Page 1 Overview: The Opening Hand Decision Flowchart
Page 1 organizes the first 30 seconds of the deal into an actionable visual hierarchy:
- Step 1: Anchor Natural Pairs (★ Crucial): Identify natural pairs in your initial 13 tiles. Jokers can never replace pairs or singles on the NMJL card.
- Step 2: Cluster Suit & Number Alignment: Categorize your tiles into Evens (2468), Odds (13579), Consecutive Runs (3-4-5-6), or 2026 Year Tiles (2s, 6s, and Soaps).
- Step 3: Calculate Safe Pass Trios: Identify isolated winds, opposite-suit honors, or orphaned numbers contributing 0 value to your primary hand candidates.
Page 2 Overview: Defensive Withholding & Blind Passing
Page 2 equips you with defensive table awareness to avoid feeding opponents:
- The "Never Pass" List: Never pass two matching suited tiles or a complete consecutive run (e.g. 4-5-6 Bams) in a single pass.
- Blind Pass Protocol: Permitted ONLY on Pass 3 (1st Left) and Pass 6 (2nd Right). Never look at blind tiles before passing.
- Calling "STOP": When you possess 10+ matching tiles or fewer than 3 throwaways after Pass 3, call STOP to protect your advantage.
The 6-Step Charleston Sequence Quick Reference
| Pass |
Direction |
Tile Count |
Blind Pass Permitted? |
| Pass 1 |
Right |
3 Tiles |
No |
| Pass 2 |
Across |
3 Tiles |
No |
| Pass 3 |
Left |
3 Tiles |
Yes (1–3 tiles) |
| Pass 4 |
Left |
3 Tiles |
No (Optional 2nd Round) |
| Pass 5 |
Across |
3 Tiles |
No |
| Pass 6 |
Right |
3 Tiles |
Yes (1–3 tiles) |
| Courtesy |
Across |
0–3 Tiles |
No (Mutual Agreement) |