October 25, 2010 | 1:22 am

RETURN A CALLED TILE?

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

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                                    RETURN A CALLED TILE?

The other day I had a surprise call from a former student who was now playing in a regular game once a week.  She was calling from her game and I could hear the chatter of voices in the background.

It’s always fun to hear from former students who are really enjoying the game and have made fast friends with their “class mates”.  And after the Hi!s and How are you?s, she explained the group was having a disagreement and she asked for a “ruling”.

Here is the scenario. One of the players had called for a tile for an Exposure, put the tile up on the rack and after reexamining her hand, said “No, I don’t want it” and put it back on the table.  Another player immediately challenged her and claimed that she was not allowed to return a tile once it was placed up on the rack and had to proceed with the Exposure—whatever it was. Others in the group disagreed and since they didn’t have my book handy for reference, they decided to call. (The book is A Beginner’s Guide to American Mah Jongg.)

The “rule” is a player may call for a tile, place it up on the rack and return it, if no other part of the Exposure has been made. Once any part of the Exposure is made, the called tile is not returnable.  The player who challenged was not altogether mistaken, but she was quoting a tournament rule. 

Mah Jongg tournaments are very strictly organized, competitive and the top prizes can be in the thousands of dollars. Tournament rules differ from the rules of a regular Mah Jongg game. For example, there are very strict time limits to a game. Players play in rounds of 4 games at one table, move to another table for another round of 4 games, etc. Games are scored. Winning players get a score, and rules for disqualification may vary from one another, depending on who the sponsor is and so any special rules a tournament may impose are usually announced at the beginning so everyone knows what they are. They are held in resort towns, on cruises, to raise money for charitable organizations, hotels, and any place that can accommodate sometimes hundreds of players.

But in any event, it’s not a good idea to call a tile and return it, even when no other tiles have been exposed because inadvertently, information about the hand you could be considering has just been given away. 

So Til next time…
MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU.

October 17, 2010 | 1:21 pm

I NEED HELP!

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

I NEED HELP!

Having been (and still am) a teacher for 9 years and a player for close to 20 years, plus the author of the successful book, A Beginner’s Guide to American Mah Jongg,  I was pretty sure I had seen and been confronted with just about every situation possible.  And if a situation arose and I wasn’t sure of the correct answer, I’d call the Mah Jongg League office and get the “official” rule. 

At a recent Mah Jongg get-together, a player was confronted with the dilemma I’ll describe in a minute, and she asked for my advice. It was a situation in which there is no rule and in spite of my “expertise”, although I made a suggestion, I frankly, wasn’t completely happy with it.

Here’s the situation.
After the second left in the Charleston, the player found that she had 11 tiles toward a Mah Jongg hand. 

She was playing the 6th 2468 hand. 

Here were her tiles.
22 44 66J Dot 88 Bam 88Crak E 1Bam

The hand was amazing! But she only had two tiles to pass, still had to pass three tiles to the opposite player and couldn’t steal. What could she or should she do?

So I am asking for you, my readers, to help me out! What would you do? I would appreciate some feedback. So please send me your answers or thoughts or suggestions in the comments space to the situation the player was in.

I will pass them on to her if and when, hopefully, she ever is faced with that kind of decision again.

And thanks!! 

Til next time…
MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU

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October 10, 2010 | 11:22 pm

PLAN A AND PLAN B

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

                              PLAN A AND PLAN B

I recommend to my strategy class to have a Plan A and Plan B in mind at the end of the Charleston, if the hand is not “set”.  A set hand should be one that you have no doubt about pursing and already have seven or eight tiles toward Mah Jongg, sometimes more.  The chosen hand is solid.

A Plan A and Plan B hand is one that has two options and can go either way, depending on what tiles become available. 

A Plan A and Plan B hand was the situation one of my students was in during a recent class.  The player had two Pairs, one useful toward one hand and one useful toward the other.  As the game progressed, she picked a couple of tiles for Plan A and that seemed to be the hand to choose.  It was obvious that the Pair for the Plan B hand was no longer useful.  But she was reluctant to part with it, her rationale being that she wasn’t sure about Plan A and Plan B might still be a good option.  I noticed that this was a “style” she had adopted..keeping unneeded tiles for a hand that was no longer doable..in case…

She’s not alone.  Novice players have a tendency to keep tiles for hands that are no longer useful, even though they are pretty sure they are no longer useful. It’s a sign of inexperience.

