2468 Hands
A section on the NMJL card featuring winning hand patterns built exclusively from even-numbered tiles (2, 4, 6, and 8) across one or more suits, often combined with flowers and dragons.
What Are 2468 Hands?
The 2468 section is one of the most recognizable categories on the NMJL card. Every hand in this section is built exclusively from even-numbered tiles, specifically the values 2, 4, 6, and 8, drawn from the three suits (Crak, Bam, and Dot). Many of these hands also incorporate Flowers and Dragons to fill out the 14-tile requirement.
Because even numbers appear across all three suits, the 2468 section typically offers a healthy variety of hands each year. Some require tiles from a single suit, others from exactly two suits, and still others spread across all three. The section is a natural starting point for new players learning hand selection because even-numbered tiles are easy to spot on the rack.
The point values in this section usually range from 25 to 30 points for open hands and can reach 50 or more for concealed variations. The NMJL reshuffles the specific patterns every year, so a hand that existed last year may not appear on the current card.
Common Patterns and Strategy
Hands in the 2468 section frequently use groupings of pungs, kongs, and pairs made from even tiles. A typical pattern might call for a pung of 2s in one suit, a kong of 4s in another, and a pair of 6s in a third. Flowers often anchor the beginning of a hand pattern, and some 2468 hands include Dragons that correspond to a specific suit.
Strategically, 2468 hands have several advantages:
- Flexibility, During the Charleston, you can pass odd-numbered tiles freely while collecting evens.
- Multiple options, Because the section usually has 6-10 hands, you can pivot between patterns as your tiles develop.
- Exposure-friendly, Many 2468 hands permit exposures, so you can call tiles from other players' discards.
The main risk is competition. Because even tiles are shared among all 2468 hands, multiple players chasing the same section can create tile scarcity. Pay attention to what opponents expose, if you see even-number exposures around the table, the tiles you need may already be spoken for.
A strong defensive habit is to avoid discarding even tiles carelessly when you suspect an opponent is working in this section. Discarding a 4 or 6 mid-game can be a hot tile if the table has shown interest in evens.
Reading 2468 Hands on the Card
When reading a 2468 hand on the card, look for these elements:
- Color coding tells you which suits are required. If a group is printed in red, those tiles must be Crak. Blue or green indicates Bam, and black indicates Dot.
- X notation means any even number works in that position, giving you flexibility to choose which specific value to collect.
- C marking after a hand means the entire hand must be concealed, no exposures allowed.
- Flowers (F) at the start or end of a pattern are literal Flower tiles that must appear in your completed hand.
For example, a hand written as FF 2222 4444 66 in two colors means two Flowers, a kong of 2s in one suit, a kong of 4s in a second suit, and a pair of 6s in one of those suits. The colors on the card specify exactly which suits are required.
Learning to read the 2468 section quickly is a valuable skill during hand selection. The faster you can scan your starting tiles for even-number concentrations, the sooner you can commit to a direction and start passing efficiently during the Charleston.