When can you exchange a joker?
By Jerry Chen. Checked and updated November 1, 2026
Short answer: on your turn, with 14 tiles, before you discard
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.
The detail
If you called a discard, finish the exposure first. The joker you redeem cannot then be added to that new exposure (League bulletin, 2025).
Redeeming a joker before you have 14 tiles can get your hand called dead (League newsletter, 2020).
You can redeem jokers from any player's exposures, including your own, and more than one in a turn.
You cannot call a discard just to swap it for a joker; a discard can only be called to make a group or to win.
Place your tile on the owner's rack or hand it to them, then take the joker. Once you have done that, the exchange is final.
Sources
- Tom Sloper, American mah-jongg FAQ 19
- The Mahjong Line, American Mahjong 101
- Mah Jongg Fever tournament rules
- Tom Sloper, column 733 (the League's 2020 newsletter)
These follow standard National Mah Jongg League rules. House rules vary; agree on them before you play.
Related questions
- Can you exchange a joker from a dead hand?
- Can you use a joker in a pair?
- Can you discard a joker?
- Can you call a discarded joker?
- Can a pung or kong be all jokers?
- Can you use jokers in a concealed hand?
- Can you use a joker in NEWS or a year like 2026?
See more questions in Jokers, the complete rules, or all 52 rule questions.