RIGHT side of the 2023 card

 Greetings and salutations from your ever-faithful Bubbe, ready to tell you all about the right hand panel of the 2023 card.

Per the previous two “panel” articles, I will be using my conventional shorthand. For instance, W3a will refer to the first version of the third Wind hand, the one that uses North/South; SP2 will the second hand in the Singles and Pairs section. All concealed hands will be labeled in red.

 

WINDS and DRAGONS Section:

**Reminder that Y4 and Q1 also use Winds, and dragons are used in every section of the card except for Addition and Quints.**

W1a and W1b: This card provides a unique Winds opportunity, one that I think will make most players happy. You will use kongs and pungs of Winds for either hand, but you get to choose which set (North/South or East/West) has the kongs and which has the pungs. Anything can be exposed, jokers can be used for all parts…but PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, make sure each “partner” matches in size.

Backup ideas? Before you make any exposures, you can keep an eye on how your hand is shaping up and what is being discarded to decide which version of W1 you want: stronger on East/West or North/South? Once you make a commitment (through exposure), you could switch to the appropriate version of W2, W3, or W4 if necessary. And of course, if like numbers start showing up after one kong exposure, you could switch to Q1.

W2a and W2b: a single-suited run of consecutive numbers, with pungs of either N/S or E/W. Remember your math: there are always 14 tiles in a hand, and since six are Winds, the consecutive tiles are presented as pair, pair, kong (in that order). The run can start anywhere from 1-7.

Backup ideas? If you expose both of the Winds but find yourself unable to make the numeric sequence, you might be able to switch to the appropriate W1.

 

W3a and W3b: true Winds and Dragons hands, with kongs of N/S or E/W and pungs of dragons in any two suits. Again, as a pung-kong hand, all components can be exposed and/or use jokers.

Backup ideas? You could switch to a W1 or W4 with one or two Wind exposures, but once you put out a Wind kong and a dragon pung, you’re pretty much locked down, although you might switch to the third suit for the dragon if necessary. If you expose only the two dragon pungs, you could consider Y3 or 369#4, although those are a lot harder to make.

 

W4a and W4b: the “stealth” 2023 hands, pushed over to the Winds section. The key is to remember that the Flowers are the pair, so you need kongs of N/S or E/W to go with the 2023 meld.

Backup ideas? If more dragons come in and you’re having trouble getting the single numbers or pair of Flowers, you can consider W3. If more winds start to come in, switch to W1. The beauty is that neither of those hands require pairs, so your hand cannot be called dead.

 

W5: An interesting hand, with a single North, pair of Easts, pung of Wests and kong of Souths; that’s only ten tiles, so of course you will need a kong of Flowers. This is probably the choice to make if you have both Flowers AND Wind tiles, and you’ve managed to pick up the single North and pair of Easts early on.

Backup idea? There’s only one other option if you expose both the Wests and Souths: W1a. Once you expose a kong of Flowers with either the West pung or the South kong, you are locked into W5 and your hand could go dead.

 

W6: Another true Wind and Dragons hand, with kongs of any two dragons and a pair of N/S and single E/W. Remember that none of the Winds can be called for anything but the final tile.

Backup ideas? There are plenty of hands that use a dragon kong, but once you expose both kongs, your only option would be E5. Fortunately that is a pung/kong hand, so no one can call your hand dead.

 

W7: Another pung extravaganza, with Winds and consecutive numbers in two different suits. Adding up to 14, remember that the only singles are the East and West.

Backup ideas? Since it’s a concealed hand, no one needs to know what you are up to, but if you find that you can’t get the single East and West and have a lot of jokers, you could try Q1, Q3, W1a, or use one of your numbers in W2a.

 

 

369 Section:

**Reminder: There is another 369 hand, SP3.**

369 #1: Very straightforward pung and kong hand, in two suits. The 3’s must be a pung that matches the suit of the kong of 6’s, and the pung of 6’s match the suit of the kong of 9’s.

