Thought Experiment

Greetings and salutations from your tile-loving Bubbe who has finally emerged from the kitchen after a week of Passover cooking, happily reporting that her loved ones survived a week without REAL bread.

I did get to play a lot of online games (my favorite version is Real Mah Jongg)--I am loving the new "scorecard" feature where statistics are available for review, showing my winning hands and wall games. I seem to get wall games about half as often as a victory--sometimes tying is a triumph, in itself, so I can't complain. Of course, I have no idea how many TOTAL games I've played.

I have gravitated to a few sections of the card. Of my 54 wins to date, I had 23 (43%) divided almost equally between Evens (7), Odds (7), and Winds (9), but a total of 22 (41%) just in the Consecutive Runs section!! On the other hand, I seem to be avoiding and/or not succeeding in some areas: one Quint and one 369 victory so far, and NO Singles and Pairs wins yet.

Usually I have a sense of where I am headed by the end of the Charleston, between two or three different hands, but I'm open to changing if my tiles show me something new. Of course, sometimes what I'm dealt, and what I have at the end of the Charleston, is total dreck (garbage). I haven't a clue what direction to take. For instance, what would you do with this beginning deal:

                       2357 3568 12368 W  

No strongest suit; almost the same number of evens as odds. No Flowers, no pairs, no dragons, no jokers. I showed it to my friend Bobbi, who said, "My friend would say you have a dog from every village."  

It reminded me of a contest I ran a few years ago, for "the worst hand you can think of". Most of them resembled the one I showed, above. 

It occurred to me that I should try a new thought experiment about those worst hands. After all, even if you're dealt absolute garbage, there are 152 tiles in a set. There are 99 tiles still in the walls, and I get to pick as many as 25 of them...right? Maybe I'll suddenly collect great tiles, maybe a bad hand can be salvaged.

Most of you have seen how I sometimes keep statistics at tournaments: how many Flowers and Jokers I was dealt, what I thought I was playing at the end of the Charleston, what I ended up playing, how many Flowers and Jokers I had, and whether it won.

This time, since I'm limited to online games, I'm going to take a time series of screen shots: what I was dealt, what it looked like at the end of the Charleston, what I ended up playing, whether it won or even "walled". I want to see examples of all kinds of things: village dogs and hands I figure "can't miss," and everything in between. I'll be writing about a few of them next week, wish me luck!

As usual, if you have questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me at bubbefischer@gmail.com

Enjoy the Spring weather!!

Bubbe 

 

 

 

Spring Renewal and Tile Talk

Holiday greetings and Spring salutations from your festive Bubbe on this multi-celebrational weekend!

Spring is a time for rebirth, for blossoming hope and the fertile growth of ideas. Certainly the new NMJL card itself gives fodder for innovative strategies, and sometimes fresh opportunities even come across our path...if only we're brave enough to try them!

Last month, I wrote an extremely fond recollection of Fern Bernstein. Since 2021, Fern had been the first person I would discuss the card with, on her podcast, "Mah Jongg Mondays." She was my trial audience, my sounding board for all of my crazy ideas and mnemonics. Sadly, Fern passed in September of 2025, and as the 2026 card debut approached, I was particularly missing my friend, wondering about how to cope with her absence. I decided that my article would to coincide with the first Monday after the new card came out, in her honor, but I definitely knew I would miss our give and take.

Fortunately, another dear friend, Johni Levine--founder of the "Mah Jongg, That's It!" Facebook group--had me in mind. She was contacted by a fledgling podcast, Tile Talk, created after Fern's passing, that was looking for a guest with whom they could discuss the new card! Johni asked if I would be willing, and passed my name and contact info on to its two co-hosts, Christina Nonni and Elizabeth Wallace. (Note: They always have a male mahj "civilian" in the studio with them, an engineer who sits in on the discussion and asks occasional questions, but the lineup has varied from session to session)

Christina and I had a great introductory phone chat. I was a little bit thrown off to hear that she wanted our recording to be on VIDEO as well as audio. Bubbe would have to brush her hair for this, whereas Fern and I recorded audio, only, sitting around in our pajamas... but I was still excited to connect with people who take the game as seriously as I do!

Through the miracle of technology I was able to record our interview from my house in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Christina and Elizabeth recorded from where they reside, in Northern Florida. I will hereafter refer to them as my Tile Talk Gals (TTG's).

