March 27, 2011 | 7:55 pm

MY BAD!!!!

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

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                              MY BAD!!!

Playing tournament mah jongg is much different than what I’ll call “social” mah jongg.  Mostly, the rules are very restrictive.  Each tournament makes its own rules, and time limits on games make it very fast—15 minutes are allowed for each game and each table plays four games—that’s 1 hour per round.  Each participant is given a direction—North, South, East and West and a number.  So you wear a tag that reads, for example, 45 W.  This means you are identified as player #45 and you sit at the table in the West position for the purpose of scoring.  The person with the highest score, wins.
There are many more differences, but this post is not really about the tournament.  It’s about something that happened.  Here is the story.
The game had started and player sitting West called an 8 Bam, but without taking the called tile, placed one 8 Bam and a Joker on her rack. She looked at her partial Exposure and said, “Oops, I don’t want it” meaning the 8Bam on the table.  Another player immediately called her hand dead. 
“But “ I said, “she didn’t take the tile from the table.  Her hand is dead only if she puts the called tile up on her rack.”  There followed a heated discussion about the status of the hand.  Finally, my argument prevailed and the player returned her partial Exposure to her hand and the game continued. 
But I was disturbed by the certainty the other player displayed about the call.  So, the next day I called the League’s office and after I explained the situation, was told, “Yes the hand is dead.  Once a player displays any part of an Exposure,  she cannot put her tiles back, no matter what.  Once she said “I don’t want it”, her hand was dead.
So having learned something, I wished I could have apologized for my mistake to the payer who was correct.  Maybe she reads my blog…..
Til the next time…
MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU!

March 20, 2011 | 6:48 pm

SPACED OUT

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

In my book, A Beginner’s Guide to American Mah Jongg, I start the strategy chapter by admonishing students not to separate the tiles by leaving spaces between combinations. I explain that doing so reveals to the other players which combinations you are waiting to complete and how close you are to Mahj.  For example, if you separate one tile from the rest of your hand the probability that you’re waiting for a tile to complete a Pair is 99.99%.  Not a good idea.

So….last week I was invited to play at a fund-raiser—it was not a tournament—just the same 4 or 5 players at each table..and there were lots of tables.  At one of the tables, four of the women were former students of mine and we greeted each other with enthusiasm.  A fifth player was a friend, (we’ll call her Rose) and playing, so I watched the hand.

The game was close to the end. Rose had made two Exposures—a Kong of 8Bam and a Kong of 9 Bam.  She had effectively announced to everyone that she was playing the 4th Consecutive Run hand. But, much to my chagrin, she had three tiles on one end of the rack and two tiles on the other, making it obvious that she was waiting for a Flower. Players, in all probability would not have discarded a Flower, but because she had separated her tiles so completely, she left no doubt about what she needed and how close she was to Mahj. Even if she needed a Green and it was discarded she couldn’t call it because she still needed a Flower to Mahj.  She gave her opponents safe discards of Green Dragons. And, of course no one discarded a Flower but everyone discarded Greens. Predictably, she didn’t win.

But I had a great time at the fund-raiser and fun seeing old friends! 

Til the next time….
MAY THE TIlES BE WITH YOU!

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March 14, 2011 | 12:00 am

“MAYBE”  TILES

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

                                      “MAYBE”  TILES

No, “Maybe” tiles are not a new Suit or a new kind of tile.  They are tiles that you just keep that do not really help or strengthen the hand you’re playing. You might get them in the Charleston or decide to keep them as you’re playing the game. But for the novice player, they can be the source of chaos and confusion.

Here are examples of maybe tiles.

You are playing an even hand that requires 2 and 4Crak.  In the Charleston, you get a 2Bam. 

You are playing a 369 one-Suited hand.  You pick a tile of the same Suit, but not a 3, 6 or 9.

You are playing a 1,3, 5 odd hand in Crak. You get a 9 Crak.

None of these tiles are “keepers”.  In the first example, the 2Bam, although it’s an even numbered tile, it’s the wrong Suit.

In the second example, tho the Suit is correct, it’s a wrong number.

In the third example, your hand requires low numbers—9 is a high number.

The tendency to keep Flowers, extra or otherwise or tiles that make a Pair unrelated to your hand is usually counter-productive.

So “Maybe I’ll save this if I change my mind” or “Maybe I’ll keep it for later” is, in most instances, not a good idea.  When you have a specific hand to play, don’t get sidetracked by maybe tiles.  Keep your “eyes on the prize”!

Til the next time…..

MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU!

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March 6, 2011 | 7:15 pm

WHICH HAND TO CHOOSE?

Posted by Elaine Sandberg

                            WHICH HAND TO CHOOSE?

One of the challenges of Mah Jongg is out of the 50 or so hands on the card, is being able to choose the one that will win. But how many times do you have to decide between possible hands that you think will win?  Many!!!

The first is when you put your tiles up on the rack and decide on a tentative hand(s). Then, when you get new tiles in the Charleston and possibly again, as the game is progressing, changing your hand is not unusual—sometimes changing it more than once. It’s often not an easy choice and many times there isn’t much time to make a reasonable and winning decision. As the Mah Jongg guru says, “She who hesitates, holds up the game!”

In all of these “decision times” there is a commonality.. In other words, the same criteria can/should be used in all of these situations to make a reasonable decision about choosing one hand over another.

As a general rule, my advice is when you have to choose between two hands, choose the hand that’s easier to make.

1.  Count the number tiles toward Mah Jongg for one hand   vs. the number of tiles for the other.
    Choose the hand with the greater number.

2.  Choose an Exposed hand over a Concealed hand.

3.  Choose the hand that has no gaps—-tiles you have that are the start of each combination the hand requires.

4.  Choose the hand that requires no Pairs over the hand that requires one or more Pairs. 

5.  Or choose that hand that requires the fewest number of Pairs.

6.  Choose the hand for which you already have the Pair or Pairs required.

Follow these guidelines—they will make it easier for you to come to a decision and hopefully improve the ratio of wins over losses. 

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

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