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SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

By Tom Sloper
April 4, 2024
Column #802

American Mah Jongg (2024 NMJL card). Concluding my analysis of the 2024 card.

Consec #7: The most powerful hand on the card. This biannual alternator (pung-pung-kong-kong or 3-3-4-4 this year) is not only highly switchable, but it can also be confused for other hands when two non-adjacent exposures show atop a rack. This feature comes into play in both offense (building the hand) and defense (against an opponent's exposures). The hand always includes two even numbers and two odd numbers, enabling two even or two odd exposures, which can misdirect other players' attention to the 2468 and 13579 alternators. That's not all; the low number in the run is two numbers apart from the high number, which can result in exposures of threes and sixes (3-4-5-6), or sixes and nines (6-7-8-9). Offense strategy: when you're making this hand, try not to expose adjacent numbers but rather two evens or two odds, or first-and-last. Defense strategy: if you see two even exposures atop someone's rack, don't just look for their hand in 2468 - you have to also check Consec. Same if you see two odd exposures, or exposures of 3s and 6s, or 6s and 9s. Remember that this hand's power works both ways. You might fool the occasional opponent into thinking you're working in a different section of the card, but you yourself can be just as easily fooled. That's why I call it the most powerful hand on the card. This hand is a valuable weapon, but it's double-edged.

Consec #8: The bottom Consec hand is a four-pungs-and-a-pair hand: the easiest pattern to make in American mah-jongg. Because it would be too easy, the League has set this hand to Concealed. Don't let that big blue C intimidate you: this hand is very doable.

Odds #1: The top hand in Odds always echoes the shape of Consec #1, so we have another "W" hand here. No longer are 1s and 9s the key (pair) tiles; now you have to worry about making pairs of 3s and 7s.

Odds #2: This biannual alternator is part of the Consec #7 consortium: 2468 #1, this hand, and 369 #1 are all strategically relevant to Consec #7, as already discussed.

W-D #2 : The only hand on the card that uses all three dragons.

W-D #7 and 369#4 are the only two hands on the card that use two dragon kongs.

369 #1: This hand is the last member of the Consec #7 consortium, basking in the group's power. Because the number 6 is just 2 numbers away from 3 and 9, it's sometimes possible to confuse this hand for Consec #7. So when you see exposed sixes with exposed threes or nines, don't just think "369" - consider also Consec #7. Note that this hand differs from the other traditional alternators by supporting two or three suits. Another thing: sixes are the highest-demand tiles in the mah-jongg set this year, as Philippe and Julie's ILoveMahj A.I. has determined. What that means is you may have competition for those sixes. I'd shy away from any hand that needs a pair of sixes when I don't already have both tiles.

S&P #3: I like having both the 1-2-3 and 9-8-7 patterns, rather than just one. The last time we had both was the 2015 card.

S&P #6: The "big hand" is basically four pairs and six singles: it's not as hard as seven pairs. Somebody on Facebook already posted a picture of this hand within the card's first week. It's probably overvalued at 75 points. most powerful hand on the card

麻雀

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  • Questions about the 2024 NMJL card? See FAQ 16
  • Where to order the yearly NMJL card: Read FAQ 7i. But you're missing a bet if you don't order your NMJL card directly from the National Mah Jongg League! You'll thank me later.
  • 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. Note that every owner of the book also needs the errata, which are updated ongoing, as needed. 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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