National Mah Jongg Day

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe on this very exciting National Mah Jongg Day!

Several years ago, Faye Scher, former owner of Where the Winds Blow (an amazing mah jongg emporium), organized an online petition which was signed by over a thousand people. It was sent to President Obama and made official. I asked Faye why she chose April 30^th in particular. 

Her response:

“To give everyone a chance to get their new card and get used to it. I think some players need to know a declaration or proclamation is not a federal holiday. It is just for fun just like when a team wins a World Series and it proclaimed a special day. It is often declared by senators and congressmen or mayors etc. Many of our customers sent the petitions to their local city halls.”

Faye understood that mah jongg is an important and valuable activity, and took it upon herself to ensure that it got the recognition it needs. I commend her.

It’s a good reminder how important it is to recognize the little stuff, the mundane stuff. To elevate the everyday and show appreciation or gratitude for it.

Maybe that’s why we’re in the middle of a spate of such occasions: Secretaries’ (Administrative Assistants’) Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day. Lots of recognition. It’s also early enough in Spring that we are very grateful for every little plant that pops up; every cherry blossom or dogwood that starts flowering; every tree that becomes just a little greener each day.

Celebrate the small stuff. Don’t forget to learn your new card! If you need some advice, check out my previous blogs and pick up a copy of Searching for Bubbe Fischer. You’ll be glad you did! And if you get a chance, drop me a note at bubbefischer@gmail.com ; I'm always happy to hear from you.

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe Fischer

A Serious Subject

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, who has something serious to say.

Actually, it hearkens back to a great essay by Russell Baker, called “Why Being Serious is Hard.” I put up the link so that you can go back and read it, later, if you're so inclined.

Baker says that the distinction between being solemn and being serious seems to be vanishing and that, all too often, adults consider the two to be synonymous. There is an expectation of solemnity after a certain age, a stuffed-shirtedness to growing up, and the writer wants us to know that it's not what it's cracked up to be. He implies that seriousness is actually the far more valuable, though elusive, trait. It refers to passionate intensity, focus, drive: the being in the moment, if you will.

The article includes a list of things that fall into one, or the other, category. Since the essay is 39 years old this month, quite a few of the cultural references are pretty outdated, but this might help you:

Playboy is solemn. The New Yorker is serious.

Jogging is solemn. Poker is serious.

In this vein, Bubbe would assert that mah jongg is definitely serious. This is a game that should be treated with respect and each player should put in their best effort. They should take it seriously. 

This isn't to say that Bubbe wants to rap your knuckles if you reach for her joker for an exchange. That's the solemn, or perhaps a little overly violent, way to behave. Bubbe doesn't chastise someone for throwing the winning tile because she wants to give the benefit of the doubt that such a throw is a calculated decision.

BUT--a very important question has come up, in emails I've received from several of you: when should a player be expected to know her card? Most specifically, should leniency be given to a person who erroneously exposes three winds, or three dragons (on this year's card, any such exposure makes a hand dead)? Should they be let off with a warning? How long should this grace period last?

Another particularly conscientious player asked whether other players should know that an exposure of three 9's (999) indicates only one possible hand on this year's card. The question had to do with table rules involving hot tiles and/or throwing to multiple exposures. Again, the writer wanted to know whether players should be held accountable in identifying distinct hands.

The bottom line in both questions involves how solemn the environment should be. In my blog entries, I try to identify the rare idiosyncracies on the card, such as illegal exposures and rare appearances. I think it's important to understand the nuances of the game and I try to pass that worldview along to other players. It's a lot of what I write about in Searching for Bubbe Fischer. I want you to learn in order to avoid mistakes, but also to think about the card, and by extension your game, with a more critical eye. I want you to take the game seriously.

I willingly acknowledge that not everyone is as passionately committed to the game as I am. Certainly anyone who only plays once a month or less, and doesn't look at the card in between, could not be expected to have as much focus. Such a person would, no doubt, chalk up my attitude as "too serious"--when really, they mean they think I'm too solemn. I will try hard not to be so severe, but I think that there should be no grace period, especially for illegal exposures. If you are let off the hook, given a "do-over," how will you learn?

So yes, I fully admit that I take this game seriously. However, I don't think mah jongg should be played in a solemn environment. If you can't joke and kvetch, what's the point of playing?

What do YOU think? You can always email me at bubbefischer@gmail.com, I look forward to your emails (seriously!).

Talk to you soon.

Bubbe Fischer

A Small Deception

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, giving you a little strategy tip.


