American mahjong rule questions, answered
One question per page, with a short answer and the source behind it. Settle the argument and get back to the game.
By Jerry Chen. Checked and updated November 1, 2026
Jokers
- Can you use a joker in a pair?No. Jokers can only be used in groups of three or more identical tiles: pungs, kongs, quints and sextets.
- Can you discard a joker?Yes, at any time. Once it is down, a discarded joker is dead: nobody can call it.
- Can you call a discarded joker?No. A discarded joker is dead and cannot be called by anyone, for an exposure or for Mah Jongg.
- When can you exchange a joker?On your turn, once you have 14 tiles (after picking from the wall, or after calling a discard and completing that exposure) and before you discard. You swap a matching tile for the joker.
- Can you exchange a joker from a dead hand?Yes, from that player's correctly made exposures. Jokers in an exposure made in error, or in a concealed hand, cannot be redeemed.
- Can a pung or kong be all jokers?In your concealed hand, yes. As an exposure, no: you can only call a real tile, so every exposure contains at least the tile you called.
- Can you use jokers in a concealed hand?Yes. Jokers can go in any pung, kong, quint or sextet, whether the hand is marked X or C on the card.
- Can you use a joker in NEWS or a year like 2026?No. NEWS and year groups are made of single tiles, and jokers can never stand in for a single.
- Can you take a discarded tile to swap for a joker?No. A discard can only be taken to make a new exposure or to win, never to redeem a joker.
- Can you swap your joker for a tile in someone's exposure?No. This "reverse redeem" is not allowed. Exchanges only go one way: your real tile for their joker.
- Can you undo a joker swap?No. Once you have placed your tile on the other player's rack, put it in her fingers, or grasped her joker, the exchange is final.
The Charleston
- Can you pass a joker in the Charleston?No. Jokers can never be passed in the Charleston or the courtesy pass, and you should not accept one either.
- How does the blind pass work in the Charleston?On the first left and the last right only, you may pass on up to three of the tiles you were just handed without looking at them.
- Can you stop the Charleston?Yes, but only between the first and second Charleston. Any player can stop it, for any reason, before anyone picks up the second left pass.
- How does the courtesy pass work?After the Charleston, you and the player across from you may swap zero to three tiles. Nobody has to pass more than they want, so you trade the smaller number.
Calling discards and exposures
- Can you call a discard for a pair?Only if it is the last tile you need to win. Otherwise a discard can only be called to complete a pung, kong, quint or sextet.
- How long do you have to call a discard?Until the next player (to the discarder's right) racks the tile she picked, discards, redeems a joker or declares Mah Jongg.
- Who gets the discard if two players call it?A call for Mah Jongg beats a call for an exposure, even if the other player has started to expose. If two players both want it for an exposure, or both for Mah Jongg, the player next in turn after the discarder gets it.
- Can you change an exposure after you make it?Not after your discard. Until then you can adjust it; once you have discarded, the exposure is locked and a pung cannot later become a kong. The only later change is a joker being redeemed from it.
- Can you add to an exposure later?No. Once you have exposed a group and discarded, it stays exactly as it is for the rest of the hand.
- Can you call a discard if your hand is concealed?Only for Mah Jongg. A hand marked C must stay hidden until you win, but it can be won on a discard.
- Can you take back a tile you just discarded?No. Once a discard is down, the player who threw it can never take it back or call it.
- What if someone calls the discard after you pick?If you have not yet racked or discarded, put the tile back on the wall. The caller gets the discard.
- Do exposures have to be in card order?Not during play. Most players set exposures out in the order they made them, with a gap between groups.
- Can you change your mind after calling a discard?Yes, until you put the called tile on your rack or expose tiles from your hand. After that you are committed.
- When does a discard count as thrown?The moment it touches the table or you say its name, whichever comes first. From then on it can be called and you cannot take it back.
- What if you expose the wrong tiles with a called discard?You can fix it before you discard. If you exposed more than one group at once by mistake, though, the hand is dead.
Seats and turns
- Do you have to rack your tile before discarding?No. The League calls racking first "best practice", but it is not a rule.
- Who is East next, and how do seats rotate?After every hand the dice move to the right, and that player is East. After a full round, the first East swaps seats with the player on her right.
- What if East is dealt a winning hand?East declares Mah Jongg straight away and there is no Charleston. It scores like a self-pick: everyone pays East double.
