ruku’.

The most popular now is two rak’ah and then one rak’ah witr and the du’a is made after the ruku’. What should be
said in the du’a? The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed Ali (radhi Allahu ‘anhu) to say a du’a. Many
imams then add on du’a after this.

- When should the qunut be recited, before or after the ruku’?
It is mostly practiced after the ruku’. Du’a an-nawazil, which is for catastrophes, is usually recited after coming back
from the ruku’. From the hadeeth of Anas, he saw the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) making the qunut before
the ruku’.

- Is it possible to recite the qunut in any language besides Arabic?

Better to recite in Arabic. If you cannot, then stick to the du’a from the hadeeth of Ali (radhi Allahu ‘anhu).

- What if someone misses witr salat?
You can make up for it during the next day. Pray sometime between sunrise and dhuhr to make this up. However,
you need to make it an even number of rak’ah. If your witr is normally one rak’ah, then pray two during the day. If
your witr is normally three rak’ah, then pray four during the day.

If the sun was not yet up, then you can pray witr before praying fajr. You would pray witr one rak’ah and then pray
the sunnah of fajr and then the fard of fajr.

- What to do if you wake up for qiyam at night after you’ve already prayed witr? Do you have to re-do your witr?
The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said there should be no two witr in one night. The Prophet (sal Allahu
alayhi wa sallam) said to make witr the last thing that you pray.

Should you pray one rak’ah first to even the witr you prayed the night before and then pray witr at the end of the
qiyam? No. This is like praying witr three times.

JazakhAllah for that ^

I always thought there was only one set way of praying witr, looks like there isnt.

Just pray it like you've been taught instead of experimenting different things.