WEEKLY MAH-JONGG

1. An absolutely miserable hand. When I get one of these, I compare odds with evens first. 8 evens vs. 3 odds - no contest. The W and G are no-brainers. Pass 9D as well.

2. Two pairs, both odd. Only three hands on the card can use ones and fives in the same suit: 13579 #1, #5, and Consec. #1. 8D doesn't go with either. 4C and 9B are the other two sore thumbs.

3. Wow, bad deal. Can we frish? No, huh... I don't want to pass three winds in the first pass. Sometimes instead of counting odds vs. evens, I count highs vs. lows. In this case, highs win. I'd pass 1B, N, W.

4. Two pairs: threes and fives, in two suits. That's what Columbo would call "a clue." Possible 13579 hand or Consec. Runs hand. And of course it could be a 369 hand. I'd pass N (of course), 2D, and 4D.

5. A pair of flowers and that's it. This hand really sucks. What the hey, go for S&P #4 - keep evens, pass odds and honors.

6. No jokers, but it has potential with the ones and threes. I'd pass W (of course), and any even numbers.

7. Pair F, pair 9C, pair J. Find something that uses nines and flowers (not hard since the 2006 card uses flowers much more profusely than last year's card). Possibilities: Like Nos. #1, 13579 #4 or #6, 369 #1 or #2. I'd pass 2C, 7B, 4D.

8. The only pair is E, and that's no good without other stuff to support it. Four evens, four odds, four highs, four lows. The odds on odds are better than the odds on evens, and others might pass winds your way. I'd pass evens. Pick any three.