Tileborne American · NMJL Standard
Training & Practice

Discards Reader

Before you can defend, you have to read. This drill hands you one player's discards and asks what they are likely collecting, or avoiding. It builds the habit that separates a decent player from a dangerous one, using only plain American-mahjong observation. No card, no sign-up.

One worked example: read this before you start

A player throws, in order, 1-crak, 3-crak, 5-crak, 7-crak and 9-crak. They kept every even crak they drew.

That player's discards
  1. Read the gaps, not the keeps. Throwing every odd crak is a statement that odd craks have no place in this hand. The evens may or may not be wanted, but the odds are out.
  2. Don't over-read a keep. "They threw the odds, so they must want the evens" is a leap. The honest read is narrower: odd craks are unwanted. Everything else waits for more evidence.
  3. Use it on defense. If you later hold an odd crak, it is a relaxed throw against this player. The even craks stay on your no-throw list until proven otherwise.

The lesson: a discard tells you what a player is not doing far more reliably than what they are. Start every read from the negatives.

Question 1 / 14 Score: 0 / 0
Weights your weak spots: missed reads keep coming back.

Their exposures (if any)
Their discards

Next step

Reading practice

The companion drill: from the table state, pick the safest discard. Do both and the defensive habit is complete.

Open the drill →

Deeper

Reading the table

The full lesson behind these reads: exposures, the discard pool, timing, and the five checks before every discard.

Read the guide →

About Discards Reader

Discards Reader trains the read-the-table habit: given a player's discards, work out what they are likely collecting or avoiding.

No card data and no sign-up needed; the drill is pure reading. It builds the same skill a strong player uses to decide whether to push or defend.