Definition
Table rules are the local agreements a group plays by on what League rules leave to the players, such as the stake and the pie, plus any League rule the group has chosen to play differently.
They are legitimate and they vary from table to table, and two players assuming different ones can turn a hand into a dispute. Agree them before the first deal at any new table.
At the table
Every argument at eleven at night is a table rule nobody agreed at eight. The stake, the pie, and any League rule the group plays differently all need saying out loud. The doubles do not, because League rules settle them, including the double for a hand with no jokers. Ask at a new table before the first deal.
Also called house rules.
Read the full guide: Mahjong Rules Arguments, and What the Rules Say.
Lesson 10, Table-Ready: Your First Club Night, teaches this in its step "Listen for 'table rules'". It comes with the Club. See what Lesson 10 covers.
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.
Want the coach on call? The Club adds the coach for your own tiles and for each morning’s hand, all 10 lessons, and every new NMJL card taught the week it lands, for $14.99 a month, cancel anytime. See what the Club includes.
Related: Picking ahead, Safe tile, Racking, Hot tile. All 52 terms.