The podcast was taped earlier this week, and I certainly had a great time. I hope you will take some time to listen to it (or even watch, as soon as I get the link up!!). The TTG's are younger than I am, and it gave me fresh perspective on a new generation of mah jongg players. They came up with some great, sometimes unconventional or unexpected, questions--and I look forward to talking with them again soon!

Give it a try, and check out their previous recordings, too. Let me know what you think about their podcast (including the special announcement at the end for Tile Talk listeners)... You can always reach me at bubbefischer@gmail.com 

 

Talk to you soon!!

 

Bubbe 

Count On Bubbe

 

Greetings and salutations from your reliable Bubbe, with hand selection advice you can count on (or, for the grammarians, “upon which you can count”).

Whenever I sit down to play, there's at least one game that makes me think, “THIS is is a teachable moment.” Today's happened during an online game. I took a screenshot so that I could come back to it and give you my two cents. Especially for beginning players, I think this is going to be really, really useful advice.

I've heard many people talk about how to decide between two hands. Some say, “Count the tiles toward each of the hands you're considering. Which of the hands already has the most tiles?”

Well, as I learned, that's not the whole story. First of all, the lesson that even Bubbe sometimes forgets is “don't commit until you have the pairs!”

 

So, Game 1: I had pairs of 2s and a matching dragon in each suit, and decided I would go for LN2. Jokers and other 2s were slow in coming, but I picked up a second Green dragon and a Flower. I completed the 2 kong in craks on my rack (unexposed), and decided, “What the heck, let me just keep the Greens and wait for that last Flower.” To anyone who's counting the tiles, you can see that there were 11 tiles towards either LN2 OR LN3

                        2222 D 22 D 22 D... FD   (LN2)

                        F 2222 22 22 DD .... DD  (LN3)

I threw out the Red and the Soap. I exchanged for a joker and was ready to call for the second kong in either suit, when a 2 dot was thrown. There I was with an exposed kong of 2 dots, while concealed on my rack were a Flower, pairs of 2 bams and Green dragons, plus a kong of 2 craks. I was patiently waiting for that last Flower. 

I didn't pick any more Flowers, and no one discarded one. We had a wall game.

Now you might say, “Obviously people weren't going to throw Flowers,” but I might have picked one, there were eight of them.

I threw away the single Red dragon and Soap that had offered a clear shot to LN2. For those of you who thought maybe I was just being ambitious/wanted more points, I just checked again: there really was NO financial reason to go for LN3, it paid the same as LN2 even though it required three pairs!! [Note: some people would say three singles are as hard to get as three pairs, but I disagree, as you only need one of each. Pairs are harder!] I guess I just thought the Greens looked cute together...?

 

Well,"Don't commit before you have the pairs" is a lesson that can never be said too often. But what I really want to talk about is more of this “count your tiles” concept, vis-a-vis deciding which hand to play.

In Game #2, I had a great deal. I mean, GREAT. I started with two jokers and two Flowers. Understand that you average 2/3 of a joker and 2/3 of a Flower with each deal. Sometimes you get none of either, sometimes you get one of each, sometimes you get two of one and none of the other. On average, over time, you'll have 2/3 of each of them in each of your deals. Getting two of each is quite the bonanza!

Well, the Charleston was equally positive. I ended up holding onto even number tiles and dragons, plus received a third Flower. [Obviously bots aren't as smart as people when it comes to Charlestons]

The hand was

                        FFF 888 22 8 D D JJ 

and I was trying to decide between E4 and LN1. One advantage I had was knowing that if an 8 crak came out, I should definitely call it. It was required for either of the two hands, so that was a very easy decision.

As to counting the tiles: there were nine tiles toward either of the two hands, and this time NEITHER needed pairs. You might call it a tossup.

 

                            22 DJ 888 DJ    FFF 8  (E4)                        

                         FFFJJ 888 8    22 D D  (LN1)

 

With three Flowers and two jokers, that sextet was calling out to me: “here's your chance!” but there's a very important old adage, “Don't fall in love with your tiles.”

Looking at it more pragmatically, how close was I to *completing* each hand? What did I need to complete each of the melds?

As we've ascertained, those 8 craks were just waiting for their long lost sibling to be thrown, so that I could expose that kong. That would be the same for either hand, so not part of my calculation.

