| 🧨️ Happy Mah Jongg Monday!️ | AROUND THE TABLE by Dottie | I took down the sisterhood cookbook last Monday to get my mother’s honey cake card and it wasn’t in it.
It lives loose in that book. Even though I know the recipe by heart I’ve checked the card every year anyway, which is not the same thing as needing it.
I went through the whole shelf, page by page. Two hours. I found a coupon that expired in 1994.
So I called Marlene. Our mothers were sisters. I asked if she had my mother’s card. She said no. She said she had a copy, and she’d bring it Wednesday, and then she told me about the last time she made it, which took a while.
She brought it in a plastic sleeve. She’d copied it out herself, years ago, and she got every word of it right. Sugar, honey, coffee, unsweetened applesauce. (That last one is the secret to enhance the honey flavor.)
I baked it Thursday. Soft, dark, better on the second day.
The recipe was never in any danger. I’ve had it in my head for years.
It was my mother’s handwriting that I wanted.
The new copy is on my counter. I haven’t put it in the book.
A sweet year to those who keep it.
Pour the coffee. Let’s go.
— Dottie | | Here’s a quick preview of today’s issue. Scroll down to read each section in full. | ⬇️ Learn the Card faster — Join the Association.
🀄 Play 60+ bots inside The Winning Hand app.
💡 Table Wisdom — The Joker you didn’t need.
🦻🏻 Hear Every Tile Called: A hearing tip worth knowing about.
🖐🏻 A Hand to Play — Which 3 tiles would you pass?
☕ Winning Picks — Warm mornings at the table.
🎥 Max’s Minute — Jokers from a dead hand?
🥠 Ask Auntie — The player who won’t play defense.
📸 Spotlight — A table dressed for Dolly Parton.
🎂 Birthdays — This week’s AMJA members.
🙋🏻♀️ A Free Strategy Session — See if we called your name.
🏁 Milestones — Progress inside The Winning Hand app.
… and more! | | | | | | | ⬇️ Everything You Get for $39 a Year ⬇️ | It starts with The Winning Hand app, where you get a game in against one of 60+ bots, any time you want more Mah Jongg.
Then the Rulebook app on your phone for the rule your table can’t agree on, the Hand by Hand Cheat Sheet walking through every hand on the NMJL Card, the 2026 Card Reveal replay with Phyllis Drucker, and discounts on live Strategy Sessions.
$39 a year. About $3 a month. | |
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| | | | | | | | Can You Win Without Jokers? | Here’s something to try at your game this week. | You know that moment when you pick a Joker and you’ve already mentally placed it in the gap? We all do it. It feels productive. You had a hole, and now you don’t. | But before you count that Joker as part of a group, pause and ask whether the group could fill without it. Sometimes it can’t, and that’s fine. Use it and keep playing. But often the tile is still live, or you can go for another Line. | So try this. For one whole game, every time you pick a Joker, ask: can this group fill without it? You’ll start noticing how many of those gaps close on their own. A hand that finishes without a single Joker doubles in value. | Most of us have won one of those by accident, and the first time you do it on purpose you’re going to want to tell everybody at that table. |
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| | | | | | | | Last Week’s 🖐🏻 Hand to Play Results:
4,057 Insiders played, 84% chose right.
👉 See the correct answer & explanation here. | Most of us are unsure of which tiles to let go of in the Charleston. Players who have developed this skill are the ones winning more hands. | With the deal shown below, which 3 tiles would you pass? | Think about what you’d be willing to hand over to the player on your right. | This week’s choices come from Mah Jongg instructors. Who do you agree with? 👇 | | Which 3 tiles would you pass? | |
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| | | | | | | | Sip Season | The mornings have turned and something warm in your hands makes the whole day better. This week is built around the mug you keep reaching for. | 🀄 Mah Jongg Coasters Rings on the table stop happening, and the tile design tells everyone whose house they are in. Sturdy enough to live out year-round. Set them out → | 💋 Premium Lip Sleeping Mask The first cold snap goes straight for your lips, and this is the balm that actually stays put overnight. One for the nightstand, one for your bag. Treat yourself → | 🫖 Variable-Temperature Electric Kettle Green tea at one temperature, black at another, and full boil for the French press, all from one dial. It heats in a couple of minutes and holds the temperature while you finish the round. Pour a better cup → | ☕ Mug Warmer Your coffee stays hot through a long hand instead of going cold at your elbow. It sits flat, heats gently, and shuts itself off. Keep it hot → | 🍵 Double-Wall Glass Mug Set The tea stays hot and the outside stays cool, so you can hold it without the handle-and-napkin routine. Pretty enough that you’ll bring them out for guests. See the set → | Here’s to slower mornings and a cup that stays hot. | (As an Amazon Associate, The Mah Jongg Insider earns from qualifying purchases.) |
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| | | | | | | | Max takes two questions from Insiders and answers both in a quick 60-second video. | 🕔 This week’s questions:
1️⃣ When does everyone pay the amount on the Card with no one paying double?
2️⃣ Are we allowed to take Jokers from a player whose hand is dead?
🎥 [Click to watch] | Have a question for Max?
🎤 [Click to leave a voicemail] |
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| | | | | | | | | ⬅️ Last Week’s Question
Have been attending an open Mah Jongg group once a week by myself. Many times I ask to join a table of two or three, and am told they are waiting for friends to join. I am an experienced player. What is the best way to handle this?
