Beginners American Mahjong

Let’s be clear, we’re calling a hand dead – not a player! And yet, calling another player’s hand dead is a super controversial move to some. Honestly, the move is mostly suffering from some bad PR. Maybe a different set of words to describe it? Let’s let that simmer for a moment and we’ll come back to it.

Nope, a “blind pass” is not a pick up line from a vision impaired person. In mahjong it can be a powerful strategy, if you know what it is and when to use it.
In a nutshell, a blind pass is the opportunity during the Charleston to not pass three tiles at a time when you don’t want to. Wait what? You don’t always have to pass three tiles? Nope- but there are rules.

A student asked me "Why do we have to do the Charleston?" in a tone reminiscent of a teenager asking why they have to unload the dishwasher or take out the trash. My typical parent response would be, "Because I said so" and the hasty teacher version would be something along the lines of, "Because thems the rules". But the why is actually pretty important.