When the family tree stops being enough

You know the hand family tree now.

I can tell, because my DMs were flooded after that carousel went up on Thursday. The phrase "relatives" landed. The idea that every hand on the card belongs to something bigger, that you are not just chasing one random combination but reading a whole family of possibilities, that one hit different for a lot of you.

That's a conversation.

So this week, I want to take that conversation one step further. Because knowing the family tree is the first half. The second half is what you do when the tiles you need are not coming.

That's the pivot question. And it's the thing I spent this whole week teaching inside Confidence Club.

Here is what was lighting up on Instagram this week:

The hand family tree carousel was the biggest conversation starter I've had in months. The idea: every hand on the card has relatives. Twins live on the same line. Siblings live in the same section. Cousins live in the same section but use different numbers. Once you can see those relationships, you stop feeling like you're starting from scratch every time your hand goes cold.

I built the whole family tree for one hand, tiles and all, into a free reference guide. You're already on this list, so no need to go comment for it: grab it here.

The pivot reel is already one of my most-asked questions turned into a video: twin, sibling, cousin. How to know which one to move to. If you haven't watched it yet, start there.

Plus a reel on the blind pass (most players don't even know this move is allowed in the Charleston, and it changes how you think about the whole first round of play).

Come find me on Instagram if you want the daily teaching content between newsletters.

Think it through. There's no trick here.

Last week's scenario: you're one tile from ready, but the tile you'd let go is a 7 Dot. The player across has exposed a pung of 3 Dots and a kong of 9 Dots, so she's building the one-suit odd-numbers hand and still needs a pung of 7 Dots. Do you let it go?

Most of you (about 70 percent) landed on: weigh both sides honestly. Be real with yourself about whether you will actually win. If it's a long shot, back off and play safe. If your win is live, push. That's the right instinct. A tile someone is clearly collecting is not automatically untouchable, and it is not automatically safe either. The skill is being honest about your own odds before you decide, not following a blanket rule either direction.

This week's question is about knowing when to let go.

Cast your vote above, and I'll share the results and my own take in next week's TTT.

Thursday, July 23 at 8pm ET: Mahjong Mysteries Case 3, "Three Suspects at the Table," led by Jillian (@mahjeltov). New to the series? Replays of Case 1 and Case 2 are included. Full series is $179.

Saturday, July 25 at 12pm ET: Intro to Mahjong, live with me. If you have a friend who keeps saying they want to learn, or if you are still in those early stages where the game feels more confusing than fun, this is the class.

Alicia, The Mrs. Mahj
Solitaire, Office Hours, and Tune-Up sessions all week, plus the Strategy Salon she and I teach together on Sunday, July 26.

Michelle, Cypress Mahjong
So You Think You Want to Play in a League, Wednesday, July 22.

This week inside Confidence Club, we did the full Advanced Pivots session. When to move, how far to move, how to use what you already hold to find the best relative instead of the nearest one.

If you are not a member yet, this is the kind of thing we do every month. Live sessions, replays, monthly challenges, Q&A. All of it for $19.99/month.

Instagram @larasmahjongedit
The free Facebook group
The Confidence Club ($19.99/mo)
Or just reply to this email

Reply and tell me what you would do in that Challenge Corner scenario. I am genuinely curious what your instinct is.

Talk soon,
Lara