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SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
June 23, 2013
No. #569

American Mah Jongg (2013 NMJL card). What would you pass?

1. Everything's a mishmosh to the right of the joker; if you want to keep the dots to go for Odds #1, you'll need to break up W-D #2, which looks stronger. So don't do that. Pass anything to the right of the joker.

2. Suggests Consec. #1, but no fives. Could go Consec. #4, but no 2B. Pass 1D 3D 7C.

3. Two hands: Consec. #1 and W-D #2. For the latter, a pair of flowers will be necessary. Flowers are abundant, but making a pair from scratch is always hard. Pretty big risk. Pass N R E.

4. Clearly a start for Consec. #1, but no pair of nines. A weaker option is Consec. #4; the sevens are really iffy. Pass 4D 9C 3B.

5. Looking better for W-D #2; the extra winds offer a possible fallback, and 3D 5D 4B can go.

6. No clear hand. Think Consec. and get rid of the high numbers: 8C 9C 7D.

7. Focus on dots. Pass S Wh 1B

8. No thought necessary. Pass 1D 3D 7C.

9. Obvious; pass 8C 9C 7D

10. Still not clear what hand to go for. Pass S Wh, and any bam.

11. Clear: pass N R 7C.

12. Get rid of those three rightmost tiles.

13. Charleston is done; plan to discard 7C.

14. Dealer must discard; chuck 5D.

15. Can go Odds #1 or Consec. #1.

16. Going to need 9B pair. Good luck (you need it).

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Question or comment about this column? I often, um... intentionally... "miss" something; maybe you'll be the first one to spot it! Email and the discussion will be posted on the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board.

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Need rules for American mah-jongg? Tom Sloper's book, The Red Dragon & The West Wind, is the most comprehensive book in existence about the American game. AND see FAQ 19 for fine points of the American rules (and commonly misunderstood rules). AND get the official rulebook from the NMJL (see FAQ 3). Linda Fisher's website is the only website that describes American rules: http://sites.google.com/site/mahjrules/.