Backup ideas? Before any exposures are made, you will be fine collecting 369’s of all suits. Any single exposure could be modified into hands all over the card. If you have exposed both melds of suit A but suit B is no longer viable, you could switch to suit C. The only other double exposure that can switch to a different hand, if necessary, is 369 #3, with a pung of 3’s in one suit and a kong of 9’s in a second.

 

369 #2.1: 369 in one suit, with Flowers. It’s all kongs, except for the pair of 6’s.

Best backup hand? Bubbe’s going into her happy dance: the knit hand is back! 369 #6 has kongs of 3 and 9 in one suit, and pungs of 6’s and matching dragons in a second suit. It’s the best hand to choose if the pair of 6’s you need are no longer viable!!  Other backup ideas? 369 #2.1 is the only specifically monochrome 369 hand, but you could consider 369 #4, 369 #5, or 369 #7—or even SP #3-- if the right tiles come your way.

 

369 #2.3: A three-suited version of 2.1, with each number in a different suit. You still need a kong of Flowers, and the pair is still 6’s.

Backup options? With one exposure, you’re fine, there are lots of hands with a kong exposed. If you expose the kong of Flowers and one number kong (the 3 or 9) but the pair of 6s are not viable in suit B, you could flip the remaining suits and switch to a pair of 6s in suit C….or you could change your hand to LN1. If you expose both the kong of 3 and the kong of 9, in two different suits, and the pair of 6s are not available in the third suit….well, your hand is going to be called dead.

 

369 #3: this is a three-suited stair-step hand, with two pairs in suit A, two pungs in suit B, and a kong in suit C. Both the pairs and pungs are 3’s and 6’s, and the kong is 9’s. The best way to start—like most hands in this section--is to hold onto every 3, 6, or 9 that you get in the Charleston and see how it takes shape. Obviously, the pairs are harder to get, so hold tight to the first suit that has natural pairs in the 3 and 6. Ideally it would be TWO suits, so you could easily call for the first pung opportunity.

Backup options? A single exposure of a pung or kong isn’t going to hurt you, but a double exposure of the 3 and 6 pungs only appears in one hand. You’d have to flip to the other suit’s pairs if the original suit’s 3 and 6 pairs don’t work out for you. IF you expose the 3 pung and the 9 kong, you could still go for 369 #1; if you expose the 6 pung and the 9 kong, you could go for CR2.3.

 

369 #4: Lots of pairs in suit A, with complementary pungs of dragons in suits B and C. There’s really no hand like it this year; the closest is E5, but those are dragon kongs. The thing to remember is it is FOUR pairs: 3, 6, 9 and Flowers.

Backup options? The only parts that can be exposed are the two dragon pungs; they also appear in Y3 and WD3, so you wouldn’t necessarily be tied down to this hand. If you start to accumulate more tiles before you expose any dragons, you might switch most easily to 369 #1, which also uses only one suit. If you find the numbers coming up strong, in two suits, you might consider going for SP3.

 

369 #5: single 3, pair of 6s, and pung of 9s in suit A, and then matching kongs of 3, 6, OR 9 in the other two suits.

Backup options? If you have no exposures and keep getting more of the numbers in suit A, consider going for 369 #2a. If you do expose one kong, it should not be a problem to find options all over the card. Even if you have exposed both kongs, LN1 and CR6 are good options. If they are kongs of 6’s, you could also play E2. If they are kongs of 3’s, you could play A3.  If you expose the pung of 9’s and any kong, you’ve given yourself no other option: there is only one such hand on the card.

 

369 #6: The knit hand! Per above, Bubbe is so happy! I just like them, they’re pretty. This time it’s kongs in one suit and pungs in the other, alternating through 3,6,9 and dragon. Just remember that the 6 and dragon are the pungs, so the kongs are the 3 and 9.

Backup options? One exposure is no big deal. If you expose the 3 and 9 kongs, you could manage 369 #2a if you can scrounge up the matching pair of 6’s. If you expose the 6 pung and 9 kong, you could switch to 369 #3 or CR2.2.  On the other hand, be careful with the dragon pung exposure: no matter what your second exposure would be, you would still have to play this hand; likewise, if you expose the 3 kong with the 6 pung.

