| 🧨️ Happy Mah Jongg Monday!️ | AROUND THE TABLE by Dottie | Hal fixed the wobbly leg on the dining room table last week, which meant everything came off it, including the tiles.
So when I set up for Wednesday’s game, I chose a different set from the closet. My mother’s. It had been a while since we played with it. The everyday set lives on the table and rarely goes back in the box.
These are heavier. Marlene said so as soon as she discarded her first tile, and then said it a few more times in case we’d missed it.
The N in the corner has worn clean off. What’s left is the Chinese character, and between the four of us we have about a hundred and fifty years at this game, and not one of us can read it.
I’ll fix it and keep them out. Last month I wanted my mother’s handwriting. This week I had my mother’s hands on the table all afternoon.
Pour the coffee. Let’s go.
— Dottie | | Here’s a quick preview of today’s issue. Scroll down to read each section in full. | 🏆 Behind the Tiles — Stay open, win more. Join the Club.
💡 Table Wisdom — The hand only East can be dealt.
🖐🏻 A Hand to Play — Which instructor’s pass wins?
⏰ Prime Big Deal Days Start Tomorrow: How to get in before the deals open.
🛒 Winning Picks — Game night gifts to grab early.
🎥 Max’s Minute — Picked out of turn? Now what.
🏪 Marketplace — Finally, a book about us.
🥠 Ask Auntie — When the instructor says it wrong.
📸 Spotlight — A Mah Jongg trip to the mountains.
🎂 Birthdays — This week’s AMJA members.
🙋🏻♀️ A Free Strategy Session — See if we called your name.
🏁 Milestones — Progress inside The Winning Hand app.
… and more! | | | | | | | 🎬 Sit Beside Debbie Barnett While She Plays 🎬 | “I’m talking to myself like I usually do,” Debbie Barnett said during her third game, and she meant it. You hear which tiles she’s holding, which hands she’s hoping for, and the moments she’s torn between two good ones. (“Oh, I want to keep it all. This is just a toughie.”)
That’s the whole idea of Behind the Tiles, our weekly series for Mahj Insiders Club members. Each week, a winning player plays a game and narrates what they’re noticing as it happens: why they hold certain tiles, why they let others go, when they pivot, and when they stay the course. You won’t find this anywhere else. A different guest every month, a full round of four games, every decision explained before anyone knows how it ends.
Debbie Barnett, of the School of American Mah Jongg and MahjCon, teaches one idea above all: stay open and flexible, because that’s how you win more. In her round you’ll watch her carry three kinds of hands through the Charleston and narrow them as the tiles come in. She explains why she throws fresh tiles first, before they get “hotter and hotter.” And you’ll hear her catch herself about to discard the wrong tile, in time to fix it. | 👇 Watch the Full Interview With Debbie Here | | If you join in the next two days, you’ll be ready when Debbie’s first episode drops Wednesday. | 👉 Join the Mahj Insiders Club | |
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| | | | | | | | What Is a Heavenly Hand? | Word about the term “Heavenly Hand” has gotten around, and the Insider gets a lot of questions about this one. | The term Heavenly Hand refers to the stroke of luck that happens when East arranges their tiles and realizes that they have Mah Jongg. Only East can experience this because East is the only player who starts the game with 14 tiles. The hand is said to have come from “the Heavens.” | The Heavenly Hand is considered a self-picked Mah Jongg. If you make it without Jokers, that can mean an even nicer payout! | The Heavenly Hand is accompanied by the Earthly Hand, which is when East is able to pass the right combination of tiles and end up with Mah Jongg at the end of any phase of the Charleston. This is a great reason to keep the Charleston going even if you’re close to a hand. Every tile you get toward your hand can put you closer to that Earthly Hand. | Both of these hands mean your luck is running high, so enjoy it if the Heavens smile on you. 🙂 |
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| | | | | | | | Last Week’s 🖐🏻 Hand to Play Results:
8,462 Insiders played, 92% chose right. (Guess it was too easy!)
