04/06/26 🀄 Watch the 2026 Card Reveal Live This Week

💡 Table Wisdom

5 Hands Everyone's Talking About

It’s the same every year, people look at the new card, and there’s buzz. It may be excitement about the latest hands or confusion about how to play some of them. Every new card creates buzz, but the fine print always determines how hands are played. Focus there first, then build your strategy with confidence.

2026, Line 2: 2026 DDD 2222 DDD
The key point is how the Soap works in this hand. Soap used as a zero has no suit, so it does not lock you into Dots. That means your 2026 can be in one suit, while your Kong and matching Dragon can be in another. You can still choose Dots for either group if you have enough Soaps or Jokers available.

Tip: Decide on your two suits early, but stay open until your Soap situation is clear.

Any Like Numbers, Line 1 and other sextet hands: 1111 FFFFFF 1111
This hand hinges on the Sextet of Flowers. A Sextet must be exposed as a single unit of six tiles, using Flowers and or Jokers together. You cannot break this into two separate Pungs of Flowers. That distinction matters when calling tiles and exposing.

Players will often misplay this by exposing three Flowers too early. That locks you out of forming the required Sextet later. Timing and discipline matter here, especially if Flowers are moving around the table.

Tip: Do not expose Flowers early. Wait until you can complete the full Sextet in one move.

Consecutive Run, Line 2: FFF 1111 234 5555 or FFF 1111 234 5555
This will be a fun hand to play! It has a run of three singles, but not at the beginning of the hand. It’s great if you have five consecutive numbers in a single suit or across three suits, especially if your multiples are the two end numbers. The singles in the middle let you turn what could be a gap into a hand,  kind of like turning trash into treasure.  This hand  also offers good flexibility into other Consecutive Run hands.

Tip: If you see five consecutive numbers early, keep this hand in play.

Quints Line 3: 11111 44444 DDDD
This one was already getting buzz before the cards were delivered to everyone! The rule is simple once you read it carefully. You choose any two numbers in the same suit that appear in multiples in your hand. Those become your two Quints. The Dragons must be the opposite color of that suit. This gives you flexibility if you start with strong multiples. Watch for Jokers, since Quints rely heavily on them.

Tip: Lock in this hand only when you have clear multiples in one suit, especially if you open with Jokers.

13579, Line 4, 113579 1111 1111
Last year’s “floating pair” hand has changed sections and is now played with odds. Like that hand, any number in the 13579 run may be a Pair, and the Kongs match the pairs. This hand requires 3 suits.

Tip: Choose your pair early, then build matching Kongs in the same numbers across suits.

Said with a completely straight face…

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🖐🏻 A Hand to Play

Last Week’s 🖐🏻 Hand to Play Results:
5,485 Insiders Played, 60% chose right.
👉 See the correct answer & explanation here.

As we move onto a new NMJL Card, it’s natural to wonder what direction to take. The good news is that most main Sections remain consistent year after year.

After the Charleston, the game shifts into the call-and-discard phase. This is the moment to pause, review your tiles, and decide which hand options are realistically in reach, and which Section they belong to.

Looking at the tiles below, which Section gives you the strongest opportunity to complete a hand?

Study the hands carefully, make your choice, and vote to see how your decision compares with other players. This quiz works for either the 2025 or 2026 NMJL Card.

🀄 Tile Spotlight: Today’s Hand to Play uses Mah Jongg Maven’s tiles.

🌸 Winning Picks: Fresh Looks for Spring
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This week’s top questions:
1️⃣ Can you still call for an exposure during the final wall?
2️⃣ What happens when a player misnames a tile?

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