With two exposures, it's usually possible to figure out the exact hand being played. If no clear winner (or even potential option) emerges, pick the 3 tiles that are the least likely to fit with the rest and pass those (hoping a better pattern emerges during the Charleston). This will give you an idea of what tiles they may be collecting and help you decide which tiles to discard. But if you are able to use the two pairs in one hand, you have a strong contender. Having a Mahjong strategy is important; its whats going to help you win the game. 4. One of the key hand-building techniques in mahjong is known as five block theory. It's likely your opponent won't be able to claim these discards because their combinations may not be far enough along and/or they don't have enough jokers at this stage. Slowly you will create your own bag of tricks and strategies to choose from. By now, most players will have received their 2023 National Mah Jongg League card. This is particularly true if those discarded tiles were for a pung or kong. It feels like you're making progress and often locks in your hand choice, removing the mental strain of potentially tracking several options. Whether you have been playing for years or have just started, lets celebrate this ancient game and have fun. So this mid-game section is the right time to pivot, if you need to. However, the second Charleston should be a conscious decision, based on the tiles in your hand. If you realize a player is dead, it is generally in your best interest to call them "dead". The easiest ways to get a winning hand (conealed or not) are: A match 3 of dragons, or of the wind character (N, S, E or W) that matches your seat at the table, or of the wind mentioned in the middle of the table. This post assumes you have mastered at least the basics of American Mah Jongg and are familiar with its rules and practices. Your email address will not be published. Alternatively, players can decide to skip the second Charleston and move on to the Courtesy pass. You can only match a tile when . 1.2 Step 2: Draw the Main Body of Your Vampire Drawing. What would you discard? Play cautiously until youre sure of your hand, and then take calculated risks. Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter. The game of Mahjong is a great way to spend time with friends and family, and is a fun and strategic game. Worst case, you get nothing useful in the remaining passes but you're no worse off. Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Easiest Mahjong Hand, Tips and Strategies for Enhancing Mahjong Skills, Comparing Firouzja vs Carlsen: A Look at Their Stats, The Difference Between Positional and Tactical Chess: What You Need to Know. Your friend can make a hand a remove a few tiles for you to figure out which hand it is, A more efficient way to do this (especially on your own) is to use the, With a physical set, deal yourself 14 tiles and run through a mock Charleston, passing 3 tiles out and getting 3 tiles in on each pass. Learn how your comment data is processed. Here is a great video walking you through the steps to find the best hand to play each time! Suggested Hands: All possible hand combinations are evaluated and sorted by the highest ma Dont worry, it wont take long, or be too painful, especially if you use all the great tools on ilovemahj.com. It has simple scoring and very few special hands. Watch the Discards. Some people seem to systematically do a second Charleston (some even get angry if you stop it, even though the rule book clearly allows it). Additionally, opponents may not have solidified their choice of hand and, therefore, may just not be ready to claim discards at this stage of the game. In general, all players draw 6 tiles each in turn order, and repeat once. Remain calm, take some deep breaths and work though your options as quickly as possible, Rack your picked tile quickly to limit other players' opportunity to call the previous discard. Concentrate on the free tiles - Most of the 144 tiles in a Mahjong game are blocked anyway, so don't worry about them. So it's important to familiarize yourself with the current year's card. What is the Easiest Hand to Make in Mahjong? (Related: 3 Easy Ways to Clean Shoelaces) 4. Taking the first discard can reveal too much of what you already have. 4. On top of all that, you're likely to feel the frustration of your fellow players, who wish to keep the game moving and this is likely to raise your blood pressure even higher! How can I choose a hand in Mahjong? - Tabletop Game Planet Be extra careful with your discards and be sure to take into account their exposures and previous discards. It follows that it's fundamentally 75% luck and 25% skill. Each player draws a total of 13 tiles, and each variant of Classic Mahjong has different draw rules. No internet connection needed. The four sets of three tiles are known as Pungs, and can be made up of either the same suit or the same number. So make sure you are having fun while trying your newly learned Mahjong strategies. Firstly, it might reveal your lack of experience. The exception would be if you already have a definite hand chosen and that hand (and any potential fallback) would never need that pair. Using the strategy described in the previous section, you will pass the three tiles that fit the least, based on your current assessment. Give the appearance of having something you dont have. So you don't need to be overly concerned about accidentally discarding something valuable. This is because all that is required to make this hand is for a player to collect four sets of three identical tiles. Set up your blocks. 