2021 Hands Part 1 (left panel)

Greetings and salutations from your "sinister" Bubbe. That's correct, I'm left-handed, and today we're going to talk about the left side of the 2021 card!

A reminder before I start: Bubbe's most essential message to you is "luck favors the prepared mind." The whole point of all of these articles is to help prepare you to do as well as you can with the 2021 card. That means knowing the whole card. I don't want anyone being intimidated by Singles and Pairs hands (or ANY concealed hands), Quint hands, three-suited hands…whatever worries you, we're going to get through all of this together. I promise.

 

So. On the left panel, there are three sections: 2021, 2468, and Like Numbers.

 

The 2021 section, as I said in my first of this year's articles, is lovely. The hands require either a single Soap or a kong of them-- and the kong actually means that any or all of them can be Jokers! There is no "pair" requirement. That's already a big improvement over last year! 

1) Three Suits. A pair of Flowers, the year in suit A, and then a kong of 1s in suit B and a kong of 2s in suit C. You may use Jokers and/or call for exposures for the two kongs along the way to making this hand!

2) Two suits. 3434 hand. It only involves pungs and kongs so you can use Jokers for anything, including the Soaps. You will need a pung of 2s in each of two suits. One of these pungs needs a matching kong of 1s. You will also need a kong of Soaps. 

The part that gets tricky for many new players is whether the first set of 2s has to be DOTS (to match the Soaps). The answer is, "No!" The only thing that matters is that one pung of 2s is in suit A and a second pung of 2s matches a kong of 1s in suit B. The first pung could be dots, cracks, OR bams. Basically, you can't go wrong with this combination as long as you don't try to make the numbers a three-suited hand! Make the kong of 1's match either of the pungs of 2's, and you're good!

3) One suit. Easy, once you recognize it's a "secret" Quint. You will need kongs of Flowers, 2's and Soaps, and "21" in the same suit as the kong of 2s. Again, the numbers can be any suit, it does not have to be dots.  

"But Bubbe, how are you supposed to have four 2s and then still have a 2 left over for the 21??" That's where the "secret Quint" comes in. You are going to need at least one joker to make this hand. You MUST reserve one of the natural 2s to be part of the “21”; If you expose all four, you can't make the hand. If you expose three with a joker, but haven't got the last 2 in reserve, someone else might have the 2 and exchange it for that joker, because why wouldn't they? *The key to this hand is to hold on to a natural 2. You can't make the hand without it.* Also note: this is a little trickier, and is worth 30 cents instead of 25.

4) CONCEALED, one suit. If you erroneously expose either three Norths, three Souths, or both, you can switch to one of the hands in the Winds and Dragons section, but really, try not to make that mistake. It's a concealed hand; use a highlighter, if you must, to remind yourself not to call for any tile until you are ready for mah jongg.

The main trick to winning this particular hand: pay attention during the Charleston. If Winds are going around and you've already got a Soap (or vice versa), collect all the key pieces. That's the best way to launch this hand: get a lot of the essentials out of the way through the Charleston. This is not the kind of hand to suddenly consider after the third wall, it's not likely to fall into your lap.

 

The 2468 hands:

1) One suit. On the card, it's laid out like a bell curve. Just remember that the pairs are the 2s and the 8s and the kong is the Flowers. 

2) Two suits. Simple 3434 hand, in numeric order, 2468.

3) One suit. This is the "other" pattern (from the 2020 card): steps, with the first two being pairs, then pungs, then a kong. In this case, like #1, the kong is the matching Dragons; the pairs are the two lowest numbers.

4) Two suits. This "sandwich" hand appears in many years' cards. Kongs of 2's and 8's are the bread, in suit A. The "filling" is a pair of 4's and a pair of 6's, both in suit B. A pair of Flowers is the garnish.

5) Three suits. Pay attention that this one is 3344; there are no pairs so any and all melds can use jokers or be exposed. The trick is to remember that the pungs are both in the same suit, on the low end (2 and 4), and that the 6 and 8 kongs are each in their own suits.

6) ANOTHER one-suit hand! Super easy to remember, it's kongs of the three lowest numbers (246), and the pair is in the 8s. 

7) Three suits. This is the razzle-dazzle exposed hand for this section. One tile each of 2468, in suit A, plus you'll need Dragon kongs in the other two suits, and a pair of Flowers. Hope for some Jokers and keep your eyes open, to call Dragon discards for exposures. Again, as the hardest of the “open” hands, it is worth 30 cents.

8) CONCEALED/three suits. As above, there's a sandwich, but this one's all in the same suit, with "bread" pungs of 2 and 8, and a skinny "filling" of single 4 and 6. Then you need matching pungs of any of the even numbers, in the other two suits.

 

Like Numbers (Note there are no concealed Like Numbers hands this year):

1) Two suits. There's a pair of Flowers, kongs of the same number in two different suits, and--surprise!!--the combination of NEWS thrown in for fun. Don't forget that you can't call a single tile for exposure. If you need one of those Winds to complete the set, it can only be called as your final mah jongg tile.

2) Three suits. Basic three kongs and a pair hand. The tricky part is that the pair is of one suit of the Like Number, and one of the kongs is Flowers.

3) Two suits. Another 3434 hand, where the pungs are the Like Numbers and the kongs are their matching dragons. 

 

 

BUBBE COMMENTS:

I would remind everyone that those 3434 hands are the easiest to make. No pairs are required, you can call each meld for exposure, you can use Jokers in each meld. Getting pairs is never an easy proposition, but if you've got the pairs you need, do not hesitate to go with one of the slightly more challenging hands.

I'm also struck by the three different one-suited 2468 hands. It seems fairly simple, if you've got a preponderance of "even" tiles in one suit, to keep collecting them, and hold on to any Flowers and matching Dragons, as well. Based on the pairs that you get, specifically achieving the 2s and/or the 8s, you can determine which of these hands to pursue. I can easily imagine a scenario where players are passing around the odd tiles because three of them are simultaneously collecting even tiles, in each of the three different suits!

Tomorrow, look for the middle section discussion. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at bubbefischer@gmail.com …I love hearing from you!

Talk to you soon.

Bubbe Fischer