A DISCARDED JOKER CANNOT BE CLAIMED (Article 88) 

Commentary: At no time can a discarded joker be claimed by another player. In other words, if a player discards a joker and calls it”same” and another player, who is not paying attention claims the tile, they will not be able to.

A player wrote a letter to the league asking for a ruling for this scenario: Player D discarded a 5 dot. Player A picked a tile from the wall, then discarded a joker and misnamed it a 5 bam. Player B declared mah jongg after hearing the misnamed joker. The league replied, “This is the one and only case where a joker can be called for mah jongg. ” The person from the league used poor judgment and logic because the player did not call the joker; they declared mah jongg after hearing the name of the symbol tile they needed. When that happens, regardless of the actual discarded tile (e.g., symbol tile, joker), the win is honored, and the discarder is penalized by paying four times the value of the hand. 

Also,  the answer from the league to question #10 of the 2025 bulletin should be disregarded. They mistakenly copied and pasted an answer from another bulletin because jokers have nothing to do with the question which was, “Can a player call one of the winds and then rack NEWS if it isn’t for mah jongg?”. Per the league in their official guidebook, Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 24 #10), “A discarded joker can NEVER be picked up. IT IS A “DEAD” TILE.” This is also clarified on their website.

Question from a player:  One person says, “5 Bam”.  The next person says “same” but puts a joker down instead.  However, the next person, not looking at the table but concentrating on her own hand, says she wants the “5 Bam”.  Which tile can she take? 
 
Answer from the NMJL:  A discarded Joker can NEVER be picked up. IT IS A “DEAD” TILE.

Source:  Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 24 #10)

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Other answer from the NMJL:

“Neither.  You may never pick up a joker from the table.  A joker when discarded is a dead tile.  All players should always watch the table for discards as well as listen.  The original”5 Bam” that was discarded can no longer be called, as the next person in turn had already picked and discarded.”  

“A discarded Joker can never be picked up. It is a dead tile.”

Source for other answer: National Mah Jongg League Bulletin (2000 page 5, 2015)