ARRANGING A DECLARED MAH JONGG (Article 8)

Commentary: After declaring mah jongg, a player may adjust only the newly exposed tiles to match a valid hand on the card. This includes changes such as converting a pung to a kong, a kong to a pung, or reallocating jokers—but only within the new exposure made at the time of the declaration. Any exposures made earlier in the game must remain as they were declared initially and cannot be altered.

The declaring player is responsible for arranging their hand clearly for validation. Other players should not assist with rearranging the hand unless the table has agreed in advance to allow coaching in casual play. Assistance is not permitted for formal games or tournaments.

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 it or at any time later in the game.
• Players must announce the value of their hand. A player’s score does not change if another player calls attention 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)