Whoop! There it is!

Greetings and salutations from Bubbe with the information we've all been dying to hear--an overview of the 2019 card!

A lot of 2018 hands are back, don't worry. The big issue is learning/updating your mind to note the changes for the new card. We still have Like Numbers and Addition hands (but a little bit different!), and of course the “year” hands reflect 2019. Otherwise, the card has the usual sections of 2468, Quints, Consecutive Runs, 13579, Winds and Dragons, 369, and Singles and Pairs.

As for specific hands:  I explain in my book, “Searching for BubbeFischer,” that the very first place to look when you get a new card is the first hand in the Consecutive Runs section. It's 1 2 3 4 5 or 5 6 7 8 9, in one suit. It always is. The question is, in what form? Where are the pairs? Is there a kong at the end or in the middle? Could they one day surprise us all and make it four pungs and a pair?

Well, this year, it's shaped like a bell curve. I use that image to help me remember that the pairs are on either end, pungs next, and the high point of a kong is in the middle. The reason I say to look at that particular hand is because the pattern shows up in other places on the card. For instance, there's a similar-shaped hand in the 2019 section, the 2468 section, the 369 section, and the 1 3 5 7 9 section (with three-suit variation!). See what you can find, yourself. Commit the shape to memory.

The second very important pattern to look for is the second Consecutive Runs hand. Some years it's pung-pung-kong-kong, or what I call 3344. Other years, the pungs and kongs alternate, as 3434. It's always in two suits. For the 2019 card, we see an alternation between pungs and kongs: 3434. You will also see this pattern all over the card. It's in 2019, it's in 2468, it's in 13579, it's in 369. It's a VERY important pattern to remember. Most people use this as their single most popular, easy type of hand to attain because it is an open hand that requires no pairs. You can use Jokers and call for every part. Know it.

Beware, there are no more SIX FLOWER hands in 2019, but Flowers may appear as pairs, pungs, OR kongs. Pay attention to which combination you need for your hand!! 

There are a few other real standouts, on first glance:

*Fewer closed hands this year, especially in Winds and Dragons

*In the 2019 section, the pair of Flowers, Year, and two Dragon kongs is back!

*The Like Numbers hand requires three kongs, instead of 6 Flowers or the Opposite Dragon

*The Addition hands use kongs of 5's: 5+6, 5+7, 5+8 either in one suit or all three

*My favorite Quint "junk" hand uses Flowers, not Dragons, so it might be even easier to get!

*One of the new Quints super-sizes 2018's "kong, kong, Opposite Dragon" Like Numbers hand

*The Consecutive Number kongs with Dragons now needs pungs of Flowers and matching Dragons

*That confusing Quints hand has been replaced by a confusing closed Consecutive Runs hand

*Don't forget to look in Winds and Dragons for an extra 2019 hand!

*There are fun Wind/Like Numbers hands. Remember: E is for EVEN numbers!!

*Last year's 369D knitted hand is back, but technically it's the only knitted hand on the card!!

*The BIG HAND (2019 in all three suits) is back, and valued at 75 cents

My next column will talk about immediate “wrong” exposures, so that you don't make that mistake and that you can call another player's hand dead if they put them up. I will also talk about ambiguous exposures, which are helpful both for defense and for being able to quickly change your hand.

As always, I am happy to hear from you and answer any questions you might have. Feel free to contact me at bubbefischer@gmail.com

Check back in a day or two. I will talk to you again very soon.

Karen Gooen