We've all been in that situation where we're waiting for a single tile to complete a hand. No matter how many jokers we have in our hand, we can't use one for a pair. We either have to pick that last tile or call for it when it's thrown.


Often that final tile is a Flower. Singles and Pairs hands often require a pair of Flowers. In this year's card, there are also many different hands that look like

FF XXXX YYYY ZZZZ 

where the kongs are in Dragons, or Consective Numbers, or even 2017 and 7's in opposite suits...but they all need that essential pair of Flowers. 


I had such a situation the other day. I was playing the Like Numbers hand: pair of Flowers, two kongs of a number and the opposite dragon. All my kongs were set: three craks, three dots, and green dragons. I had made an exposure of the three dots--but with only one exposure, no one knew exactly what I was playing. In fact, there were all kinds of hands I could have been playing: something in Consecutive Runs, 13579 or 369, even one of the Quint hands.


At this moment, with only one Flower of the necessary pair, I happened to pick up a joker.


If I were to throw out the joker, it would be obvious that I was looking for something to complete a pair. Look over this year's card. In the majority of cases where a kong is exposed but a joker is thrown, a player is waiting for a Flower to complete their hand.


This is where the deception comes in. Rather than discard the joker and let everyone know how close I was, and what I needed, I threw out one of the three craks. 


Some people would say, "You gave up a jokerless hand?" Yes, I did. It was a calculated risk. It's true that I had a chance of picking a Flower--there were seven other ones somewhere in the tiles--but I didn't want to preclude the chance of being thrown one, and figured that no one would ever do that if they saw me throwing jokers. It was smarter to pass up the chance of a jokerless win in order to increase the chance of actually being thrown my necessary tile.


This is part of Bubbe's wisdom, accumulated along the way. There are other useful tips in my book, Searching for Bubbe Fischer. It's along the lines of "You can't mahj second"--if you know you may be throwing someone else's mahj tile, you'd be wise to break up your own hand. I often hear people rationalizing, "I was close, I wanted to take that chance." It's their prerogative, it's their right, to take that chance--but they should know that in choosing to protect their hand, they might be giving the entire game (and double payment) away to someone else. I gave away the possibility of a jokerless hand, because I'd rather increase my chance of actually winning, than protect a jokerless hand that won't win.


Of course, I did end up picking the Flower and getting everyone to pay double because of that. True, I would have been paid four times (a dollar per player) had I been jokerless, but I made my decision.  I didn't want anyone to know just how close I was to winning. I'd make the same choice again...and recommend that, in most circumstances, you do the same.


My one caveat is to make sure that no one else will need the tile you're throwing. For instance, if I were playing the Consecutive Runs hand:

FFFF 1111 2222 DD

and had all my tiles except the second dragon, with one of the numbers exposed, I would rather throw one of the second number than the very valuable Flower. People would probably assume I was playing a Like Numbers hand, instead, or some other combination--it's unlikely that they would assume that I needed a dragon in the same suit, especially after I threw out a consecutive number.


A little strategic deception is often necessary, in order to keep up our chance of winning!


Always happy to hear your questions and comments. You can email me at bubbefischer@gmail.com


Talk to you soon!


Bubbe Fischer

Tournaments--Room for Improvement

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, talking about tournaments.

Wherever I speak, I encourage people to expand their horizons by playing against new players. Their skills improve; they play faster, try other hands outside their comfort zone, and maybe pick up a few tricks, here and there.  We all have room for improvement in our games. I specifically recommend playing in a tournament because I feel that it provides a great environment for learning and expanding skills.

Unfortunately, I hear rumbling, both on-line and at my speaking events, from people who are afraid of trying tournaments because they worry that some players won't be friendly, or might even be downright mean! It makes me sad to think that they're avoiding such a great opportunity to make friends and improve their own game.

I've had over a dozen years of experience as a tournament player, and I would say that 60 percent of the players are friendly but focused; about 25 percent are people with whom I actually connect, who end up becoming really great friends; a handful who are a little prickly; and a very small fraction who I never want to play with again. In a tournament of 12 rounds, there might be one or maybe two players, tops, who are that unpleasant. The good news is that if any player tells the tournament director about Miss Bossy, she is warned; if she continues to be rude, she is told never to return.

Of course, I have all those years of experience behind me. What I consider "friendly but focused," now, might seem more intimidating to someone who isn't used to playing in a quick, competitive game. As I wrote in Searching for Bubbe Fischer, I well remember those audible sighs from across the table when I was slow to pass, and the snappish replies when I would ask "Is this first or second left?" I was mortified if my hand was called dead. I wanted to sink under the table if I got a penalty for throwing someone else their mahj tile.

