ARRANGING A DECLARED MAH JONGG (Article 8)

Commentary: After a player declares Mah Jongg, they expose all their tiles on the flat part of their rack. Previously exposed blocks cannot be changed, but the player can rearrange newly exposed tiles to match the hand on the card—this should be done without the advice of others. Also, to help the other players validate the hand, the winner should arrange the blocks to match the card’s description.

Also, consider these rulings from Mah Jongg Made Easy (MJME 2024 page 30):

• You may never add to or subtract from an exposure after you have discarded or any time later in the game.
• Players must announce the value of their own hand. A player’s score does not change if another player calls attention to the fact that the hand could be rearranged at a higher value. The player is only entitled to the value they have announced.

Question from a player:   I called mah jongg and displayed my hand with jokers incorrectly.  Instead of pung, pung, kong, kong, I displayed pung kong, pung, kong.  Since I had the correct 14 tiles, can I rearrange them?

Answer from the NMJL:  “You are allowed to rearrange your exposed 14 tiles in order to display a correct mah jongg.”

Source:  National Mah Jongg League Bulletin Q&A (2019)

Other answers from the NMJL:

“Be courteous.  Mah jongg should be exposed in the same order as shown on the card.  Jokers, if part of the hand, should be put in their correct place.”  

“Once a player has declared mah jongg, it is not only permissible but standard practice to display one’s hand in the order as shown on the card. Since this is not required during game play, once a player has mah jongg they would simply reorder their tiles to match the hand displayed on the card. By doing so, you are assisting others in reading your winning hand.”
Sources for other answers:  National Mah Jongg League Bulletin Q&A (1996 page 5, 1997 page 5)