This is where most players are stuck, and it is not your fault. Somebody read you the card line by line and called that a lesson. Fifty-five lines sounds like an examination; eight familiar shapes wearing different numbers sounds like a neighborhood.

We stroll it together, street by street, until you know which houses welcome your tiles. We cover the families and the phrases that stick a dozen lines at once, the Charleston as a conversation rather than a shuffle, joker discipline, and how to hold two hands open without committing to either too early.

Seventy-five dollars an hour. Ten hours bought together is six hundred and seventy-five, paid up front, and those hours do not expire. Typically six sessions.

Lessons are taught in person within twenty miles of Rochester, Minnesota, or by video over Google Meet. Bring your own current-year National Mah Jongg League card — we never photocopy, dear, the League earns its fifteen dollars every year.

I will read what you send me, pair you with the instructor who suits it, and she will write to you directly. Payment is collected once your lesson plan is finalized, not before.

I already play. Is a lesson going to be a waste of my time?

That depends entirely on whether anybody ever taught you why the card is built the way it is. Most players were taught what, never why, and it shows the moment a hand goes sideways.

What if I cannot memorize things?

Then you have found the right teacher. I do not teach memorization. I teach recognition, which is a different faculty entirely and a far more reliable one. When a student tells me she cannot memorize, I already know the three different things she might mean and the drill for each.

How is this different from the beginner course?

Beginners learn the mechanics. Here we work on the logic underneath the card: the eight shapes the fifty-five lines keep reusing, the phrases that stick a dozen lines at once, and how to hold two hands open without committing to either too early.

Do I need the guides as well?

No, but the Card Companion covers the same neighborhood in print and is a useful thing to have beside you between lessons. Your instructor will tell you honestly whether you need it.

Do I bring my own card?

Yes, please — your own current-year National Mah Jongg League card. We never photocopy, dear; the League earns its fifteen dollars every year.

When do I pay?

Once your lesson plan is finalized, not before. Send the form, I read it and pair you with an instructor, she writes to settle the details, and payment comes after that is agreed.

How many sessions will I need?

Six is typical. Ten hours bought together is six hundred and seventy-five, a ten percent saving, and those hours do not expire.