The Charleston, explained

Last updated October 29, 2026

The Charleston is a tile-passing ritual that happens before play begins in American Mah Jongg. It is the part of the game that scares every new player, and the part that practice fixes fastest.

What is the order of passes in the Charleston?

The first Charleston goes right, across, then left, and an optional second one goes left, across, then right. After the deal and before the first discard, every player passes three tiles at once, three times:

1. First Right. Pass three tiles to the player on your right.
2. First Across. Pass three to the player opposite.
3. First Left. Pass three to the player on your left.

That is the first Charleston, and it is required. A second Charleston follows unless any one player stops it. It runs the other way: Left, Across, Right. Then comes the courtesy pass: an optional exchange across the table of anywhere from zero to three tiles, and both players must pass the same number, so ask first.

What is a blind pass in the Charleston?

A blind pass is sending on tiles you were just handed without looking at them, allowed only on the last pass of each Charleston. Every pass except the last one of each Charleston must come from tiles you have looked at. On the last pass (First Left, and Second Right), you may pass blind: take some or all of the three tiles you were just handed and send them straight on without looking. That is what you do when you genuinely have nothing to spare. Many players call this stealing.

Can you call Mah Jongg during the Charleston?

No. Nobody discards during the Charleston, so there is nothing to call, and every required pass must be made even if it breaks a finished hand. The one exception is East being dealt a complete hand: the NMJL rulebook (2013 edition, page 12) says the Charleston is waived and East declares Mah Jongg at once, a Heavenly Hand, as Tom Sloper quotes it.

If your hand becomes complete partway through, keep passing until the required passes are done. Then you can stop the second Charleston, offer zero tiles in the courtesy pass, and declare. A hand completed by the courtesy pass itself is Mah Jongg with no discard needed.

When can you stop the Charleston?

Any one player can stop the second Charleston, without giving a reason, after the first Left pass and before anyone picks up the second Left pass. Once someone has picked up her second Left, the second Charleston must be finished. The first Charleston can never be stopped, except for East's Heavenly Hand.

Stopping the second Charleston does not cancel the courtesy pass. Each pair across the table can still exchange zero to three tiles, even the player who stopped it (Sloperama FAQ 19, citing the NMJL rulebook).

Can you pass a joker in the Charleston?

How do you choose three tiles to pass?

Pass the isolated tiles that fit no family first, and let the hand show itself over the next two passes. New players freeze because they try to decide on a hand before the first pass. Do not. The first pass is for clearing junk, and the hand reveals itself over the next two.

First Right: dump the isolated tiles

Look for tiles that fit no family at all. A lone wind when everything else is numbers. A single 9 when the rack is low. A third suit when two are already crowded. The first pass is almost never a hard decision; if it is, you are overthinking it.

First Across: pick a direction

By now you have seen a few incoming tiles. Ask the three questions from the card sections page: odd, even or mixed? One number repeating? Honors piling up? Pass against whatever you are leaning toward. Leaning evens? Odds go.

First Left: commit or pass blind

If your rack now reads as one section, pass the last three tiles that do not belong to it. If you are still torn between two sections, keep the tiles both sections share and pass the rest. If nothing can go, pass blind.

Which tiles should you keep even when they look like junk?

Keep flowers, pairs and soaps even when they look like junk.

• Flowers. Many hands want two, three or four. A flower is rarely dead weight early.
• Pairs. A pair is the hardest group to build later, because you cannot call for one. Break a pair last.
• Soaps. They do double duty as the zero in year hands and as the dot suit's dragon, so they are contested.

What does your pass tell other players?

Every pass tells your neighbor something. Three winds in a row says you are not building Winds and Dragons. Three craks says the crak family is open. Good players read incoming passes the way they read exposures. Do not let that paralyze you; just know it is information.