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SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
August 28, 2022
Column #773

American Mah Jongg (2022 NMJL card). Assorted puzzlers.

1. Got pairs of fours, nines, and sixes. I have to find a hand that can use two of those pairs; either the fours and the sixes (Evens or Consec), or the sixes and nines (Consec or 369). At a quick glance, the fours-sixes options are no better than 5 tiles. The 369 option is just 4 tiles. Nines lose. Pass 1B 9C N.

2. I want to keep all those near-neighbor consecutive 4s, 5s, and 6s, so I'm happy to pass 1D 9B. G is good for a Consec #7 option, and I'm loath to pass dragons in general anyway. Blind passing doesn't rise to the significance of stopping the Charleston. I'd probably blind pass one. Would you?

3. I want to keep all those near-neighbor consecutive 4s, 5s, and 6s, so I'm happy to pass 3D N. I don't really have any options strong enough to warrant stopping. G will have to go.

4. Tough choice, needs to be made fast. High odds hand for sure, so low number 3B is passable. 9C and 7C go with the dots, for Odds #3 (8 tiles). The 5B pair is good for Any Like Numbers (6 tiles), and the high bams are good for Odds #6 (9 tiles, using only two of the 5Ds). I have only two tiles to pass (3B 7C) unless I also pass a flower (Any Like being the weakest option). Some people say "never pass a flower." Are those also the same people who say "never stop the Charleston when you have two hands"? I have an 8-tile hand and a 9-tile hand. I'm thrilled if I have one 8-tile option, and having that plus a 9-tile option makes me giddy, especially since these are so nicely intertwined, allowing for a great deal of flexibility. As I wrote in column 494, stopping can be strategic. It unnerves your opponents. All's fair in war and mah jongg, as Sun Tzu never said. Still, since I can pass three tiles (3B 7C F, flouting the "never pass a flower" not-a-rule), I can keep my two good options open. The problem will come up again if my righty gives me something in the second left. If it then came down to two 9-tile hands, that'd be exactly the kind of thing the mah-jongg goddesses love to mess with you... with.

5. Any Like Numbers #1 (F is hot), or #3 (F and R are hot). Do not discard F or R unless somebody else discards one and the exposed player has not picked since. Exception? - If (just if) you are one away from declaring, and the only discarder in your hand is one of those hot tiles, well... do ya feel lucky, punk? Do ya?

6. Pretty obvious. Don't throw 2D or 2B. Exception? - If you see three 2Ds (for example) dead on the table, maybe you can discard 2D. The player might have three jokers, but what are the odds?


麻雀

COMMENTS Email . Hit me with your best shot!

Join Johni Levene's popular Facebook group, "Mah Jongg, That's It!" and Donna and Dara's newer group, "Mahjong Community" for lively conversations about American mah-jongg and all things mah-jongg.

Where to order the yearly NMJL card: Read FAQ 7i. But I gotta tell you, you're missing a bet if you don't order your NMJL card directly from the National Mah Jongg League.

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, a good supplement to the League's 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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