Whether it is learning to game or actually playing it, mahjong is truly one of the easiest games to pick up out there. However, it is far tougher to master the game. The main reason behind this is that the game enjoys global popularity. Learning to play the game will not get you through. You must be aware of how to win a hand. Most mahjong games have a total of 144 tiles. 13 tiles are distributed amongst four players sitting on the four corners. Each player gets a chance to draw a tile from the remaining ones. Four melds of three tiles and a pair for eye is what it takes to make a winning hand.

Tiles in the game of mahjong are comprised of honor tiles, flower tiles as well as suit tiles. The suit tiles are made of bamboos, characters and dots. Again, each and every suit tile bares a sequence of numbers ranging from one to nine. Each of these numbers exists in groups of four. A player who possesses three tiles with similar suits in a sequence can make a meld. Three suits of the same kind are another way to get there. Honor tiles are comprised of wind tiles and dragon tiles. The dragon tiles are available in three colors i.e. red, white and green. These tiles are also available in sets of four. However, one cannot make a meld out of dragon tiles in a progressive sequence. The same go for flower tiles. They cannot be used for making melds but they do fetch players bonus points.

Coming back to actually playing the game of mahjong, a player needs four different melds comprising three tiles as well as a pair of the same tiles. The player sitting at the East is supposed to start the game. This player gets to be the dealer who can pass to each player. In the case of a dealer winning the game, he/she gets the chance to be a dealer again. In most mahjong games, this player is supposed to draw fresh tiles from the wall and can either keep it or discard it. However, it is compulsory for the dealer to have thirteen tiles in hand at all times.

Again, if a card is discarded and any another participant in the game pungs it by declaring three of a kind, he/she has to display the three tiles to the dealer. A player who declares three tiles of the same kind can now get another tile for the pung. This means that if a player does not remember to discard the tile, he/she will land up with 14, and not 13 tiles.

The process of advancing a hand with assistance from an opponent in order to make four mends is known as a pung. It represents three tiles in sequence and belonging to the same suit. However, if you are looking to make a chow by discarding a tile, you can only do so from your left. You can only discard the tile after you place the chow. The play will then continue normally starting from the person sitting to the right of the participant who just discarded the tile out of draw, pung or chow. The best thing about this game is that you can make the winning hand by your own luck or even with the help of an opponent.