- Diane F. |
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| 🥠 Auntie’s Advice 🥠 My friend, an open group means everyone is welcome to come. It does not mean a seat is waiting for you when you get there. Sometimes those women really are holding places for friends, and sometimes it is a polite no. You will not know which, and you will wear yourself out trying to work it out. So stop asking table by table. Go to whoever runs the group: “I don’t have a foursome. Would you mind putting me at a table?” Seating is her job. 📢 Readers’ Responses 📢 🗨 Get there early and plop down at an empty table. Allow people to come to “your” table. This way, you know these people wish to play with you and you are not feeling rejected. When we get together, the first four people that get there usually sit together.
- Kelly H. 🗨 If it’s a table with 3, say “How about we play a game while you wait for her?” That way, other people will see that you play well. And the other player may not even show up for a while.
- Debbie S. 🗨 This happens a lot at a weekly open game I attend. This game has so many exclusive “tables for friends” that I wonder why they don’t all just play at home.
If your game has a host, ask them to help you find an open table. Or, at the very least, ask her to make an announcement asking tables with “reserved” seats to place something (a Mah Jongg Card, an umbrella, a purse, a card that says “reserved,” whatever) on the rack of the empty seat so players will know it’s taken already.
Otherwise, you can’t be the only player looking for a table, right? (If you are, you need to find another game.) Try arriving early and setting up a table yourself, or take a seat elsewhere in the room and wait for someone to ask you to join them. I know it’s unnerving to do that, but eventually you’ll find other compatible players and form your own group. Just please don’t forget to welcome other unsuspecting women who wander in naively thinking that an open space means open to them.
- Carol D. |
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| | | ➡️ This Week’s Question
I play in a weekly Mah Jongg group with four other ladies. One lady has absolutely no idea how to play defensively and throws winning tiles or tiles for obvious exposures all the time. She does not scan discarded tiles or exposures before discarding and pays attention only to her own hand. When someone has two or three exposures up, everyone but her is looking at their Card trying to figure out which hand they’re playing so we don’t throw a needed tile. She is staring at her rack. How do you get someone to play defensively? - Rebecca G. |
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| 🤗 Want to share your advice?
🤔 Have a Mah Jongg manners or table moment dilemma? | 📩 Send it to Auntie: auntie@themahjongginsider.com |
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| | | | | | | | | We are known as the Mah Jongg Babes from Sioux Falls, SD. We gather every Wednesday for an afternoon full of Mah Jongg, food, laughter and friendship. We are lucky enough that three in our group have an electric Mah Jongg table. We are spoiled!
- Peggy H. | | Our weekly Mah Jongg group in Brandon, MS, decided to honor Dolly Parton at our weekly game. Everyone dressed in pink; pink roses were throughout the house; Dolly's song played as background music. It provided our group an opportunity to honor Dolly.
- Lee T. | | This group of good friends from Rochester, Minnesota! We celebrate friendship by playing Mah Jongg one more time before some of us head to warmer weather for the winter! Don’t you love our matching MJ shirts?
- Kristine M. | | 📸 Share your Mah Jongg moments!
Send us a photo and a quick note — big wins, themed nights, or fun group shots — for a chance to be featured. | 📩 Email: hello@themahjongginsider.com |
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| | | | | | | | The American Mah Jongg Association would like to wish these members a very Happy Birthday! | September 14
Abby F. (CA), Andrea S. (AZ), Cristie R. (VA), Jessica G. (CT), Nancy M. (NM), Sara-Lynne M. (LA), Susan H. (GA) | September 15
Janet W. (GA), Janice C. (AR), Joy B. (MN), Kathy G. (NM), Kristy D. (IN), Monique B. (FL), Susan D. (DE), Barbara M. (CA) | September 16
Amy K-F. (WA), Janet S. (CA), Kandy S. (NC) | September 17
Bonnie P. (OH), Denise J. (TX), Michelle E. (TX), Monica B. (MD), Vicky E. (VA) | September 18
Barbara O. (NJ), Bonnie M. (KY), Janie D. (GA), Laurie B. (MA), Liz S. (TX) | September 19
Laurie M. (CA), Lisa V. (VA), Mary Anne W. (FL), Sherri D. (TX) | September 20
Gerri M. (FL), Jennifer A. (VA), JoAnne S. (GA), Julia G. (FL), Julie M. (CA), Laureen M. (VA), Ruth B. (MN), Suki K. (PA), Valerie H. (OH) |
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| | | | | | | If your name is Stacey, enjoy a FREE Strategy Session 🙋🏻♀️ on us!* | *Just reply to this email by this Friday at midnight, your email name must match! |
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| | | | | | | | These milestones come from players using The Winning Hand, the practice app included with membership in the American Mah Jongg Association. [Join Here] | 15,000+ members use it in different ways: To warm up. To stay sharp. Or simply to spend more time with the game you already love. | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 400 games played
Cindy Jackson
Marcia Sullivan 🔥🔥🔥 300 games played
Janet Gulden
Eva Klawinski
Holly Murray
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Linda Hamilton
Maureen Reiter
J V 🔥 100 games played
Joanne Chaten
Gena Haywood
Deb M
Cindy Robbins 👏 The more you play, the better your game gets. |
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