The first three to five discards of a mahjong hand are the most consequential decisions you will make. I don't think this is an exaggeration. The opening discards set the trajectory for the entire hand. They commit you to a direction, they signal that direction to your opponents, and they determine the tiles that are flowing into the discard river—tiles that either you or someone else will need later.

Despite this, most players I've observed treat the opening discards casually. They look at their hand, identify the most obvious "extra" tile, and discard it without deep consideration. This is a mistake. The opening discard deserves the same amount of thought that you would give to an opening move in chess. (I have limited chess experience but I believe the analogy holds.)

The Decision Framework

After the Charleston is complete and you have your 13 starting tiles, you should be asking yourself three questions in this order:

1. What hand am I building?

This should be, by this point, a straightforward question. If you've done the Charleston correctly, you should have a clear primary hand in mind and a secondary option to pivot to if needed. If you don't know what hand you're building at the start of the game, you have a Charleston problem, and that's a separate post.

2. Which tiles am I least likely to need?

Note the phrasing: "least likely," not "definitely won't need." There is a difference. A tile you "definitely won't need" is something that has no relationship to your hand—say, a 9-bam when you're building a crak-only consecutive run. These are your first discards. Easy. But what about a tile that is adjacent to your hand? A 2-crak when you're building a 4-5-6-7-8 consecutive run? That tile could, theoretically, become useful if your hand pivots. Discarding it is a commitment. Keep that in mind.

3. What information am I giving away?

This is the question that most players don't ask, and it's the one that separates intermediate play from advanced play. Every discard tells your opponents something about your hand. If you discard a flower on the first turn, they know you're not building a flower hand. If you discard a 9-crak early, they can begin to eliminate high-crak hands from their reading of you. You cannot avoid giving information. But you can manage it.

The Loblaw Opening Discard Protocol (LODP)

I've formalized my approach to the first five discards into what I call the LODP. It's a sequence of decision rules that I follow to minimize information exposure and maximize hand flexibility:

Discard 1: Your most obvious orphan—a tile with no relationship to your intended hand and no adjacent tiles that might become relevant. This discard gives away the least information because it is so obviously unconnected to your build.

Discard 2: A second orphan, ideally from a different suit than Discard 1. Why? Because if you discard two tiles from the same suit in your first two turns, you are telling your opponents you are not building in that suit. Spreading your discards across suits makes your hand harder to read.

Discard 3: By the third discard, you should have received some useful information from your opponents' discards. If someone has discarded a tile that helps your hand, your Discard 3 should be adjusted based on this new data. If not, continue with your planned sequence.

Discards 4-5: These are commitment discards. By the fourth and fifth discard, your hand should be taking shape. The tiles you discard now should be unambiguous signals to yourself that you are locked into your chosen path. If you find yourself hesitating on Discard 4 or 5, that's a sign that your hand is less defined than it should be.

Common Mistakes

I've compiled a list of the most common opening discard mistakes I see at the Wednesday circle:

  • Discarding jokers too early. I've seen players discard tiles adjacent to their build on Discard 1, only to realize three turns later that they needed that tile. Patience.
  • The "suit dump." Discarding three or more tiles from the same suit in the opening sequence. This is an information gift to your opponents. Don't do it unless you have no choice.
  • Reactive discarding. Changing your discard plan based on what someone else just called or exposed. This is tempting but dangerous. You should be playing YOUR hand, not reacting to theirs. (Reactivity is appropriate in the middle game. Not in the opening.)
  • Discarding flowers early. Some players discard flowers on the first turn if they're not building a flower hand. This is fine in principle, but it gives away information immediately. I prefer to hold flowers until at least Discard 3, unless I have an urgent need to clear rack space.

A Final Thought

Discarding is an art. I don't mean that in a soft, subjective way. I mean that it requires practice, refinement, and the willingness to learn from mistakes. The best discarders I know—and I've played with some talented people—are not necessarily the best hand-builders. They're the players who understand that what you DON'T take is as important as what you DO take.

I am still improving at this. I suspect I always will be. That's part of what keeps me coming back to the table.

— Bob Loblaw, Attorney at Tiles