Definition
A Charleston stop is one player declining the optional second Charleston. Any single player may do it, and under the sanctioned tournament rules a stop holds until someone has racked a tile from the second Charleston's first pass. The first Charleston cannot be stopped, except by East holding a complete hand from the deal.
Say it once, clearly, in the gap between the two rounds. The courtesy pass across the table is still available after a stop. Players stop because their hand is settled or because more passing would show the table too much, so a stop does not always mean a made hand.
At the table
Stopping is for a settled hand, and the mistake is stopping out of fear rather than strength. If you cannot name your direction, the second Charleston is nine more tiles of chances at exactly the pair or set you are missing. Stop when you are ready to play, not when you are tired of passing.
Also called stopping the Charleston, no second Charleston.
Read the full guide: Stopping the Charleston: Who Can Say Stop, When, and Whether You Should.
See it on real tiles. The AI coach reads a dealt hand, free, and names the direction it goes for, what to keep and what to pass, at the free read.
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Related: Like Numbers, Mah Jongg, Misdeal, Pie. All 52 terms.