10 beginner mistakes in American mahjong
Everyone makes these in their first few weeks. Knowing them in advance will save you a few dead hands and some funny looks.
By Jerry Chen. Checked and updated November 1, 2026
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Using a joker in a pair
The mistake: A joker next to one red dragon is not a pair of red dragons.
Instead: Jokers only go in groups of three or more. Pairs and singles must be real tiles.
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Calling a discard for a pair
The mistake: Calling the second 5 bam to make a pair, when it does not win.
Instead: You can only call a discard for a pung or bigger, or for the tile that wins.
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Exposing too early
The mistake: Calling the first tile you can, then finding your hand has to change.
Instead: Every exposure locks you in and tells the table what you are making. Stay concealed until you are fairly sure of your hand.
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Reading the card's colours as suits
The mistake: Assuming a green group must be bams.
Instead: Colours only tell you how many suits a hand uses. One colour means one suit, three colours mean three different suits, and you choose which.
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Mixing up dragons and suits
The mistake: Pairing the soap with craks.
Instead: Red goes with craks, green with bams, and white (soap) with dots.
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Trying to pass a joker
The mistake: Slipping a joker into a Charleston pass.
Instead: Jokers can never be passed, in either Charleston or the courtesy pass.
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Picking your tile too early
The mistake: Reaching for the wall before the player before you has discarded.
Instead: Wait for the discard. At tournaments, touching the next tile ends your right to call the previous discard.
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Holding a tile in your hand
The mistake: Keeping a tile in your fingers while you think, so your rack shows the wrong count.
Instead: Keep tiles on your rack. Too many or too few tiles can get your hand called dead.
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Throwing in your hand on someone's Mah Jongg
The mistake: Mixing your tiles into the middle as soon as someone calls Mah Jongg.
Instead: Wait until the winning hand is checked. If the call was a mistake, a destroyed hand can cost you.
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Not naming your discard
The mistake: Dropping a tile in the middle silently.
Instead: Say every discard out loud, for example "four dot", so others can decide whether to call.
Common questions
What is the most common mistake new mahjong players make?
Trying to use a joker in a pair or as a single tile. Jokers only work in groups of three or more identical tiles.
Why did someone call my hand dead?
Usually because your exposures cannot fit any hand on the card, you have the wrong number of tiles, or you exposed tiles from a concealed hand. A dead hand stops playing and still pays the winner.
How do I stop exposing too early?
Keep two or three possible hands in mind and only call when an exposure fits the hand you are most likely to finish.
Sources: Tom Sloper, American mah-jongg FAQ 19; The Mahjong Line, American Mahjong 101; Mah Jongg Fever tournament rules; Mahj Life on Mah Jongg in error.