👉 See the correct answer & explanation here. | Most of us are unsure of which tiles to let go of in the Charleston. Players who have developed this skill are the ones winning more hands. | With the deal shown below, which three tiles would you pass? | Think about what you’d be willing to hand over to the player on your right. | This week’s passes come from Phyllis Drucker, who leads our Strategy Sessions, and from instructors in the American Mah Jongg Association directory: Katie Wallace, Jennifer Hohman and Tiffany Kraght. Who do you agree with? 👇 | | Which 3 tiles would you pass? | |
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| | | | | | | | Game Night Season | Prime Big Deal Days start tomorrow, October 6 and 7, and the best prices are for Prime members only. Not a member yet? Click here to start a free 30-day trial today → so you’re in before the deals open. | See something below you love? Add it to your cart today. If the price drops tomorrow, you’ll catch it. | 🧩 Mah Jongg Jigsaw Puzzle A thousand pieces of tables, tiles, and players who look a lot like your group. The rare puzzle that is actually about your life. Start piecing → | 🎁 Premium Beauty Gift Set The first gift of the season, already boxed and ready for whoever you draw. Beautiful enough that you may quietly order a second one for yourself. Shop the set → | 🔄 Tilting Puzzle Table Your puzzle tilts up to you instead of making you hunch over it, then slides away half finished with the cover on. Four sorting drawers, and your dining table goes back to being a dining table. Claim your table back → | 🃏 Automatic Card Shuffler One press and the deck is shuffled properly, no bridging and no sore thumbs. Quiet, rechargeable, and a relief for anyone whose hands have opinions. Let it shuffle → | 📖 A Mah Jongg Mystery A cozy whodunit set around a Mah Jongg group, with real tidbits about the game folded in between the clues. Exactly right for the chair, the blanket, and a rainy afternoon. Start the series → | Good games, good books, and the first gifts wrapped early. | (As an Amazon Associate, The Mah Jongg Insider earns from qualifying purchases.) |
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| | | | | | | | Max takes two questions from Insiders and answers both in a quick 60-second video. | 🕔 This week’s questions:
1️⃣ What happens if a player picks a tile out of turn?
2️⃣ Is a player allowed to call for a tile and make an exposure with it and then discard that same kind of tile in the same turn?
➡️ Click to watch this week’s video |  | Click to watch the video |
| Have a question for Max?
🎤 [Click to leave a voicemail] |
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| | | | | | | | | | Pull Up a Chair | Somebody finally wrote the book about us. | In The Table of Four, journalist (and player) Lynne Jeter writes about the friendships, the rivalries, and the drama over who discarded the wrong tile. Everything at the table except the game itself. | You’ll recognize your own group. | Out March 16, 2027.
👉 Preorder The Table of Four |
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| (As an Amazon Associate, The Mah Jongg Insider earns from qualifying purchases.) |
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| | | | | | | | ⬅️ Last Week’s Question
For a few weeks I’ve been playing with a new group of about 20 to 24. It’s advertised as American Mah Jongg, but one table in particular doesn’t verbalize calls for discards. A couple of them just grab a tile and then there’s an exposure on their rack. Their discards are often announced barely above a mutter, and a tile may be placed on the table without a word. I’ve said, “Oh, did you call that? I didn’t hear you.” “Where did that exposure come from?” “What did you discard?” I know Mah Jongg is a looking and listening game, but I’d like it to be and, not or. It’s exasperating. Any advice?
- Anonymous |
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| 🥠 Auntie’s Advice 🥠 My friend, with that many players there are five or six tables, and you have trouble with one. If the seating moves about, this is a handful of afternoons a year and not worth carrying home. If you’re stuck there, stop asking after the tile. Ask before the hand: “Does this table play NMJL rules or a house version?” You’re new, so it’s a fair thing to want to know. And if the other three are content with how it’s done, you have your answer. 📢 Readers’ Responses 📢 🗨 When you sit at that table next, announce before play that you’d appreciate it if everyone spoke up and remembered to call for an exposure, as it helps you. Making it about you and not them prevents hurt feelings and defensiveness.
- Sara MC 🗨 It turns out that they’ve been playing for sooooo long, decades, that they’ve just slipped into bad habits. Since I play in local tournaments, each time before we play, I ask them to help me form good habits by being good Mah Jongg role models.
One memorable time, someone murmured “mahj” and proceeded to expose her winning tiles. I innocently said, “Oh, can you do that in tournament play?” She snapped back, “We’re not playing in a tournament.” To which I replied, “But shouldn’t we be playing like we are?” This brought a silence to the group and several nods of agreement.
Now, I still have to remind them, each time we begin our afternoon, to be a good model to help me. But at least most of them try to have better playing habits.
- Debbie P. 🗨 The group is big enough. Pick another table to sit at!
- Jill V. |
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| | | ➡️ This Week’s Question
I live in an active adult community where we play Mah Jongg weekly. I have found some seasoned players mispronouncing Mah Jongg, even some who call themselves instructors. What is an appropriate way to inform them of their mistake without offending them? - Adela |
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| 🤗 Want to share your advice?
🤔 Have a Mah Jongg manners or table moment dilemma? | 📩 Send it to Auntie: auntie@themahjongginsider.com |
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| | | | | | | | 🌟California Coastal Mahjong Cruise | Picture a week of tiles with the Pacific out the window. Mahj Club and A Bright Spot Travel are sailing the Emerald Princess out of Los Angeles March 14–21, 2027, with stops in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada. Daily sessions at sea come at no extra cost, all skill levels are welcome, and Mahj Club founder Sara Linden will be on board. | Group pricing runs $819 per person for an interior cabin, $939 for oceanview and $1,049 for a balcony, taxes and port fees included. That rate holds only until October 15, and balconies are going fastest! | See the cruise details or browse every cruise in our directory. |
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| | | | | | | | | I did a three-night Mah Jongg themed trip to the mountains with 10 of the women I taught to play. We had T-shirts, a Mah Jongg themed gift exchange, and lots of fun.
- Sara L. | | I've been lucky enough to get to teach Mah Jongg to this group of ladies here in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where players are few and far between. I'm enjoying doing my part to grow the game. They were celebrating my birthday. ❤️ Left to right: Ann, Judy, Lorene, Sharon, Shirley, Kathryn, Cindi, Louise. Missing are Gina and Sue.
- Cindi | | 📸 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: hello@themahjongginsider.com |
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| | | | | | | | The American Mah Jongg Association would like to wish these members a very Happy Birthday! | October 5
Jacqueline S. (OH), Karen L. (TX), Linda M. (VA), Lori W. (SC), Marijane K. (OH), Mary P. (FL), Roberta W. (NC) | October 6
Claudia D. (TX), Karen F. (AZ), Krista S. (AZ), Melinda P. (GA), Nicole B. (CA), Patti Jo S. (PA) | October 7
Jeannette L. (IL), Lisa M. (LA), Lorraine C. (CA), Mary S. (AZ), Mary W. (FL), Maureen G. (PA), Sahndra C. (TX) | October 8
Aviva S. (NJ), Bonnie H. (CA), Robin E. (NC), Stephanie S. (TX) | October 9
Beau F. (MD), Colleen B. (CO), Kathleen B. (AL), Lisa C. (LA), Kevin C. (TX) | October 10
Debbie O. (TN), Eileen K. (CA), Leslie F. (NV), Lisa K. (SC), Patti K. (BC) | October 11
Harriet S. (PA), Jan Z. (CO), Jane H. (TX), Lori E. (GA), Michelle S. (AR), Trella A. (KS), Laura F. (TX) |
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| | | | | | | If your name is Kara, enjoy a FREE Strategy Session 🙋🏻♀️ on us!* | *Just reply to this email by this Friday at midnight, your email name must match! |
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| | | | | | | | These milestones come from players using The Winning Hand, the app included with membership in the American Mah Jongg Association. [Join Here] | 16,167+ members use it in different ways: To warm up. To stay sharp. Or simply to spend more time with the game you already love. | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 500 games played
Nancy Bostwick
Marsha Jenkins 🔥🔥🔥🔥 400 games played
Kate Clark 🔥🔥🔥 300 games played
Alyse C 🔥🔥 200 games played
Sara Brooks
Gay Jackson
Ktmahjong Jakel
Debi Rich
Carol Woodruff 🔥 100 games played
Mary Beach
Patricia Carroll
Sandie Fitzpatrick
Jenny Hamilton
Cheryl Kiefer
Suki Kniezew 👏 The more you play, the better your game gets. |
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| 🎥 New to The Winning Hand app?
Short videos walk through each game mode:
🤖 Bot Play
➕ Hand Builder | ☑️ Finish the Hand | 🔄 Scrambled Hand | 💃🏻 Charleston |
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