When the hand has eight or nine tiles toward Mah Jongg,  “in case” is no longer reasonable. Mah Jongg requires 14 tiles and 8 or 9 is well over half. You can’t win with two different hands—only when you have a definite hand.  Keeping extraneous tiles for hands you no longer pursue keeps you from focusing on the task at hand and is a distraction that leads to indecision.  Once you have a definite hand, stick with it and have no regrets about abandoning the useless tiles, even if they are an enticing Pair.

So I pointed out she already had eight tiles toward Mah Jongg.  Since Plan B only added to the uncertainty she was experiencing, getting rid of it was the proper play. And now she could focus on creating a win with Plan A.  Which she did and won!

Til next time,
MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU….

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October 7, 2010 | 10:26 pm

BEGINNERS MAH JONGG CLASS FOR LOS ANGELES

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

ATTENTION LOS ANGELES

I AM OFFERING A MAH JONGG CLASS FOR BEGINNERS

WHERE: THE AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY
    15600 MULHOLLAND DRIVE
    BEL AIR, CA 90077

WHEN: TUES/THURS.—- 8 SESSIONS——STARTING OCT. 14TH.—-NOV. 9TH.

TIME: 1:00-3:00 P.M.

                                              ALSO

                                WINNING STRATEGIES CLASS FOR NOVICE PLAYERS

WHERE: SAME LOCATION AS ABOVE

WHEN;  TUES./THURS.—- 3 SESSIONS——NOV.11TH-NOV.18TH

TIME;  1-2;30 P.PM.

TO REGISTER: CALL 1-310-440-1246
                ONLINE AT WCCE.AJULA.EDU

DIRECTIONS:  EXIT 405 FRWY AT SKIRBALL—FOLLOW SIGNS TO   AMERICAN JEWISH UNIVERSITY

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October 3, 2010 | 3:07 pm

I CHALLENGE THE HAND IS DEAD

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

“I CHALLENGE! YOUR HAND IS DEAD!”

Mah Jongg is a competitive game, like all games.  Your goal is to win, but your other goal is to keep the opponent(s) from winning. So you want to use every (legal) means available to reach both your goals.

And challenging a player’s hand is one of those. No, it’s not often that a hand is challenged, but it does happen.

One rule that permits a challenge is when an Exposure is incorrect, usually revealing a Concealed one. It usually takes more than one Exposure, but not always. For example, an Exposure of 3 Easts (or Wests) reveals the 4th. 2010 hand…Concealed. Seeing two Exposures is more common before a challenge is made, because you cannot be certain of a hand from many single Exposures. But here’s an example: two Exposures of Pung of 3s and a Pung 9s in two Suits is the 6th. hand in the 369 Section. The hand is again, Concealed.

There is another legitimate challenge. A player may challenge another if, by virtue of the Exposures, has determined the hand requires a Pair and three of the necessary tiles have been discarded. Since the player cannot make the hand, you may call the hand “Dead”, and you should.  It’s to your advantage to play with the remaining three players, giving you more chances to complete your own hand.

But suppose only two needed tiles are discarded and you know the player can’t win, because have the third in your hand. Can you still declare the hand “Dead”?  No. The rule is the tiles must be discarded.  So should you discard it, hoping the player will not call it?

The answer is, it depends on what stage the game is in—whether the game is closer to the end, approximately ½. over or in the early stages. 

Of course if the game is close to the end, the chances of it being the Mah Jongg tile is great. So No you do not discard it. The opponent can’t win, but neither can you.

But if the game is in its early stages or about ½ over, don’t wait. Chances are pretty good that the player’s hand is not complete and cannot declare Mahj.  If the player doesn’t call for the tile, then you are correct to declare the hand “Dead”. Again, you should. The challengee is penalized by paying the challenger the value of the hand at the end of the game: win, lose or draw.

But be cautious. Check and recheck the card. If you challenge and it turns out to be incorrect, you will be penalized by paying the challengee the value of the hand, again.. win, lose or draw..

So once again, a thorough knowledge of the hands is the essential key.  The better you know the card, the better prepared you will be to know whether a hand is legit or not. 

Til next time,
MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU!

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