Read your hand against the card
After the deal, sort your tiles and scan the card for hands that use the most of them. Count jokers only for groups of three or more. A hand using eight or nine of your tiles is a strong candidate; one using four or five is a long shot.
Keep options during the Charleston
Use the Charleston to move toward two or three candidate hands at once. Pass tiles that fit none of them. If you receive tiles that suddenly fit a different hand, be ready to pivot — the Charleston is the cheapest time to change direction.
Read the table
Watch exposures and discards. If another player exposes three green dragons, the remaining green dragon is less available to you; if a suit is being discarded heavily, hands in that suit may be easier. Later in the game, avoid discarding tiles that could complete an opponent's visible exposures.
Know when to change course
Many games are lost by players who stay committed to a hand that has become impossible. If the tiles you need have been discarded or exposed, switch to another hand that uses your current tiles — or play defensively, discarding only safe tiles, to prevent someone else from winning.
