Mahjong 101: Jokers
A joker may be used as a wildcard to fill in any pung, kong or quint. A pung, kong or quint may be entirely composed of jokers.
A JOKER MAY NEVER BE USED TO COMPLETE A PAIR.
The singles and pairs hands are worth more because you may not use any jokers in these hands. Keep in mind you cannot use a joker in a singles and pairs set such as NEWS or 2009
If someone has called a tile and exposed a pung, kong or quint and they are showing jokers, if you have the tile they need, you may exchange it and keep the joker for yourself. In other words, if East has called a six dot and she exposes three six dots and one joker, if you have the last six dot in your hand you should do the following:
- PICK A TILE WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN.
- TAKE THE 6 DOT AND EXCHANGE IT FOR THE JOKER
- PUT THE JOKER IN YOUR RACK
- DISCARD A TILE.
In this way, you will be assured of maintaining the necessary number of tiles in your hand. Sometimes you may find that you have too many jokers in your hand. This occurs when you need to complete a pair and are unable to use the jokers. In this event, you may discard a joker, but no one can call it.
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One Comment
Judith Boucher
My friend tells me that in the 70’s jokers were used with a pair. Is this true Were jokers ever used to complete a pair..?? it does not make sense cause then if that is the only tile you need for mah jongg you would be able to pick the joker if throwN??? and we know you can never pick a joker from the table??