As for the rest of LN1, yes, another joker or another Flower would complete the sextet, but I only had one 8 dot….that kong was at least two tiles away. You could say, “Use the two jokers as soon as the 8 dot comes out, to complete that kong….” but that leaves me with only three of the six necessary Flowers; I would need some combination of two more jokers and/or Flowers to be able to call the sextet.

 But E4? I could use one joker to call for each of the dragon pungs when tiles were thrown, just like I was ready to call the 8 crak kong–I just needed either a 2 dot or a joker–*just ONE tile*–and I'd be ready for that last meld. Sounded much more attainable, so I went with E4.

As it turned out, I picked a second Soap, so I didn't need to use my joker when a third Soap was thrown. One joker was used to call for the kong of 2 dots, the other to call for the pung of Red dragons.

 

Of course, in order to attain this hand, I needed to throw out all my Flowers. This is where “don't fall in love with your tiles” comes in. E4 didn't use ANY Flowers, which seemed like a shame. On the other hand, Flowers were very sought-after on this year's card so in theory, perhaps I might be able to exchange for a joker or two (see the brilliant Tom Sloper's explanation of Joker Bait). In fact, nobody called for my Flowers. Nevertheless, I did achieve victory.

 

So what have we learned? It's not just the number of tiles themselves, because in both of these scenarios, the two options had the same number.

There are other things to consider, including

* Is either hand missing singles or pairs?

* How many melds are close / are you “on call”?

* What are you going to have to discard? Is it something that one of your opponents obviously needs? Could it be joker bait, or are you throwing out the winning tile?

Re. the third question, you may need to get rid of some of your favorite tiles in order to win, but ultimately that decision is up to you. Do you want to win, or do you want to look at your pretty tiles? You can play it the way you want. HOWEVER, if it's absolutely obvious what an opponent needs, and you choose to throw it to them, understand that everyone else at the table will be furious. "You can't mahj second," and giving away the winning tile is definitely not great strategy. Better to have a wall game, breaking up your own hand so that no one wins.

There's always another game in a few minutes--don't be disappointed that you won't win every hand.

 

As ever, feel free to contact me at Bubbefischer@gmail.com. I've gotten some really fun emails lately! I like to hear about how you're doing with the new card. Tell me if what I'm teaching has helped at all, and which hands you seem to be gravitating towards.

 

Talk to you soon!

 

Bubbe

From Bubbe's Bag of Tricks

Greetings and salutations from your wiped-out Bubbe--I worked pretty hard on those articles!

I've earned myself a break, so I'm going to offer a hint for how to improve YOUR game--by linking to one of my favorite older pieces. Obviously it has nothing to do with the 2026 card, per se, but strategy is strategy! Maybe you'll learn a few tricks!

Bluffing and/or deception is a key component of Bubbe's game. I'll devote a new article to it, another day, but for now enjoy some ancient history!

As ever, you can reach out to me at bubbefischer@gmail.com . Maybe you want to share a story about your favorite bluff!!

Talk to you soon!

Bubbe

Switching to Backup Hands--When, Why, How?

Greetings and salutations from your detail-focused Bubbe, ready to talk even MORE about backup hands. 

Last week, when I went over the three panels of the card, I offered you backup options for almost every hand. I recommend looking over those suggestions, every few weeks. It never hurts to think about these concepts. You stay focused on possibilities and get yourself ready for what could actually happen during a game. Remember, luck favors the prepared mind!!

The answer to that first question, then--when do you need a backup hand?--is every game. That doesn't mean you'll have to use it, it's just good to consider it. Even if there is a hand that fits for your tiles, you should have a second (or even third) hand in mind in case of several specific situations. 

This is the answer to the second question: why do you need these hands, why would you switch? The GOOD situations include suddenly picking useful tiles: completing a pair, or drawing additional jokers, Flowers, dragons, etc.--tiles that open up more possibilities for you, either to achieve mah jongg more quickly through an "easier" hand, or (if you're like Bubbe and love a challenge) perhaps make you eligible for a more interesting and/or higher-scoring hand. Another Bubbe saying is, "Life's too short to play boring mah jongg hands"--if you find yourself with three Soaps and a bunch of 2's and 6's, maybe this IS your time to go for the Big Hand!!