The thing was, by playing at tournaments, I became a better player. I had to be more decisive, I had to keep up with the rhythm of the game. I am a terrible swimmer--afraid of putting my face in--so I'm not comfortable with the analogy of being "thrown in the deep end," but I will say that, if you're very timid about your passing or calling for tiles, then you're probably not ready for a tournament.

However....you can improve that part of your game if you're motivated. And you'll have more of an incentive to do it against strangers than against those loving friends you see every week. Sometimes a little push is GOOD for you.

Tournament directors can actually facilitate that by having a more gradual introduction. At least, that was the first creative solution that my partner Donna and I implemented, to include those players who would ordinarily be reluctant.

We started tracking players at our second tournament. For six years, now, we have opened up our one-day, four-round event to the entire community. After our first event, there was much grousing that some of the players were not as good as others, so for every event since, we have asked players to label their speed/experience level. We have had two, and sometimes three, levels: rookies (can't always finish four games in 50 minutes), mid-level (50 minutes per round), and quickest games (45 minutes). We keep each player rotating among tables at their proper level, throughout the day. The rookies are happy to play among themselves and they don't get overwhelmed by the faster players; the fast players don't feel dragged down. Generally, people have been much happier with this situation, and we've seen players progress from one level to the next, over the years!

Another problem I've tried to correct has to do with prizes. I've found that a player needs to average around 60 points per round in order to be among the top scorers. I became concerned about the rest of the pack. If you're having a mediocre day, you can feel like it's pointless to keep playing when others are outscoring you. I've watched some of the best tournament directors, and learned from their ideas. We sometimes offer a "high round" prize for the top score every four hands, so that everyone finds that each new round is a chance for victory! I also like to give a prize for the first person who wins the "hand of the day," so that literally every player, in every hand, has an opportunity for a prize.

Some tournaments award booby prizes or crying towels for the player with the lowest score, but I don't know of anyone who wants to stick around for that kind of embarrassing negative recognition so I don't award it. Most recently, though, I thought about those unsung heroes who score in the middle because they keep getting wall games. Each player gets 10 points for such a game, and while it's better than losing, it's not likely that an afternoon of wall games will get you enough points to win.

The morning before our last tournament, I sat for a moment and thought, "How do we reward the person with the most Wall games? Wall...flowers!" I stopped and picked up little potted rose plants for the top three wall-flowers--at the end of the day, they were so happy to get a little recognition! I think it will become a staple of my future events.

In that vein, I want to address the "tournaments are unfriendly" aspect of the game. I'm trying to figure out a kind of "Miss or Mr. Congeniality" competition: at the end of each round, players can indicate whether anyone was exceptionally kind (or stunningly rude) and I'll reward outstanding behavior. Ideally, everyone should want to vie for this kind of title. I don't need everyone to display disingenuous, saccharine-sweet behavior, but who knows? Might throw an interesting angle into the proceedings.

The only problem I already anticipate is that, because we fit 35 tables into a ballroom and the noise gets quite loud, I'm going to have to allow four or five extra minutes, before each round, just for friend-making. I'll have to go back to the skills I acquired as a Brownie troop leader. I know we can make this work!

What's keeping you from tournaments? Is it the speed, the intensity, the potential unfriendliness, or just the "great unknown" quality? Likewise, if you have been to tournaments that were very successfully run, I'd like to get some pointers. Email me at bubbefischer@gmail.com -- always happy for feedback!

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe Fischer

King Kongs

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe, with a third look at the new card: Ambiguous Exposures, Kong edition!

You KNOW there are kongs of 7’s and dragons all over this card. That’s the first thing that jumps out when you see it. Last time, I talked about the only two pungs that are illegal this year: Winds and Dragons. Every other pung and kong is fair game. The good news is that you can make a “lonely” exposure and your hand probably won’t be called dead, since it could be one of a number of hands.

The only “li’l ol’ me” exposure that, by itself, points to only one hand is a pung of nines. That can ONLY be part of the 13579 stutter-step, three-suited hand: pairs of 5’s and 7’s in first suit, pungs of 7’s and 9’s in the second suit, and a kong of dragons in the final suit. If someone puts out matching dragons with that pung, or any other exposure than a pung of 7’s in the same suit, it’s a dead hand. Also if three of either the 5's or 7's in both opposite suits are out, the necessary pairs in the hand are unattainable and therefore the hand is dead.