- Can you look at your tiles during the deal?No written rule forbids it, but it is wiser to wait until the deal is finished.
The wall
- What if you pick from the wrong end of the wall?Picking from the wrong end of the wall, or out of turn, is grounds for your hand to be called dead.
- What happens when the wall runs out?It is a wall game: a draw. Nobody has won, so nobody collects, and the next game starts with the dice moving to the right.
- Is there a hot wall rule in American mahjong?Not in the League's rules. You can call discards and throw any tile on the last wall just as at any other time.
- What if a tile in the wall is seen or knocked over?Put it back exactly where it was. The order of the wall must be kept, even if everyone saw the tile.
- Can you put a tile back after picking it from the wall?Not once you have lifted or moved it. Reaching for it, or even touching it, is fine, but a lifted tile is yours.
Reading the card
- What do the colors on the mahjong card mean?They tell you how many suits a hand uses: one color means any one suit, two colors any two suits, three colors all three suits.
- What does "opposite dragons" mean on the card?Dragons that do not match the suit they appear with. The matching pairs are red with craks, green with bams and white with dots.
- Can you use the white dragon as zero in a consecutive run?No. Since 2018 the rulebook says zero cannot be used in consecutive runs, so 0-1-2 does not count as a run.
- When can you start using the new card?As soon as everyone at your table has it. There is no need to wait for a set date such as April 1.
Mistakes and dead hands
- What happens to a dead hand?The player stops picking and discarding for the rest of the hand, and still pays the winner the full value of the winning hand.
- What if you call Mah Jongg by mistake?If you have only spoken, or have not exposed tiles from your rack, you can take it back with no penalty. If you laid out your hand, you are dead: the newly exposed tiles go back on your rack and your earlier exposures stay up.
- What if you have the wrong number of tiles?Your hand can be called dead. Between turns you should hold 13 tiles; after picking, 14.
- What happens if someone misnames a discard?If another player wanted the named tile for Mah Jongg, the game ends and the misnamer pays that player four times the hand. If it was wanted only for an exposure, there is no penalty.
- What does "pay for the table" mean in mahjong?It is a penalty where one player pays the winner four times the hand's value and nobody else pays.
- Can you call another player dead?Yes. Any player can call another player's hand dead at any time, if it cannot win or breaks a rule.
- Can you call yourself dead?You can, but you should not. Under a 2020 League ruling, if you announce your hand is dead, it is dead. It is smarter to keep quiet and play defensively until someone else calls it.
- What happens if someone picks out of turn?Their hand can be called dead. There are two exceptions at the very start of the game, before East has discarded.
- What is picking ahead, and is it allowed?Holding 14 tiles between turns, or taking your next tile before your turn. It is not allowed and is a reason to call a hand dead.
Winning and paying
- Does the jokerless bonus apply to singles and pairs?No. The jokerless double never applies to singles-and-pairs hands, which cannot use jokers anyway. It does not apply to the Quints section either.
- Who pays double when someone wins?If you win on a discard, the discarder pays double and everyone else pays single. If you pick the winning tile yourself, everyone pays double.
- Is your hand jokerless if someone redeemed your joker?Yes. A hand is jokerless if it has no jokers at the moment you declare Mah Jongg.
Want everything in one place? Read the complete rules or print the cheat sheet.
Quick answers
Can you use a joker in a pair?
No. Jokers can only be used in groups of three or more identical tiles: pungs, kongs, quints and sextets.
Can you discard a joker?
Yes, at any time. Once it is down, a discarded joker is dead: nobody can call it.
Can you call a discarded joker?
No. A discarded joker is dead and cannot be called by anyone, for an exposure or for Mah Jongg.
When can you exchange a joker?
On your turn, once you have 14 tiles (after picking from the wall, or after calling a discard and completing that exposure) and before you discard. You swap a matching tile for the joker.
Can you exchange a joker from a dead hand?
Yes, from that player's correctly made exposures. Jokers in an exposure made in error, or in a concealed hand, cannot be redeemed.
Can a pung or kong be all jokers?
In your concealed hand, yes. As an exposure, no: you can only call a real tile, so every exposure contains at least the tile you called.
Can you use jokers in a concealed hand?
Yes. Jokers can go in any pung, kong, quint or sextet, whether the hand is marked X or C on the card.
Can you use a joker in NEWS or a year like 2026?
No. NEWS and year groups are made of single tiles, and jokers can never stand in for a single.