01/26/26 🀄 Mah Jongg Confidence Starts Here

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The Mah Jongg Insider 🀄
January 26, 2026

🧨️ Happy Mah Jongg Monday!️

Over time, we’ve built a handful of tools to make Mah Jongg easier to learn, easier to practice, and more fun to play and share.

There’s the Directory, where you can find instructors and events near you. Live Practice Sessions on Zoom, where you can play, ask questions, and get unstuck. The Rulebook, with clear answers when the table isn’t sure. And for those who want to go deeper, the Mahj Insiders Club, which focuses on making better decisions so you can win more games.

Some of these are free, some are part of our paid memberships, but all of them exist for the same reason: to help you get more out of the game you already love.

If you haven’t explored them in a while, consider this a gentle nudge.

Here’s a quick preview of today’s issue. Scroll down to read each section in full.

💡 Table Wisdom — How tournament scoring really works before you sit down.

🖐🏻 A Hand to Play — Which three tiles should you pass in the Charleston?

🎁 Winning Picks — Home helpers that make the week easier.

🎥 Max’s Minute — Fingers on tiles and calling your own hand dead.

❓ Ask Auntie — Is the table a place to quietly carry what’s heavy?

➡️ This Week’s Question — Playing while carrying quiet grief.

📚 More Than a Game — Bubbe and Bams, a story across generations.

📸 Spotlight — Mah Jongg on the water and lakeside play.

🎂 Birthdays — This week’s AMJA members.

🖐🏻 Free Practice Sessions — See if we called your name.

… and more!

⬇️ If you play American Mah Jongg
this is your Association ⬇️

💡 Table Wisdom

Tournament Play: Know the Scoring Before You Sit Down

Tournament Mah Jongg is fun and exciting, but preparation matters. You’ll play better if you understand the scoring system before the first hand. 

Tournament rules build on the National Mah Jongg League guidelines, but organizers often add their own variations. Most events give you the rules when you sign up. Still, it’s smart to review the standard practices below so you’re prepared.

Base Scoring

Scoring for the winning hand begins with the point value shown for that line on the NMJL card. Bonuses are added as follows:

  • Self-Picked Mah Jongg: Add +10 points if you draw your own winning tile.

  • No Joker Bonus: Add +20 points if your hand has no Jokers (except Singles and Pairs).

In the event of a wall game, all players earn +10 points, unless their hand was called ‘dead’ during the game.

⚠️ Penalties

In addition to earning points for wins, players may also have penalties deducted from their score, as follows:

  • If you throw the winning Mah Jongg Tile

    • To a player with no exposures or one exposure: –10 points

    • To a player with two exposures: –20 points

    • To a player with three or more exposures: –25 points

  • If your hand is declared dead, you receive –10 points and no wall game bonus.

  • If you misname a tile that gives Mah Jongg to an opponent, you lose –25 points.

  • If you call Mah Jongg in Error, you stop playing and receive 0 points for that hand.

🏆 Tournament Bonuses
Some organizers award extra points for special wins, such as the first Quint or a hand in Singles and Pairs. Check your rules for details.

✅ Score Validation
Each Tournament defines how scores will be verified. Frequently, after the game, the opposite players confirm and initial each other’s scorecards. East is responsible for submitting them.

Takeaway:
While these summarize the most common Tournament scoring practices, be sure to become familiar with your tournament’s scoring rules. It’s the key to a fun and successful day!

This is also a great way to keep score for non-cash games. It gives you a way to declare a winner for the day, without playing for money.

🖐🏻 A Hand to Play

Which tiles to pass? (at the start)

The Charleston can make or break your Mah Jongg game. With the tiles below, which three would you pass in the Charleston?

Choose three tiles that don’t support your strategy and are safe to pass together. Your goal is to keep your potential hands flexible while you avoid setting up a hand for your opponent(s).

Take a close look: what doesn’t fit your plan? Pick your three, then VOTE to see how your choice compares with others.

Which tiles to pass? (at the start)

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Last Week’s 🖐🏻 Hand to Play Results:
4,786 Insiders Played, Only 31% chose right. Did you?  » CLICK HERE «

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🏠 Home Helper Picks for an Easier Week
A few small upgrades can make home life run smoother — less guessing, less clutter, and fewer little frustrations. These practical favorites keep things tidy, comfortable, and easy.

🎲 Do You Really Know Your Family?
A fun way to spark stories, laughter, and connection around the table. Play here →

🧽 Magnetic Clean/Dirty Dishwasher Sign
A simple fix that ends the “is it clean?” guessing game for good. See it here →

🧹 Reusable Lint Roller
Great on clothes, furniture, and even Mah Jongg mats — washable and eco-friendly. Grab one →

🚪 Motion-Sensor Night Lights
Soft, cordless lights that make nighttime hallways and bathrooms safer to navigate. See them here →

🍯 Easy Jar Opener
A bestseller for a reason. Opens tight lids with almost no effort. Try it here →

(**As an Amazon Associate, The Mah Jongg Insider earns from qualifying purchases.)

