Know the rules first: how to play.

Plan around the contract, not around "something good"

Unlike gin, you can't improvise. Round 5 needs 2 groups + 1 sequence -- sort your hand into those three buckets from the first draw. Near-melds that don't match this round's exact shape still can't lay down.

Don't claim every May I?

Claiming costs a penalty card on top of the discard: your hand grows by two, not one. Only claim what you're actually missing -- a third of a group, the one gap in a sequence. "Might be useful" is just more deadwood if the round ends before you're out.

Hold a joker if you can reclaim it

Dead for good in a group. In a sequence, hold the real card it's standing in for and you can swap it back in anytime. Check the table every round before writing one off.

Lay off early

Once you've met your contract, lay off immediately -- don't sit on a card that could become a penalty instead.

Round 7 has no discard. Build toward 3 full sequences from the first draw; there's no fallback turn to fix a weak hand.

Watch the discard pile

Four seats, three opponents' worth of signal. A discard nobody claimed tells you as much as one that got snapped up, especially late in a round.

Practice

Play a match and see how your contract planning holds up round over round.