Right Pass

A Charleston pass where each player simultaneously sends 3 tiles to the player on their right. It is the first pass in the First Charleston and the last pass (with blind pass option) in the Second Charleston.

What Is the Right Pass?

The right pass is one of the three directional passes in the Charleston tile-exchange sequence. During a right pass, each player selects 3 tiles from their hand and passes them face-down to the player sitting on their right. Simultaneously, each player receives 3 tiles from the player on their left.

The right pass appears twice in a full Charleston sequence:

• As the first pass of the First Charleston (right, across, left)
• As the last pass of the Second Charleston (left, across, right)

When the right pass occurs as the final pass of the Second Charleston, the blind pass option becomes available. This allows a player to pass tiles received from the preceding across pass without looking at them, substituting tiles from their own hand instead. The blind pass is allowed on the third (last) pass of each Charleston, so on the right side it applies to this final right pass of the Second Charleston, not to the right pass that opens the First Charleston.

Strategic Considerations

The right pass has distinct strategic implications depending on when it occurs in the sequence:

In the First Charleston (first pass): This is the very first tile exchange of the game. You're passing based solely on your dealt tiles, with no information from other passes yet. The best approach is to pass tiles that don't fit any of your 2-3 candidate hands on the NMJL card. Common first-pass tiles include unwanted Winds, Dragons, and tiles from suits you're not pursuing.

The tiles you send right go to one specific player, your right-side opponent. Keep this in mind: you're directly improving that player's hand. Avoid passing tiles that commonly appear together in high-value hand patterns, as you might be handing your opponent exactly what they need.

In the Second Charleston (last pass): This right pass is the final exchange before the courtesy pass. By this point you've already received and passed 15 tiles (if both Charlestons are played). Your hand should be more defined, and finding 3 tiles to pass can be challenging. This is where the blind pass becomes invaluable, if the across pass delivered tiles you want to keep, you can blind pass some of those received tiles rather than breaking up your hand.

The tiles you receive during this right pass come from the player on your left. If you've been tracking what that player has been passing throughout the Charleston, you may have some sense of what to expect.