Here are some sample hands that you might practice as you get familiar with the rules of American Mahjong. Do you have a favorite hand? Let us know! Back to Mahjong 101: The Rules

A player “goes dead,” (is out of the game) when: She has too many or too few tiles in her hand. She has declared Mah Jongg in error Another player is able to figure out her hand and knows she cannot possibly make it, based on what is on the table.  A player has exposed too many or too few tiles to make any hand. Back to Mahjong 101: The Rules

When all thirteen (13) tiles match a hand on the card, and you either pick the 14th tile needed to complete the hand, or someone discards it, you may declare “Mahjong” and you are the winner. Scoring is as follows: If you make Mahjong on a discard, you are paid the value of the hand. Discarder pays double. If you pick your Mahjong tile, you are paid double the value of the hand.If you make Mahjong on a discard and you were bet on, you get double, and you share your winnings evenly with the bettor. If you pick Mahjong and are bet on, you get four times the value…

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…

If the hand you are playing has an X next to the value of the hand, the hand is designated as a calling, or open hand. A hand with a C is a closed hand and if a tile you need is discarded, you may not call it from the table. If a tile you need is discarded, and you are playing an open hand, you may call the tile to complete a pung, a kong, a quint or to make Mahjong. A tile may not be called to make a pair, unless it is your Mahjong tile. Once you call a tile, you must expose the pung or kong…