2023 Mahjong Culture LLC. "I have nothing!" Practice, practice, practice: The more you play, the better youll become. Your exposures do not need to be in the order they are on the card (you can reorder your tiles when you call Mah Jongg), Keeping a "trash pile" on the right-hand side of the rack is also a common occurrence. Pick 13 random tiles and look through the card for matches. So, now is the time to consider picking discards and exposing (unless you're playing a concealed hand, of course). Think carefully about which tiles you choose to pick up. It's best to place your exposures to the left of the rack, and follow with the next exposure to the right of that and so on. Bring just to a light boil, lower the heat, and simmer with lid on until the veggies are fork-tender, about 20 minutes. At the same time, you should not wait until close to the end of the game to change hands, since there will be limited time to start building the new hand. Be flexible; change your strategy when and if its necessary. Then pick a section of the card and duplicate each hand with the tiles. 2021/ Line 4: The pairs are East/West, last year they were North/South. Since we are in the early phase of the game, now is the time to dispose of them (assuming, of course, you don't need them for your current hand or any fallback). That's why we recommend you refrain from exposing too soon. You'll find there are many variations of mahjong, so these rules aren't definitive. How to Play Mahjong (with Pictures) - wikiHow This is why we emphasized the need to practice and study the card. Play fun, quick games offline, anywhere, anytime. Be careful not to jump to a conclusion too quickly based solely on discards. If you dont have a Mahjong table yet, have a look here at our list ofBest Mahjong Table Reviews, 2022. "I've been invited to play Mah Jongg at my community center with a large group. When you have a pair you don't need, it can be useful to hold on to it for a while. In summary, be patient and don't pick discards until your hand is strong enough (typically 7 or 8 tiles towards Mah Jongg). This game can also be played with 2 or 3 players. Think carefully about which tiles you choose to pick upandwhich ones you dont. Math-based hands Etc Go through each hand and make 2 or 3 winning combinations of that hand (this will help you memorize the hand and easily recall it later) Run through a Charleston on your own. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. We're done with the Charleston. Just discard it next if you don't need it. Mahjong is an ancient Chinese game that is played with tiles and requires a great deal of skill and strategy. Half flush and full flush: for this combination, a player opts to go for a hand that is biased to a particular suit, especially if their opening hand has 5 to 6 tiles of the same suit and a few honor tiles. Beginner's Guide to American Mah Jongg | I Love Mahj So, you could argue the risk of being "found out" is smaller in that case. The two sequences should be placed side by side, with the pair in the middle. This post will focus on American Mah Jongg (National Mah Jongg League rules) because this is the style we are most familiar with, though many of these tips will apply to all styles of Mah Jongg. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 116,218 times. For example, if a player has two sets of three tiles and one pair, they must ensure that all the tiles are open, meaning that they have been exposed to all other players. When two people call for a tile I understand that the person who gets priority is the person who is next in line. The pair is two tiles of the same value, such as two 4s or two 9s. American Mah Jongg , Mahjong 101 , News , Videos How to Pick the Best American Mahjong Hand April 6, 2020 We have all had the overwhelming feeling of trying to determine the best American Mahjong hand to play. If you want to learn how to keep track of your score or how many rounds to play, keep reading the article! If you've paid attention to the tiles being passed and kept by each player during the Charleston, as well as the tiles discarded thus far and possible early exposures, you may have a good idea of hands (or at least section) opponents are pursuing, even fairly early in the game (see reading Mah Jongg hands for details). With practice and dedication, players can develop their Mahjong skills and become skilled players. 6. Mahjong Hands - Hong Kong Style Mahjong In the previous section, we cautioned against picking discards too early. MahJong Practice is pattern practice for real American MahJong with Charleston. In this video,. Next, you need to collect a pair of the same suit. Though you are narrowing down your options, you don't necessarily need to come out of the Charleston with a specific hand to play. How do I make sense of this jumble of tiles and match them to one of the ~50 possible hands? In a non-competitive game, a good compromise is to leave a few seconds after the previous discard, before picking and racking at an unhurried pace, The most important aspect is to organize your number tiles by suit in numerical order. When you get your starting hand (often called haipai) using five block theory is incredibly useful to identify the general shape of your hand and which tiles you should discard first. Experienced players will be able to determine what hand you're playing (or at least narrow it down to a subset) and will actively work to thwart your efforts. If you've paid attention to your opponents' moves, you should have a good idea of what they're playing (see reading hands for details) and be cautious about your discards. However, it is important to note that the All Pungs hand is also one of the least exciting hands to make. You can search by location and style of mahjong. You will also learn from watching and talking with other players. Welcome to Mahjong Culture. There are 3 suits (cracks, dots and bams) and the numbers run from 1 to 9. Focus on the free tiles available to match and remove, and make a play when the opportunity arises. 8. By this stage of the game, you should either know, or have a very good idea of the hands your opponents are playing. Early in the game, discards are less likely to be picked up. Section 13579 - Line 2 BOTH hands Winds and Dragons - Line 1 BOTH hands, line 3 BOTH hands. 1 in the FBS in points per game (45.0) and yards per game (526.0 . As you gain more experience, you will be able to do this shuffling, quickly, in your head, Place jokers in your hands, instead of leaving them at the end of your rack.