SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

American Mah Jongg (2020 NMJL card). I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Playing online is the way to go, unless your group lives in one dwelling and have been following the safety guidelines of your governor and mayor. I have a few more things to say about the new 2020 NMJL card. This week: offense. When choosing a hand to go for, consider recurring patterns and structures. For example, four-pungs-and-a-pair hands, two-pungs-and-two-kongs hands, and three-pair hands.

Four pungs and a pair. Pungs are obviously much easier to make than kongs, and there's only one pair in these hands. These hands would be "too easy" to make (creating a play imbalance), so the League always marks these hands with a big C, meaning you can't call a discard to expose a pung. But don't let that C cow you; these hands should not be struck off your list. This year there are only four: Evens #8, Consec #7, Consec #8, W-D #7.

FF 222 444 666 888
111 22 333 DDD DDD
111 222 111 222 33
FF NNN EEE WWW SSS

Two pungs and two kongs. These hands contain no pairs, thus should be an important part of your offensive strategy.

222 444 6666 8888*
111 222 3333 4444*
111 2222 333 DDDD
111 333 3333 5555*
111 3333 555 DDDD / 555 7777 999 DDDD
NNNN EEE WWW SSSS
333 666 6666 9999*
333 6666 999 DDDD

*The above hands include the "#2 hands" - that is, the biannually alternating hands that usually appear in the second line of a section, as I mentioned in the previous two columns. The *marked hands work well together strategically, allowing a player to fool opponents into thinking she's making one of the others (as frequently described in these strategy columns). In particular, Consec #3, "the most powerful hand on the card." All these 2-pung/2-kong hands are important, because jokers may be used anywhere in the hand. This makes these hands very flexible and strategic. Don't pooh-pooh the easiness of these hands. Experienced players use every trick in their arsenals.

Three pairs. Any hand with three pairs is hard to make, so its value is raised to 30¢. But the League has valued the exposable 2020 hands at 25¢, even though each hand also requires a separate pair. Those hands are essentially three-pair hands. It remains to be seen if the 2020 hands will be harder to make than, say, a comparable 2019 hand. Check W-D #2 vs. 2020 #2, for instance.

FF DDDD 2020 DDDD
FF DDDD NEWS DDDD

It might seem logical that they be scored the same, but whereas NEWS is relatively easy (4 singles), 2020 is less so (equivalent to 2 pairs). Three-pair hands on this card (including the *2020 hands but not including any C hands) are:

FF 2020 2222 2222*
FF DDDD 2020 DDDD*
FFFFF 22 222 2020*
11 22 33 4444 5555
1111 33 33 33 5555
5555 77 77 77 9999
NNNN 11 11 11 SSSS
EEEE 22 22 22 WWWW
33 66 99 3333 3333

When deciding whether or not to go for a three-pair hand, consider that pairs are hard to make, because they (1) can't be exposed and (2) can't include jokers.

Next week: defensive strategy tips for the 2020 card.

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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. Hit me with your best shot!

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Column #736

On Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 12:55:36 PM PDT, Susan H wrote:
One more "offense" comment on 2020 card (and more)
There are three W/D hands that use E&W kongs - #1, #5, and #7 – they will be easy to switch among. Same goes for the two consecutive hands that use Flower Kongs – easy to switch between.
Playing on-line, I’ve had a lot of trouble learning the odds this year. One thing that is really throwing me off is 3/6/9 #2 – wasn’t there a similar hand in the odds last year or the year before? And this year, there isn’t.
Susan H

Very nice, Susan.
As for the "missing" rising 3-pair Odd hands from previous cards, this year they decided to switch up and have the 3 pairs be like numbers.
Stay safe. Don't touch your face. Don't panic! And may the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Author of the Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
April 14, 2020
Los Angeles, California, USA

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Column #736, part 2

On Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 04:33:55 PM PDT, Martha M wrote:
Column #736
On column #736 question or comment, Susan H wrote " There are three W/D hands that use E&W kongs - #1, #5, and #7" and you didn't correct her. There are only 2 E & W kongs - #1 is not 2 kongs of EW but pungs. I think I am correct. However, there are 3 N&S kong hands.
Martha

Quite, right, Martha! I didn't choose to fact-check Susan's comment. Perhaps she meant to say "pungs" instead of "kongs"?
囧 Stay safe. Don't touch your face. Don't panic! And may the tiles be with you.
Tom Sloper
Author of "The Red Dragon & The West Wind," the definitive book on Mah-Jongg East & West.
Author of the Sloper On Mah-Jongg column and the Mah-Jongg FAQs -- donations appreciated.
April 14, 2020
Los Angeles, California, USA

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

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 every player should have a copy of Mah Jongg Made Easy, the official rulebook of the National Mah Jongg League (see FAQ 3 for info on mah-jongg books).

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