SLOPER ON MAH-JONGG

American Mah Jongg (2012 NMJL card). Defense by the numbers. What do you do if an opponent is showing these?

1. The hand she's making can only be Consec. #3, which means threes and fours in the other two suits are hot.

2. If her poker face fails every time a dragon goes out, she may be working on Consec. #6 without realizing it's a concealed hand. But this could very well be Odds #2, in which case threes and fives in the other two suits are hot.

3. Tricky. Here's where the NMJL card throws you curve balls. She might be doing Consec. #3 or Odds #2. Look for clues among the discards and exposures, and tread carefully. 2B, 3B, 4C, and 5C are all potentially dangerous to throw.

4. Feel free to call her dead. Odds #8 is a concealed hand.

5. She's working on Odds #2. 3D and 3B are hot.

6. See #4 above. She's dead.

7. Like Numbers. 1D and F are hot.

8. This is either Consec. #5 or 2012 #2. F, 1B, 2B, 0, and 3B are hot. Look for clues among the discards and exposures. If any of 1B, 2B, or 0 are dead, then the only dangerous tiles are F and 3B.

9. This is Consec. #4. G and F are hot. Check the discard floor; if you see more than two Gs there, call her dead.

10. This is Consec. #5. 2B and F are hot.

11. She's making Odds #3. Look to see if 3D or F or soap are dead to her. If any one of those is dead, she's dead too.

12. She's making Odds #5. Look to see if G is dead. If it's not, play it safe; don't throw F or G.

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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 blunder quiz result will be posted on the Mah-Jongg Q&A Bulletin Board.

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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 in existence about the American game. AND see FAQ 19 for fine points of the American rules (and commonly misunderstood rules). AND get the official rulebook from the NMJL (see FAQ 3). Linda Fisher's website is the only website that describes American rules: http://sites.google.com/site/mahjrules/.

© 2012 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved.