Who is East next, and how do seats rotate?
By Jerry Chen. Checked and updated November 1, 2026
Short answer: dice move right
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.
The detail
The first player to roll the dice is called the Pivot.
When every player has been East once and the dice come back to the Pivot, the Pivot takes the dice and swaps seats with the player to her right, then rolls to start the next round.
Swapping seats mixes up the order of play. The League introduced it in its January 2017 newsletter.
Sources
These follow standard National Mah Jongg League rules. House rules vary; agree on them before you play.
Related questions
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See more questions in Seats and turns, the complete rules, or all 52 rule questions.