| By Tom Sloper
July 3, 2022 Column #766 |
|
| By Tom Sloper
July 3, 2022 Column #766 |
American Mah Jongg (2022 NMJL card). Dance the Charleston!
1. Two pairs: ones and soaps. It would be a shame if you can't make a hand with both. Should be able to, so give it a try. The available families are Like Numbers, Consec, and Odds. Eights, sixes, and E are out, so make a pass from those. Haven't chosen a hand yet. Too early for that.
2. Two pairs: threes and fours. That screams Consec, and there are other near-neighbor numbers, so 9B and W can go in the passers pile right off. Now to find a third. How about G?
3. Two pairs: ones and twos. Consec again. Know what? Consec is the most powerful family on the card. Embrace the power. Eights definitely don't work, and same for W. Sevens, threes, and nine are reasonable reserve Odds. 
4. One pair: eights. It has friends: highs and evens. Anything low and odd, like ones, threes, and fives, can go, as well as N. Plenty passers to choose from.
5. Two pairs: ones and eights. They don't go together, so figure out which one has the most friends. There a lot of evens, and 2468 #3 in particular looks viable here. As for the ones, the only friends they have are the twos. The ones can go. Quints #2 is also a possibility. If you want to target 2468 #3 right away, go for it, you can set aside everything else and save the ones for joker bait, but it's way early. I don't like to pass soap in the Charleston. Pass W 1B 2B.
6. A pung of fives, and a pair of flowers. The sensible families include Like Numbers, Consec, and Odds. N and 8D can go, and I'm not crazy about 4C either.
7. Pairs of nines and twos. A mismatch if I ever saw one. Which has the most friends? Nines go with highs and odds (and threes and sixes). Twos go with lows and evens. The twos win the friends contest, so I would break up the nines right now, pass one of them and E and 5C.
8. One pair: fives. It has consecutive friends. The nine can go, and you can pass the winds, too.
Question or comment about this column? I often, um... intentionally... "miss" something; maybe you'll be the first one to spot it! Email Column 766
Play safely and stay healthy. And
may the tiles be with you.
and the discussion will be posted on the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board. Hit me with your best shot!
Mah-Jongg Q+A
On Sunday, July 3, 2022 at 09:55:52 AM EDT, Sue Z wrote:
My mah-jongg question or comment is:
Tom -- regarding Column 766
#3 I agree about keeping 11C 22D and I’d add 3B but the Flower pair is a gap for CR#3. Or maybe Flowers and Jokers show up and go for CR#2. These two options overlap. I’d also keep 78C 78B for CR#4. The White dragons are a gap but you can use Jokers. Maybe the 7 pairs will show up. Unfortunately this option has no overlap with the others. I’d pass 3C 9D and West.
#8 With 2 Jokers, I’d keep 4556B for either W/D #5 with N S (no gaps) or for CR #7 with the Green (Flower gap but there are Jokers); passing 5C 9C 6D. This would keep both possibilities as there is overlap. I’d grit my teeth and probably eventually pass the White.
Thanks so much for the mental exercise!
Sue Z
Nice, Sue!
Yes, the flower pair is a problem, all right. But because flowers are twice as numerous as other tiles, the chances aren't too terrible. Not as bad as getting the needed 1D pair for Consec #4. I'd rather keep the threes than the sevens myself, but to each her own.
You're wise to hang onto the winds, since those frequently go around in the Charleston. I like your choice. Thanks for playing!
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
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Sunday, July 3, 2022, 11:35 am
Rochester, New York, USA
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