Every other exposure: a pung of any number, a kong of any number, wind or dragon (or Flowers), could literally be one of a number of hands.

The good news for you is, if you make only one exposure and your original hand falls apart (e.g. all the Flowers are out; the matching dragons for the pair are gone; the pair that went with it isn’t available), you might be able to switch your hand. If it’s too late in the game to switch, you can at least bluff your way to the end.  Never throw up your hands in defeat, saying, "That's it, my hand is dead." You cannot declare your own hand dead, and in fact, with one single exposure, it probably isn’t dead. 

By the way, there is no shame in bluffing your way to the end of a game. As I like to remind people in my lectures, and in my book “Searching for Bubbe Fischer,” if you're playing against evenly-matched players, over time, you should only expect to win about 20 percent of the games. There will definitely be hands where you fall short of your goal. Just keep playing, and try not to throw anyone the tile that they need.

I’ll talk a lot more about switching hands in another post (or three), but for now I’m focusing on what else this new card holds for us. As I said, a single exposure is pretty harmless, you can bluff your way to the end…but what if you make two exposures and your hand falls apart?

Fear not. There are quite a few hands on this card with “ambiguous exposures”: two (and sometimes three) exposures that could be referring to more than one hand. It is very useful to learn the card and recognize the opportunities that might arise.

For instance, a kong of Flowers and a kong of any number tile greater than “3” is ambiguous this year. We all know that the “old reliable” Consecutive Runs hand (CR5) is back: kong of Flowers, kong of two consecutive numbers in same suit, and pair of matching dragons. If those dragons go out and you’ve already got Flowers and one number exposed, you can possibly switch your hand, or at least bluff your way through to the end of the game. In fact, if it’s an 8, you could be playing one of THREE different hands: 2468 #1, Lucky “13” #2, or CR5. Until every 1,3, matching 2, or three of the matching 4 or dragon has been thrown, your hand is still “alive”. Pretty sweet.

Other examples of ambiguous double exposures of Kongs that work to your advantage:

·       *  Kongs of N and N+2 in same suit (for example, 1111 3333 or 4444 6666), for any N and N+2 except 6 and 8, could be part of the sixth Consecutive Run hand or a specific pair in the Even or Odd section. If some of the pairs in CR6 are no longer available, you might switch to the Even/Odd hand…or bluff for as long as you can.

·        * Kongs of N and N+2 in different suits, for any N and N+2 except 1 and 3, could be part of the second Consecutive Run hand OR the third Consecutive Run hand (the “junk hand”). Even if all the Flowers are thrown, you can bluff that you’re still going for CR2.

·       *  Kongs of two dragons. You could be going for the second 2017 hand or the last Winds & Dragons hand, but if seven flowers are exposed/thrown, you’re in trouble. Don’t expose that second kong of dragons unless you’ve got the Flower pair or are otherwise set for mahj.

·        * Kongs of matching winds (N/S or E/W): with those two exposures, you can never be called dead. You might be going for pairs of dragons. If you’ve exposed East and West kongs, you might be going for the first Winds & Dragons hand. Even if every South or dragon is thrown, you could still be going for the two pungs of Flowers. I predict it would be very late in the game (and sometimes never) before anyone could say there was no chance of your getting jokers and flowers to complete the hand.

·       *  Kong of 6’s and 7’s: in the same suit, it could be “Lucky 13” or our beloved CR 5. Even if you also expose the kong of Flowers, your opponents still won’t know which it is. In different suits, it could be “Lucky 13” or Consecutive Runs hand #3, AKA “the junk hand”

·        * Kongs of same number in two different suits: could be either of the Like Number hands. If seven Flowers are out, you could still bluff that you were hoping for enough jokers to make the Flower pungs. If the number happens to be “7,” it might also be the third 2017 hand; if it’s a 3, 6, or 9, it might be part of the fifth 369 hand.

These kong combinations are not quite so ambiguous:
 

·        * Kong of a number and opposite dragon: This most likely is the first Like Numbers hand, which would go dead if seven Flowers were on the table. If it's a 7 crak or bam with four soaps, it could be the first 2017 hand.

·        * Kong of a number and matching dragon: This is a rare occurrence on the card. When the number is a 3 or a 9, if there are three sixes of that suit on the table, your hand is dead. Sorry! If it’s a 7 dot with soaps, of course, it’s the first 2017 hand, which can’t go dead.

How are you supposed to play defense when someone else makes an exposure? Well, I’ll save that for another day!

I’m always happy to hear from you about your adventures with the new card, or if you have a question. Contact me at bubbefischer@gmail.com

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe