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What are the sections on the NMJL card, and what is each one for?

The card groups its hands into sections, each built around one idea. The 2026 card has nine: 2026, 2468, Any Like Numbers, Quints, Consecutive Run, 13579, Winds and Dragons, 369, and Singles and Pairs. Find the section your tiles point toward, then read only its lines.

Answered by Prim. Last reviewed 2026-09-16.

Sections are the map, lines are the streets

A card holds far too many hands to scan one by one, and nobody is meant to. The sections do the sorting for you. Each groups hands that share a theme, usually a family of numbers or a kind of tile, so the first question at the start of a hand is never which line. It is which section. The 2026 card has 55 lines in nine sections, and a good Charleston narrows you to one or two of them.

The number families

Three sections are built from a single family of numbers. 2468 uses the even numbers. 13579 uses the odd numbers. 369 uses the threes, sixes and nines. If your rack is thick with one family, the section that bears its name is where to look first. On the 2026 card, 13579 is the largest of the three with nine lines, 2468 has eight and 369 has six.

The shape families

Consecutive Run is built from numbers in sequence, and the note beside each line tells you whether the run may start on any number or only on the numbers printed. Any Like Numbers asks for the same number across different suits. Quints is built around groups of five identical tiles, and since only four of any number, Wind or Dragon exist, every quint needs at least one Joker unless it is made of Flowers. On the 2026 card, Consecutive Run has eight lines, Any Like Numbers three and Quints three.

The year, the honors and the purists

The 2026 section is the year hand, built around the digits of the year, with Soap (White Dragon) serving as the zero. It has four lines on the 2026 card, and it is the section that changes by its very nature when the calendar does.

Winds and Dragons leans on the tiles with no numbers, and on the 2026 card it has eight lines. Singles and Pairs is the purist's section. Every hand in it is made only of singles and pairs, so no Joker can go anywhere, and its values are set with that in mind. On the 2026 card all six of its lines are concealed, which means the only tile you may call is the one that completes the hand.

How to use them at the table

Sort your tiles, then ask which section they lean toward before you read a single line. Count what you hold in each family, choose the section with the most promise, and read its lines with your rack beside the card. If the Charleston moves you somewhere else, move with it. Until your first exposure, nothing is committed.

Section names and counts on this page describe the 2026 card. The broad families tend to return from year to year, but always check the card in front of you.