Lesson 6 of 12
Choosing a hand
Choose a hand by looking at what you were dealt: your pairs, your jokers, your flowers and any numbers you have several of. Find two or three hands on the card that use those tiles, keep them all open through the first Charleston, and commit to one before play begins.
Step by step
- Sort your rack. Group tiles by suit and number, then winds, dragons, flowers and jokers. Patterns jump out once the tiles are sorted.
- Count what's rare. Pairs, jokers and flowers are the hardest tiles to collect, so hands that use what you already hold are usually the best bets.
- Look for the section your tiles lean to. Mostly even numbers? Look at the even section. Several consecutive numbers? Look at the runs. Lots of winds? Winds and dragons.
- Keep two or three options. During the first Charleston, pass tiles that fit none of your options. Narrow down as tiles arrive.
- Commit, then stay flexible. Once play starts, aim at one hand but notice if the tiles keep pushing you toward another. Switching early is fine; switching late usually isn't.
Common mistakes
- Picking the highest-value hand instead of the hand your tiles fit.
- Needing a pair you don't have for a hand where jokers can't help (jokers never count in pairs).
Questions people ask
What's the easiest hand for beginners?
Usually one that allows exposures (marked X) and uses groups of three or more, because jokers can fill in for missing tiles.
How many jokers are good to have?
Any jokers help, but only in groups of three or more. Two or three jokers make most exposed hands much easier.
Should I keep flowers?
Keep them if the hands you're considering use flowers; many hands on a typical card do. Otherwise they're good Charleston passes.