The rules are short. The arguments are long. This is the searchable record of the disputes that actually surface at the table — each with the ruling and the authority behind it.
Search a situation, or filter by topic. Every entry states the ruling and the basis it rests on. Where the answer depends on the table you are sitting at, that is said plainly rather than hidden.
No. Only another player at the table may point out a dead hand — you may not call your own. If you notice your mistake, say nothing, keep playing defensively, and try to force a wall game. A dead hand still discards every turn; it just can no longer win.
Yes. You must hold exactly 13 tiles in play; 14 is allowed only at the instant you declare Mah Jongg. Holding too many or too few at any other moment — other than the instant of your own draw — is a dead hand on the spot.
Stay calm and keep playing; the game continues. After the hand, review it together. Under many house rules a wrong dead-hand call carries a penalty for the challenger — in tournament play this is normally a points penalty, at social tables whatever the group agreed; if the call was right, you stop immediately. Agree this rule before the first deal.
A joker exposed before the hand was declared dead can still be exchanged by others. But a joker inside the very exposure that made the hand dead — or any joker in a concealed hand that was declared dead — cannot be taken. This timing is exactly why players hesitate before calling a hand dead.
No. A joker substitutes only inside a group of three or more — a pung, kong, quint or sextet. It can never represent a required pair or a required single tile. This is why Singles & Pairs hands usually forbid jokers outright and carry the highest values on the card.
No. You may exchange a joker only after you have picked (or called and exposed). The strict order is: pick → rack → exchange → discard. Exchanging before your turn begins kills the hand.
No. A joker sitting inside an exposed kong (a four-of-a-kind) cannot be exchanged — the kong must stay intact. You may exchange jokers from pungs and other exposures, but not from a kong.
A call for Mah Jongg outranks a call for a pung or kong. If both want it for a pung/kong, priority goes to the player whose turn comes next after the discarder (the next in turn order). The exact tie-break wording varies slightly by table — confirm it before play.
Yes, if the card line forbids a joker there (a no-joker hand, or a Singles & Pairs group). Using a joker where the card prohibits it is an invalid exposure, and an invalid exposure is a dead hand immediately.
Exposing any part of a hand marked “C” makes it dead immediately. A concealed hand may still make a concealed (self-drawn) kong, but it cannot call a kong from a discard, and it must never expose.
No. A “C” hand is built entirely from your own draws — the sole exception is the final winning tile. You may make a concealed kong from your own draw, but you cannot call a discard to expose a kong.
No. You may not declare a kong (or a quint) if there is no replacement tile to draw. If the dead wall is exhausted, the kong simply cannot be made.
Yes. A four-of-a-kind may be any combination of real tiles and jokers (for example one real tile plus three jokers). A quint likewise may include jokers wherever the card line permits it.
Not a dead hand — this is a procedure error. The Charleston typically continues with what you have; the offending player may be required to pass appropriately, and in tournament play may face a penalty. Resolve it calmly and reset the pass rather than escalating.
Your hand is dead on the spot. You are out for the remainder of that hand, and depending on the table you may owe a penalty. This is the most expensive mistake in the game and is entirely avoidable — verify the line against the card before you say the words.
A dead hand remains in play and keeps discarding; it cannot win. Whether a dead hand still owes the winner a payment follows house rules — many tables still require a dead hand to pay. Confirm this before the first deal so there is no argument later.
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Entries rest on the National Mah Jongg League standard as summarized by the American Mah-Jongg Association's Rules Companion and widely used player guides (MahjLife, Sloperama, MahjongWiki). Where an answer depends on the table you are sitting at, it is flagged table-dependent. The current official card and that table's house rules always win over anything written here.