1.9 Step 9: Outline the Facial Shape. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score wins the game. You'll need to weigh this risk vs the risk of not getting anywhere at all. You remind yourself what hand you currently have in play. Think ahead: When youre deciding which tiles to discard, try to think ahead to the next turn. This will help you anticipate their moves and give you an edge. However, it is important to note that it is also one of the least exciting hands to make, as it does not involve any sequences or any other type of combination. This will give you an idea of what tiles they may be collecting and help you decide which tiles to discard. Use my tips above to make your best hand possible early on in your mahjong career, and once you get more comfortable, then you can start playing around with getting more interesting and higher scoring hands. Your email address will not be published. The added bonus is that your weekly Mah Jongg group will have absolutely no idea how youre winning so often!! Note that at this stage, hands are usually tentative. No internet connection needed. If you do not see the tiles you need, make use of the available ones as an alternate hand. Hand is closed. Mah Jong is a game that is similar to Rummy, but it is played with tiles instead of cards. MAH JONGG for Beginners 5 - American - Picking a Hand - Mah Jongg Class NMJL Lessons How to play Mah Jongg Class 7.11K subscribers Share 111K views 4 years ago MAH JONGG How to Play - How to. As we know, pairs are more difficult to make. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. 6. 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. The order of the suits is up to you, but you may want to stay consistent from one game to the next, Flowers are generally kept on the left (since, in most cases, they appear left on the card), Dragons, winds and jokers can either be placed between flowers and suits or after suits, If you've identified a potential hand (see, If you have several potential hands (or sections), re-order the tiles to model the different options, counting how many tiles fit each potential hand. Additionally, it might reveal the hand you are playing too early. 5 Mahjong Strategies for Beginners Always have a clear plan Be flexible with your strategies Don't grab the first discard Keep a pair in your hand Avoid having gaps in your tiles 1. Place the blocks in a random order. But even in that case, picking discards early is still risky as detailed in the previous section. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. 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. The player whose wind direction is dominant for this round gets an extra tile. 1.5 Step 5: Add the Shoes. Then given the three tiles you receive, you go through that same process again. We hope you found these strategies helpful. Worst case, you get nothing useful in the remaining passes but you're no worse off. Though it's good to keep options open, do not keep too many options as it will only lead to confusion. The Traditional Tile Game of China and Asia. How long does the second person have to also call pause and still be able to claim the tile if she is nest in line? Choose the option that requires the fewest number of pairs (other than those you already have), If you have both concealed and non-concealed options, the non-concealed option will likely be the safer choice in this particular scenario, Count the number of tiles you have for each option (include jokers in the count) and go with the one that has the greatest count (having first taken the previous criteria into consideration), Reinforce your hand (if you have a specific one picked already), Narrow down the selected section(s) to a specific hand, Pairs. And don't forget, you can practice your newly acquired skills on I Love Mahj, the American Mah Jongg online game! Don't do this too early in the game since it's less likely someone will pick it up at this stage, When someone discards a joker, it's a clue they are potentially getting close to mah jongg and usually waiting for a single tile or to complete a pair. Your email address will not be published. There are 4 players in a game, and you can only control the decisions of one of them. For instance, if someone discards a North Wind, don't assume they're playing a hand with no North Winds. They can do this by choosing not to discard a tile they dont need but believe that you need it. This may be helpful, especially for beginners but, once again, experienced players will notice you turning tiles and it will help them determine your hand (especially if you leave gaps), Keeping flowers on the left makes sense since that's typically where they are on the card. Concentrate on the free tiles - Most of the 144 tiles in a Mahjong game are blocked anyway, so don't worry about them. Once faced with your initial tiles, choosing which direction to go seems like a daunting task, especially for beginners. So sit back, get yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of Manischewitz and let's get started! Remember that your opponents are watching and taking note of what you are doing. When you have a pair you don't need, it can be useful to hold on to it for a while. Finally, you lose the ability to play a concealed hand. You will also learn from watching and talking with other players. For a pair, it's a bit more tricky and there are cases where switching may be the right call. A traditional Mahjong set-up uses 144 blocks in a rough "spider" shape, with three extra layers added on top like a pyramid, making it a 3D puzzle. Early in the game, discards are less likely to be picked up. Look for things that may be harder to come by later. This is a fairly long post but we wanted to be thorough and provide as much value as possible for all skill levels. They are working out what hand you hold with each of the tiles you pick up or dont. Drawing Hands. With two exposures, it's usually possible to figure out the exact hand being played. The exception would be if you already have a definite hand chosen and that hand (and any potential fallback) would never need that pair. 2023 Mahjong Culture LLC. So even in this case, you're better off opting to go ahead with the second Charleston. The most difficult aspect of modern American of Mahjong is to determine which hand to aim for. Most experienced players will tell you that you sometimes need a bit of luck to beat your opponents when playing Mahjong. 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. Learn more Mah Jong is a game that is similar to Rummy, but it is played with tiles instead of cards. One of the key hand-building techniques in mahjong is known as five block theory. 3. Here are some tips and strategies for enhancing your Mahjong skills: 1. Give the appearance of having something you dont have. To make a One-Suit hand, you must first collect two sequences of the same suit. Good luck and have fun! The object of the game is to create melds until you can go out, or go "Mah Jongg!" A game of Mah Jongg features 16 rounds and at the end of each round, players calculate their scores. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. Here is a great video walking you through the steps to find the best hand to play each time! A set is three tiles of the same suit, such as three circles, or three characters. The seat winds will rotate counter-clockwise . This is where your knowledge of the card comes in handy, as it helps quickly determine which combinations work together. 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. Do not grab all discards early to make pungs or kongs as it reveals your game to others and narrows your options. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 116,218 times. This strategy requires patience, but making the most of your jokers is likely to pay off in the end, Joker bait. In the previous section, we cautioned against picking discards too early. There are nine consecutive run hands on the 2023 Card that only use one suit. You need 25,000 to play at any game, so that's the minimum investment. If you're sure, you are better off breaking your hand and discarding a tile that would be of no use to them. This early in the game, there is still a good chance to pick up those tiles (keep in mind there are 8 flowers, 8 jokers and 4 instances of all other tiles). Then, you must arrange the tiles in the correct order. It does require you to have a good memory in order to recall who discarded what, but it can provide valuable insights. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Mahjong Strategy For Beginners & Advanced Players To Help You Win. It's possible they already have all the Norths they need and are discarding the "excess". So, head on over to the Exercise Room on I Love Mahj, and get started. Roll the dice to select a dealer, and have the dealer give each player 13 tiles from the wall, leaving the rest of the tiles on the table. Alternatively, players can decide to skip the second Charleston and move on to the Courtesy pass. Make use of the joker: The joker can be a powerful tool, allowing you to complete difficult hands. At its core, Mahjong is a game of matching tiles. MahJong Practice is pattern practice for real American MahJong with Charleston. What is the Easiest Hand to Make in Mahjong? Rinse and Repeat. If you have no pairs or singles combination, then look for a trend in the tiles. No matter how much research you do, you will learn the best strategies by playing the game. Required fields are marked *. Acknowledgement: All the information collected was from players of the game. Thank you so much for the confidence to go. Your email address will not be published. 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. Finally, an all-honors hand is one where all of the tiles are wind tiles or dragon tiles. Remember that as long as you have three tiles to pass, you don't need to lock yourself into a particular hand just yet. The first player to do this wins the game. A hand with a value of 25 is usually easier to work out than a hand with a value of 50. Alternatively, this could be a great strategy to send your opponents the wrong signals! However, the second Charleston should be a conscious decision, based on the tiles in your hand. 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 wait until later in the game, you may be offering your opponent a valuable gift and potentially a win. Here are a few strategies to help you master the card: For other interesting forms of practice, check out Michele Frizzell's youtube channel. Players will start with a set of tiles, which include characters, circles, bamboos, and winds. For instance, if it's a pung of 7s, check the high end of the 13579 section, consecutive runs and possibly like numbers. 435 2 4. Think of them as a continuum rather than three rigid and disparate phases. 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. Once you have made the One-Suit hand, you can then start to build other hands. You'll find there are many variations of mahjong, so these rules aren't definitive. Mahjong is one of the oldest and most popular board games in the world. With two or more exposures, it's likely others will know what you're doing. The easiest hand to make in Mahjong is a Pung of three Bamboo tiles, or three 3 tiles, and a Head of any two tiles of the same suit or number. After the Hand is Complete - Once a hand is completed and tallied, the next hand will begin. But what if you're not dead but only a tile away from Mah Jongg and there are only a few tiles left in the wall. When two people call for a tile I understand that the person who gets priority is the person who is next in line. With practice, you will be able to make more difficult hands and eventually become an expert at the game. Dont rush into it. In this case, discard a tile that will be the easiest to replace. Section 13579 - Line 2 BOTH hands Winds and Dragons - Line 1 BOTH hands, line 3 BOTH hands. In the Charleston section above, we discussed avoiding passing in-demand tiles such as flowers, white dragons and other tiles (depending on the year). By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Mah Jongg is a fast-paced game and if you take too long to think through your options, you'll feel your stress levels rising, you'll make goofy mistakes and win fewer games. You need to know not only the general categories in order to narrow down your initial hand, but also the idiosyncrasies of each. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. The object of the game is to create melds until you can go out, or go Mah Jongg! A game of Mah Jongg features 16 rounds and at the end of each round, players calculate their scores. For example, you could make a Pung of three Bamboo tiles, or three 3 tiles. However, a better term to replace "luck" would be "probability." Be careful not to jump to a conclusion too quickly based solely on discards. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. See which of these combinations (pairs, singles combinations,) go together. So adapt your timing to the people you're playing with. You can always make a Pung as you go along, and its easier if you already have a pair or two in your hand. Think carefully about which tiles you choose to pick upandwhich ones you dont. The general principle is based on the fact that your final hand can be expected . 7. Experienced players will be able to figure out your hand based on discards, exposures and your tile organization. Adele, her beau Rich Paul , Tristan Thompson and Corey Gamble proved such was the case when they were all spotted celebrating LeBron James and his team's big playoff win on Saturday, as seen in . Yes, but they have to have an open side. We will not focus on a specific year's card but rather provide more general advice that can be applied when using any card. It's important to keep track of how many of each of the tiles you need that have already been discarded, as this will determine when it is wise to start exposing. 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. As such, it is a great way for players to quickly and effectively build up their score. You can use them as pairs or build a Pung (three of a kind), a Chow (three tiles of the same suit), or even a Kong (four of a kind). Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. We are thankful to all those who have helped us to improve our game. Sure, use those tiles you need for the hand you have chosen to achieve, but play it smart.