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SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
May 28, 2017
Column #676

American Mah Jongg (2017 NMJL card). Defense by the numbers. How do you defend against these exposures?

1. Twos and sevens. Unambiguous: 2017 #1. Her hot tiles are soaps and 1D.

2. Also unambiguous. She's making 369 #2, so her hot tiles are 6C and 9B.

3. It should be easy to spot this one: Consec #2, the most powerful hand on the card. Her hot tiles are 2C and 3D.

4. A couple of possibilities: Thirteens #2 (hot tiles: eights, ones, and threes) or Consec #5 (hot tiles: G 4B 6B). Ones, threes, and G are key tiles. But because Thirteens can be one suit or three, and "13" needs singles, it's going to be hard to find clues from ones and threes. So instead, look for eights. For example, if you see 8B is looking dead (several discarded, or someone made an exposure), then you could risk throwing 1B and 3B. Hmm, I guess that makes eights "reverse keys," in a sense.

5. Like-number kongs (sixes). Could be Like Numbers, of course (hot tiles: G, F) - but what about 369 #5 (hot keys: 3B 6B 9B)?

6. Like-number pung-kong combo (sevens). Odds #2 (hot tiles: 5D 9B).

7. Fours and eights are too far apart for Consec, so look in Evens. This is #4. Her hot tiles are 2D 4D 6B; dots are key.

8. Fours and nines seem unusual friends, but this is the year of Thirteens, after all. Her hot tiles are F 1B 3B; bams are key (if either is dead, call her dead).

9. Last year's card had an exposable zeroes pung, but this year's card follows the more-usual pattern (no legally exposable dragon pungs). Call her dead.

10. You can look in Odds, but this isn't there; it's Consec #6. She needs key pairs of twos, and you should not give them to her.

11. Quints #1, 2, or 3. Hot tiles: winds, dragons, twos, F 3C 4C. 3C and F are the only real key tiles.



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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Red Dragon & The West Wind, is the most comprehensive book about the American game, including official rules not in the outdated official rulebook. 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).

Where to order the yearly NMJL card: Read FAQ 7i.

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