OOH LA MAHJ PLAY FREE
— AMERICAN MAH JONGG —

The Charleston: rules, order & practice

Before the first discard, players trade tiles. Learn where to pass, how to pass strategically to build your hand and prevent others from getting useful tiles, and how to pass blind.

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What is the Charleston?

It is the exchange of tiles after the deal and before regular play. In the Charleston, there are up to seven passes of three tiles, so you can receive as many as 21 new tiles before anyone discards. By learning the strategy, you can improve your hand significantly. Here are the first set of passes:

1 →RightSend three right; receive three from your left.
2 ↑AcrossSend three across; receive three from across.
3 ←Left · blind allowedSend three left. Up to three may be incoming tiles you send on unseen.
THEN DECIDE

Anyone may stop the second Charleston. If everyone agrees to continue, complete Left → Across → Right. Only that last Right allows a blind pass. Then offer a courtesy exchange.

Practice the Charleston

Practice with a target hand in view. Choose what to pass, then see how each exchange changes the tiles you still need.

This exercise gives you one target so you can learn the passing decisions. In a full game, you may keep several possible hands in mind and change direction.

Loading the practice rack. If it does not load, the full passing guide is below.

Three simulated players pass from their own racks. The tips describe your pass.

Your Charleston cheat sheet

Print it or screenshot it and keep it by your rack for your first few games.

FIRST CHARLESTON everyone does these three
YOUACROSSRIGHTLEFT123
SECOND CHARLESTON only if all four agree
YOUACROSSRIGHTLEFT456
Coral = you may pass blind
Between rounds anyone may stop. All four say yes to go on.
THE COURTESY · ACROSS · 0–3 TILESYou each name a number. The smaller one is what you both trade. Zero is fine.
Jokers never passROL → LOR · “Over” is across

What is a blind pass?

On two passes only, the first Left and the last Right, you may send on some or all of the three tiles that just arrived without looking at them. That is a blind pass. It exists to protect your rack: when every tile you hold is working for a hand, a blind pass lets you meet the three-tile rule without giving up a keeper. The price is that you never see those tiles, and new tiles are how hands get built, so it is a trade: protection over information.

Two of yours + one blindYou keep two of the incoming tiles. The third goes straight on, unseen.
One of yours + two blindYou keep one incoming tile and pass the other two on without looking.
All three blindYou keep your rack intact and send all three incoming tiles straight on.

Decide before you look: a tile you have already seen cannot become a blind tile. Pass blind when you have fewer than three tiles to spare; when you have spares, look, because a tile you can see might be one you need. If several players pass blind at once, the real table may need an IOU sequence; this practice rack does not simulate that situation.

What should you keep?

Keep useful pairs and Flowers — not every pair or Flower automatically. Their value depends on the hands you can realistically build.

RULE
Jokers cannot be passedNot in either Charleston and not in the courtesy. During play, a joker may replace tiles in a pung, kong or quint — never singles or pairs.
STRATEGY

Pairs, Flowers, Soap, and flexible combinations may be worth protecting depending on the hands you are considering.

A useful pairPairs are useful for hands that require them and as the building blocks for bigger sets like pungs and kongs. Keep the ones that fit hands you can realistically build. If you need to give them away, make sure you don't pass both to the same player.
FlowersFlowers are legal to pass, but many hands on the 2026 card use them. Hold on to them when a hand you are considering needs them.
SoapSoaps are useful when you need them in a dragon hand, but also because they represent zeros. Since many hands with zeros (like 2026) only include one, this is useful to hold on to because a Joker can't stand in for it.

What should you pass?

1Keep two or three realistic options in mindUse your card. Look for tiles shared by those options before you decide what to give away.
2Pass tiles that don't help those 2 or 3 handsA tile is expendable because it does not help your hand — not because it looks isolated.
3Then look at the pass as a groupWhen alternatives are equally expendable, avoid sending three tiles that obviously work together.
ONLY WHEN IT'S A TOSS-UP
A mixed passA wind, a Crak and a Dot build nothing together, so this is the safer three to send. It still only makes sense if all three are tiles you don't need.
A run in one suitThree Bams in a row could be exactly what the next player is collecting. It's allowed, but if you have an equally useless mix, send the mix instead.

The vote

After the first three passes, the table votes on a second round. One "no" ends it for everyone; the courtesy still follows.

Consider continuing when…You can spare three tiles and another round could materially improve your options.
Consider stopping when…Continuing would force you to surrender tiles central to your strongest hands. You do not need to be close to Mah Jongg to protect your rack.

How does the courtesy pass work?

The courtesy is the last exchange before play begins. Once the Charleston is over, whether the table stopped after three passes or went all six, you and the player across may trade up to three tiles. It is optional, and it is only between the two of you.

3YOU·2THEM= 2 eachFirst agree how manyEach player offers between 0 and 3 tiles to the person across. The lower offer sets the number for both players.
Then choose that many tilesIf you offer three and they offer two, you each select exactly two to exchange. You choose which two leave your rack.
0Zero is fineEither player can decline. A player who stopped the second Charleston can still offer a courtesy exchange.

Trade when you have tiles to spare and a chance to improve. Do not assume that a weak rack should decline or that whoever stopped must be close to winning.

Common Charleston mistakes

Picking one hand too earlyRecheck your options after receiving tiles. Do not commit just because a passing round is ending.
Forgetting the blind passFirst Left and last Right can let you protect tiles in your rack. You must decide before seeing what you send on.
Breaking up your hand to make the pass “look safe”A pass of three unrelated tiles isn't safe; any one of them may be what the next player needs. Never give away a tile you want just so the three don't look like a set.
Assuming a tile that comes back is deadEach numbered tile, wind, and dragon has four copies. There are eight Flowers and eight jokers. Receiving another 7 Crak does not tell you whether it is the same physical tile you passed earlier, and it is not proof that nobody wants 7 Craks.
Ignoring what never comes backIf you keep sending Craks and none ever reach you, someone near you is collecting them. What you never receive says as much as what you get.
Trying to pass a jokerJokers stay through both Charlestons and courtesy.

Every other word on this page — exposure, dead hand, hot tile — is in the American Mah Jongg glossary. And the Charleston is only the first five minutes: you can play the whole hand online, with friends or against the bots.

Charleston FAQs

When does the Charleston happen?

After the deal and before East's first discard. East starts with 14 tiles; the other players have 13.

What does ROL–LOR mean?

Right, Over, Left — then Left, Over, Right if everyone agrees to a second Charleston. "Over" means across.

Can I pass a joker?

No. Not in either Charleston and not in the courtesy exchange.

Do I always pass three tiles?

Each Charleston pass sends three tiles. On first Left and last Right, some or all may be incoming tiles forwarded unseen. Courtesy is a separate exchange of zero to three.

Can I pass a tile I just received?

Yes, on your next pass. Seeing it means it is an ordinary rack tile, not a blind tile.

Can anyone stop the Charleston?

After the first three passes, any player may decline the second round. If all four agree to continue, complete its three passes.

Does the practice rack tell me what to play?

It gives you one target hand from the 2026 card so you can learn the passing decisions, and shows how far off you are after every pass. It does not grade your choices, it is not the whole card, and at a real table you may keep several hands in mind.

Is the practice rack free?

Yes. This page's practice rack requires no account or payment. The full app has its own access terms.

Where are the official rules?

The National Mah Jongg League publishes them. What this page says about strategy is guidance, not an extra rule.

Do the real one, with a coach

Lesson four is the Charleston at a table with three opponents who pass like people. Free, five minutes, nothing to install.

START THE CHARLESTON LESSON