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Mah Jongg Doctors

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The Charleston, or some guidelines for passing

Whoa, that was fast!
A comment sometimes heard when you open your hand and immediately pick three tiles and put them out for the person on your right.

Sometimes you see the strength in a hand even as you're putting your tiles up on your rack!

5BAM, W, and 7DOT obviously go...leaving a 2, 4 6,8 hand. That makes for some fast passing.

And then there are the times you open with nothing that goes with anything...no pairs, no tiles in the same 'family'....and passing is more difficult. Then I look at high numbers or low numbers. Or just pass something, anything, to see what I pick up first. Maybe that will give me direction!
Here I guess I would start be passing the W, 5BAM, and 7DOT....or maybe the 1DOT. Your choice.

Some general rules about passing:

• Try not to pass flowers. Even if you don't need them. You might need them later as a different hand evolves....or discard them early in the game if you really don't want them. Too many hands need flowers and getting one in a pass can make a player very happy. She might even rethink the hand she's looking at.
• Try not to pass pairs. If you have a pair you don't need, split them and pass them separately.
• A pass that consists of 3 tiles from the same section on the card. For example: a 2BAM, 4BAM and 8BAM or a 1CRAK, 4CRAK, 5CRAK.
• Don't pass three winds together. That can also make the receiver rethink her hand. I also try not to pass a S and N together or a E and W together. There are hands on the 2011 card that use only S and N or E and W.

All of the above rules are sometimes broken, of course.

Online Play

The doctors have been busy. Just finished our spring beginners Mah Jongg class last night. There are 8 new Mah Jongg players out there heading for addiction to the game.

We'll be back in the fall with another "Beginners" class and a "Beginners 2" class. We'll keep you posted if you happen to live in northern Westchester County and are looking to learn or improve your game.

But...if you can't get a game together you can always play online for free. With folks from around the world. They also have a Mah Jongg 'school' where you can practice. This is a pretty hilarious commercial for their site: Mah Jong Time



When he mentions the 6 kinds of Mah Jongg, he leaves out American Mah Jongg....but believe me. It's there. I play on the site as: mahjonggdr

See you there!

Is Mah Jongg just for Women?

I found this today. Not just a man....but young!



I can't wait for that next rush of adrenaline!

Solitare Mah Jongg

So, I'm feeling a bit Mah Jongg deprived. A new card and not enough games for me.
A friend in one of my games asked if you could play solitare MJ. I thought, why not??
If you are just learning the game or need to be more familiar with the 2011 card, it could be a help to you. Of course it lacks a lot of the fun of a 'real' game, but here's what I did.
Get out your favorite rack (you only need one) and mix the tiles face down.

Pick 13 tiles at random and arrange them on your rack.

If I were passing in a real game, this would be my first pass. Instead they'll be on my right for discarding.
I've added a 1BAM, so my strategy of saving odd numbers seems to be working.
Now I've added another 7BAM, and have a pair of 1DOTS and a pair of 5DOTS. If I get and 2, 3 or 4 DOTS I'll keep them for the consecutive run, because the hard part of that hand: the pairs are in my hand. (11 222 3333 444 55 the first hand under 'consecutive run')

Now I've added an additional joker and have 2 green dragons to go with the 1BAMS.
So, you might look at the consecutive hand: FFFF 1111 2222 DD I've got the pair of dragons, but NO Flowers and no 2 bams.
What about the LIKE NUMBERS hand? Maybe...but no SOAPS for the pair of 1DOTS...and no 1CRAKS. I'm starting to like the 111 3 555 111 3 555 hand at the bottom of the 13579 section. It's concealed...but I've got some jokers. Remember: the 3s have to be natural (no joker there!) and it must be done in2 different suits.


Yikes! Another Green dragon. But I'm sticking to my 111 3 555 hand.
Could also switch to a 111 333 3333 5555 hand if those tiles come in.
So far I've gotten no 2, 3 or 4 dots for the consecutive run, so that doesn't look promising.

As I discard all of those dragons, I get more jokers and an additional 1DOT and 5DOT....so here I am. Set for MahJongg....all I need is a 3DOT. Even though it's a concealed hand, I can call for that last tile for Mah Jongg.
And here it is:

So, there you have it. Solitaire Mah Jongg. Of course there's no kibitzing, no whining over hands that didn't come in, or a great deal of satisfaction in winning, but you've had some practice with the hands on the card and learned how to move from one hand to another as the tiles dictate!

Another Game

This is how I open. My first 13 tiles:

F 1BAM, 5BAM, 4Dot, 4Dot, 7Dot, 7Dot, 8Dot, Soap, 8Crak, East, East, & North.
The pair of 4Dots and the pair of 7Dots along with 1 Flower could help me make this hand:
FFFF 3333 + 44 = 7777 (all in one suit) Can you find that on the 2011 card under
"SEVENS HANDS?"


As play progresses, I pick a 3Dot to add to that hand. But I also have a nice selection of 3s, 5s, 7s, and 9s....for this hand: 11 333 5555 777 99


Now I've added a 9Dot (so I have the pair) and the 5Craks. I would use the Dots for the 777 99 the craks for the 5555 and the bams for the 11 333 Unfortunately, I don't have any 1Bams...and that's a pair!


Now I've added an additional 7Dot. The 'sevens' hand is looking better. I discard the 3Bams.


With the addition of the 2nd flower, I'm committed to the SEVENS hand. I'll start discarding the other 5Craks and 9Dots.


I pick one more joker and now I'm set to call for everything. 7Dot, 3Dot, or the kong of Flowers.


I pick a flower. Yeah! I don't have to put up a joker with flowers if I need to call and expose.


Now I'm set for MJ. Either a 3Dot, 7Dot or Flower will make it for me.
And, there it is.



A Mah Jongg!

Let's play

Here's the anatomy of a game.

My first 13 tiles:I've arranged them in suits. I usually don't open with this many jokers. I should look at a quints hand, but for this game, I won't. Craks, dots, then bams in order on my rack.
Don't forget that 'bird' tile is a 1 BAM.

My first discards (or pass in a 4 handed game) would be the 8 crak, 8 bam, and 2 dot.
I'm keeping all odd numbers...except the 8 dot. I like that because it's consecutive with the 9 dot.
After a few more picks, I now have a second 8 dot and 2 soaps. (white dragons)
I'm liking the consecutive hand: FFFF 1111 2222 DD even though I don't have any flowers. BUT, I do have the pair of matching dragons. A good start!
I have finally picked a flower and I do have a lot of jokers...so I'm ready to discard the 1Bam, 3Bam, 3Crak, and 5Crak. Let's see what happens.
Another flower. Good. I would call for the 8 dot now with a joker. I could have called earlier, but wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to this hand. Now I'm ready. Bring on the 8Dot.

I've picked another 8Dot, so I don't have to use a joker. If the last one comes out, I'll call for it.
I will also call for the 9DOT (with 2 jokers) and the Flowers (with 1 joker)
I usually would not call a flower and expose the kong with a joker. It would be too easy for someone to take my joker. BUT, because I am only 2 tiles from MJ and the flower exposure would set me, I would call the flower with a joker.
And there it is...another joker! Unbelievable.
Now I'm SET for Mah Jongg. I need to be ready to call either a flower, an 8Dot or a 9Dot. Any of those will give me the game.
And...a 9DOT does it.

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