This week’s top questions:
1️⃣ When is a tile considered officially discarded? What if I keep my finger on it?
2️⃣ Should I call my own hand dead when I realize it’s dead?

Watch Max’s 1-minute video answer.
🎥 [Click here to watch]

Have a question for Max?
🎤 Leave him a [voicemail]

⬅️ Last Week’s Question
Auntie, We have a member in our group who is always rushing everyone the moment we start drawing tiles, during the Charleston, and throughout the game. What is the best way to deal with this? Should we try a sand timer?
- Julie K

🥠 Auntie’s Advice 🥠

🗨 My dear, for every note I receive about someone playing too fast, I receive another about someone playing too slow. Pace is one of the great mismatches in Mah Jongg. It is not a flaw in her or a flaw in you. It is simply two rhythms bumping into each other.

A timer will only make everyone more aware of the mismatch. What helps more is accepting that every table finds its own middle ground. You can steady things with a calm reminder like, “Let’s stay together as we move through the Charleston,” and then let the group settle into a shared pace. Help the table find its balance.

📢 Readers’ Responses 📢

🗨 Have a conversation as a group to discuss this issue before the game starts. Mention the feeling of a rushed game and why it is uncomfortable with the majority. Acknowledge that this player that rushes the game may have more experience but the rest of the group needs more time to get to her level so they too can play faster.
- Diane B.J.

🗨 All groups are not a good fit for all players. If one member of your group wants to play faster than the other three, perhaps your group is not a good fit for her. I was actually in that same situation myself. I realized that I did not fit in with the other members of the group, so I removed myself. Maybe you should ask this player if she feels as if you all are slowing her down. Explain to her that you don't like playing at a faster pace and maybe she would fit in with a faster paced group.
- Susan D.

Whose response do you like best?

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➡️ This Week’s Question
I play Mah Jongg each week with a group of women who keep things light and friendly. Recently, I’ve been carrying a deep grief that has changed how I move through the world. I still show up, fake a smile, and go through the motions of play, but I'm really hurting. No one asks how I’m doing, but even if they did, I don’t know how to bring it up without shifting the tone of the group.
Should I share my sadness or keep it to myself?
- Anonymous

🤗 Want to share your advice?
🤔 Have a Mah Jongg manners or table moment dilemma?

📩 Send it to Auntie: [email protected]

️📚 More Than a Game

Bubbe and Bams is a warm, charming story about the quiet magic that happens when generations come together at the Mah Jongg table.

With humor, heart, and beautiful illustrations, it captures how a simple game becomes a bridge between past and present, a way traditions are shared, memories are made, and love is passed along tile by tile. It’s the kind of book that feels familiar, even the first time you read it.

Readers say they’re buying two copies, one for themselves and one for a grandchild, reading it over FaceTime, at bedtime, and returning to it again and again. Whether you play Mah Jongg, grew up around it, or simply value stories about family and connection, this is a book you’ll be glad to have on your shelf and even happier to give as a gift.

📸 Get In the Spotlight

Our group began a few short years ago at Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, Georgia. We have since taken our games into members’ homes around town and finally offshore while boating on the Bull River along Wilmington Island. The dolphins enjoyed our game almost as much as we did.
- Cathy Reiman

My tennis 🎾 team friends got together for an afternoon by the lake: a few games of Mahj, a sail, and dinner at the yacht club. A fabulous day and it’s Mah Jongg that brought us all together.
- Peggy Greydanus
Grand Rapids, Michigan

📸 Share your Mah Jongg moments!
Send us a photo and a quick note — big wins, themed nights, or fun group shots — for a chance to be featured.

📩 Email: [email protected]

🎂 This Week’s Birthdays

Happy Birthday to these wonderful members of the American Mah Jongg Association!

Jan 26
Beth S. (AR), Denise L. (MA), Patti K. (TX)  

Jan 27
Lynn D. (FL)  

Jan 29
Catherine A. (CA), Jere M. (CA), Libby H. (CA), Rosemarie F. (MA), Susan M. (FL), Terry L. (SD)  

Jan 30
Ashley B. (FL), Beth W. (NC), Karen W. (FL), Melissa (TN)  

Jan 31
Deb H. (NC), Kimber F. (SC), Susan S. (AZ), Susan T. (PA)

Feb 1
Peggi C. (MA), Cissie W. (KY), Dori P. (HI), Linda S. (PA), Linda P.H. (AZ), Peggi C. (MA)

If your name is Kathy , enjoy a FREE Practice Session 🖐🏻 on us!*

*Just reply to this email by this Friday at midnight—your email name must match!

🏁 Milestones

These milestones come from TheWinningHand app (included with Mahj Insiders Club membership — join here.)

Players use it in different ways. To warm up. To stay sharp. Or simply to spend more time with the game you already love.

BARBARA GERBER 🔥🔥 — 200 games played

👏 Consistent play adds up.

🎥 New to TheWinningHand app?
Short videos walk through each game mode:
➕ Hand Builder | ☑️ Finish the Hand | 🔃 Scrambled Hand | 💃🏻 Charleston

🎁 Earn FREE gifts!
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