Cards 101

American Mahjong Card 101: How the Card Works

In American Mahjong, the card is your guide for the entire game. It shows the hands you can try to make, how many points each hand is worth, and whether the hand must be played open or closed.

What Is the Mahjong Card?

The American Mahjong card lists the official hands for that year. Instead of making any matching hand you want, you choose a hand from the card and build your tiles toward it.

Think of the card as a menu of winning hands. Your goal is to pick one hand from the card and complete it before the other players do.

Why the Card Changes

In American Mahjong, the card changes regularly, usually once a year. This keeps the game fresh and gives players new patterns to learn and practice.

How the Card Is Organized

The card is divided into sections. Each section groups similar types of hands together. Common sections include hands based on the current year, numbers, consecutive runs, winds and dragons, or special groupings.

Each line on the card represents one possible hand. To win, your final hand must match one complete line exactly.

Reading a Line on the Card

Each hand on the card usually includes several important pieces of information:

• The tile pattern: The exact groups of tiles you need.
• The point value: How much the hand is worth.
• Open or closed status: Whether you may call discarded tiles.
• Notes or restrictions: Special instructions for that hand.

What the Numbers Mean

Numbers on the card usually represent numbered suit tiles: Bams, Craks, or Dots. For example, a hand may show a pattern using 2s, 4s, and 6s, but the actual suit may depend on the instructions for that line.

Some hands require tiles to be in one suit. Others may require two suits, three suits, or specific combinations of suits.

What the Letters Mean

The card uses letters and abbreviations to represent certain tiles. Common examples include:

• N, E, W, S: North, East, West, and South winds
• D: Dragon
• F: Flower
• J: Joker, when shown or allowed by the hand

What the Colors Mean

Colors on the card help show which tiles belong together and whether a hand needs one suit, two suits, or three suits.

A beginner-friendly way to read the colors is:

• Tiles shown in the same color usually belong to the same suit.
• Tiles shown in different colors usually need to be in different suits.
• The colors are not telling you to use the actual color of the tile. They are showing suit relationships.

For example, a red “2” on the card does not necessarily mean a red dragon or a red tile. It may simply mean “one suit,” depending on the hand.

What the Point Value Means

Each hand has a point value printed next to it. This tells you how much the hand is worth if you win with that hand.

Hands that are harder to make are often worth more points. Closed hands and unusual patterns may have higher values because they are more difficult.

Open Hands vs. Closed Hands

One of the most important things to check is whether the hand is open or closed.

Groups You'll See on the Card

The card is built around groups of matching or related tiles. Common group types include:

• Pair: Two identical tiles
• Pung: Three identical tiles
• Kong: Four identical tiles
• Quint: Five identical tiles, usually using jokers
• Sextet: Six identical tiles, usually using jokers

How Jokers Work with the Card

Jokers can usually be used in groups of three or more, such as pungs, kongs, quints, and sextets. They are very helpful when completing larger groups.

As a general beginner rule, jokers cannot be used for singles or pairs. If a hand requires two matching tiles, you usually need the real tiles, not jokers.

Choosing a Hand

At the beginning of the game, look at your tiles and compare them to the card. You are trying to find a hand that matches the tiles you already have or could reasonably build.

Beginners often do best by looking for:

• Several tiles in the same suit
• Pairs or groups already forming
• Flowers, dragons, or winds that match a section on the card
• Hands with flexible suit options

Changing Your Plan

It is normal to change your target hand during the game. As you draw new tiles and see what other players discard, you may realize another hand on the card is a better fit.

Many players keep two or three possible hands in mind early in the game before committing to one.

Beginner Tip

Do not try to understand the entire card at once. Start by learning how to read one line: the tile pattern, the colors, the point value, and whether the hand is open or closed.

Once you can read one line, the rest of the card becomes much easier to understand.