 

369 #7: Another 4-pung hand. It’s very symmetric: pungs of 3’s and 9’s in two suits, with matching single 6’s. If you are collecting 369’s, it may fall into place for you beautifully.

Backup options? Because it’s a concealed hand, you can afford to wait a little bit before switching around. If literally all the 6’s go out (remember, you only need one, each of two suits), you could still go for LN1 or CR6…or (if you have a LOT of jokers) even Q1!

I think what we’re seeing, which is often true for this section, is how valuable a single or pair of 6’s can be in making or breaking a hand!!

 

SINGLES AND PAIRS section:

**Reminder: NO exposures; NO jokers; the only tile that may be called for is the final mahj tile.**

SP1: It’s essentially a skinnylicious version of O1.1, but with identical runs in two suits. The trick is to remember the pairs are on the ends, with single 357’s between.

Backup options? Obviously if one suit comes in a lot stronger than the other, O1.1 is a great choice—you would already have the pairs you need, on both ends. You also might find that there’s an imbalance between the two suits: if more of the “middle” comes in for suit B, and the “ends” come in for suit A, you could try O7.

 

SP2: A miniature version of so many CR hands, but most specifically CR6, with the two numbers paired in all three suits, plus two Flowers to complete the set of 14 tiles. Pay attention throughout the Charleston, you may have a chance to collect the same numbers in all three suits.

Backup options? If you get a much stronger representation in both numbers but only two of the suits, and/or jokers, strongly consider CR6. If you have significant strength in one number in several suits, consider LN1 or Q1. Keep an eye on multi-suit, multi-number options as well, including A1 and Q2. Finally….if you happen to be collecting 2’s and 3’s and multiple Soaps turn up, then you might consider Y1, Y2, or best of all, SP6!

 

SP3: A miniature 369 hand. It’s got pairs of 3, 6 and 9 in two different suits, plus single matching dragons.

Backup options? If more dragons come in and only one suit’s pairs work out, consider 369 #4. If you find yourself with 9’s of the third suit, consider 369 #3. If the distribution goes a little awry and you can’t get more than one of either 6, and/or you find yourself with some jokers, switch to 369 #7.

 

SP4: A miniature Even hand: single 2 and 4, with pairs of 6 and 8, in two suits; you also need a pair of Flowers to complete the hand.

Backup options? If jokers come along, assess where your strengths are. You could stick with just one suit, e.g. E1 or E3.1, or choose a two-suited hand like E3.2.

 

SP5: The most literal Consecutive Runs hand. It’s seven pairs in one suit, starting at 1, 2, or 3.

Backup options? Again, see where your strengths lie, and pay attention to discards and exposures. If you have more than one joker and are not really hitting the entire number line, and/or a key number is no longer available, you might reconsider and switch to CR2.1, or possibly CR1a or b if the tiles fall that way. CR5.1 might also be an option.

 

SP6: It’s back, just where it should be; three suits of the 2023 meld, supplemented with a pair of Flowers. You REALLY have to pay close attention to discards and exposures. If a second Soap is thrown before you’re ready for it, you’ve got to switch. If any of your numbers becomes unviable, you’ve got to switch. They don’t give 75 cents out randomly, you’ve gotta earn that stack of quarters.

Backup options? Go for any of the “year” hands throughout the card, especially once you’ve got one complete meld. If you have jokers, Y1 or even Y2 might not be too much of a stretch. Another strange option, if the Soaps go out, is mentioned above: is there a chance you could make SP2 with 2’s and 3’s?!

 

 

Whew. That was a lot. I hope this triggered at least a few good ideas for you. I’ll be back soon with illegal exposures (of which there are VERY FEW this year), as well as some other interesting Card info—but the meat of it, section by section, is now available to you. “Go and learn,” as they say.

If you have questions or comments, you can reach me at bubbefischer@gmail.com

Talk to you soon!

 

Bubbe