Intermediate · 2 practice decisions

Make each Charleston pass count

First protect useful tiles; among comparable passes, avoid feeding combinations to the same player.

Practise this

Decide what you can afford to release

Name your target and useful backups before selecting a pass. A tile that looks isolated can be a required single; a matching pair may fit none of your realistic hands. Rank the tiles by their role in your plans before considering what the recipient might want.

Look at the pass as a bundle

Three individually expendable tiles can be useful together. A pair, a same-suit run, related winds, or complementary dragons may help a recipient more than a mixed bundle. Avoid those combinations when the alternative costs you about the same. Do not sacrifice a strong natural foundation merely to make a prettier pass.

Remember the recipient

If you previously sent 4 Bam and 5 Bam in this direction, sending 6 Bam later could complete a useful run. The player may already have passed your earlier tiles away, so this is a clue rather than knowledge of their rack. Use it to separate close choices.

Know when fewer exchanges help

A second Charleston or courtesy pass offers improvement but may cost backup tiles. Consider stopping when the remaining rack is valuable. Courtesy choices are 0–3 tiles; the two opposite players exchange the lower agreed number. On an eligible blind pass, unseen incoming tiles can protect rack tiles, at the cost of not inspecting those arrivals. Never pass a joker.

Try a decision

You are choosing an ordinary three-tile pass. These are the four tiles you can spare: 4 Bam, 5 Bam, 6 Bam and North. They have equal value to your current plans, and there is no relevant earlier pass to this recipient.

Which pass avoids handing over a complete same-suit run?

• 4 Bam, 5 Bam, 6 Bam
• 4 Bam, 6 Bam, North