The BAD situation, of course, is when your current plan is no longer viable. An example from the new card: you thought you were going for LN2, with single dragons in each of the three suits, but someone else exposed a jokerless kong of Green dragons. Sure, you could stoically just keep playing that hand, even though it won't win--especially if there are only ten or so tiles left in the wall--but if it's early enough in the game, you can switch your hand and still possibly pull out a victory! I will also add that sometimes just stopping the other players, and coming to a draw/Wall game, is a victory in its own way, especially at a tournament. One of my favorite examples is this game, from a long time ago at a tournament at the Kalahari in Wisconsin. 

So we know when you should consider a backup hand, and we know why you would switch to that hand. These are things you can consider in advance--preparing, if you will, by imagining scenarios or playing with bots, or reading old articles of mine...all sorts of ways to think about switching, before you've even sat down at the table!

Then, suddenly, you are faced with either the good or bad situation. How are you going to switch? If you've made an exposure, you'll have to live with it; the new hand must incorporate it. If you've made two or more exposures, it could be a lot tougher to find a good fit. Remember, if your hand goes dead/is no longer viable, you do NOT announce it--it's for others to figure out, and question you. And it's the HAND that is dead, not the player!!

But what if you've got a good situation? Simple example: you pick a joker, or are able to exchange for one. Unless you were going for a Singles and Pairs hand, it has become a lot easier to make your current plan....but maybe you do want to switch to something else. Per the above, at worst you would make the current one faster than originally planned. There may be something more interesting to switch to, e.g. you can suddenly go for a Quint hand, or although you were originally hoping to draw a second Flower, you now have the opportunity to easily switch to a hand with a pung of Flowers. There are all sorts of possibilities, and it helps to consider what would be a good switch for you. Look at the card after the Charleston and think about what hands might work for your tiles--both with what you have, and in a best case scenario, where a pair gets completed or another dragon, or a Flower, or a joker comes in.

The most important thing to remember if you do switch hands is to make sure you have all the details in mind. Remember that this year there are a bunch of pung-pung-kong-kong hands, but they aren't ALL in that specific order. Double check before making any exposures; it's a bit tricky. It never hurts to familiarize yourself with the different hands, especially ones you don't play often. And never be so brazen as to think that you don't need to have your card at the table!!

I truly believe switching is one of the most important skills to have if you want to be a more advanced player. I keep statistics when I go to tournaments (playing 48 or more hands in less than 48 hours gives you a lot of data!). I write down how many jokers and Flowers I am dealt; at the end of the Charleston, I write down what hand I think I will play. At the end of the game, I write down how many jokers and Flowers I ended up with, what hand I ended up playing, and whether I won. I have found that I switched my hand literally 50% of the time, from Charleston to final tile. And a slight majority of my winners were on switched hands!!

Finally, I absolutely recommend reading my old articles from previous years. Obviously the hands change, but the strategies themselves do not!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at bubbefischer@gmail.com ; I love hearing from you!

More exciting mahj talk to come....

Bubbe

Fern

 

Greetings and salutations from a Bubbe full of memories of a very special person: it's the first Monday since the new card came out, so I can't think of a better day to talk about Fern Bernstein. 

Some of you knew Fern personally, or if you've ever heard her podcast, "Mah Jongg Mondays," or read her book of the same name, you feel like you knew her. She passed away too soon, in fact six months ago today--September 23, 2025--from a rare cancer that she fought valiantly for several years. 

That's the end of the story, but I want to tell you more about the "before times," and what Fern meant to me. 

I went back over my notes and found the first DM we had--New Year's Day, 2019, after she wrote a post about her project in the Facebook group, Mah Jongg, That's It!  Fern was writing a book about the bonds she and her friends had created through their Monday mah jongg group. Although it wasn't yet published, the topic struck a chord with me and I wanted to reach out to her.

I've done a lecture for many years about "The Psychological Benefits of Mah Jongg," focusing on the cognitive, emotional, and social benefits of the game. MJM obviously focused on the social: Fern talks about how uplifting it was for everyone at the table to share their feelings and stressors, and support one another. It was a perfect illustration of how important mah jongg is as a social event, and I wanted to give her my full support.

"Fern, I don't know how far along your book is....if you would like me to read a draft and provide a blurb on the back, would be happy to...then again, you and your publisher might have bigger names lined up. Lmk if I can help."

I'm so glad she responded. She followed up with a phone call that turned into more phone calls, a transcript for me to read, my giving her feedback, a decision to meet up in New York City to talk in person....and, to quote Rick Blaine in "Casablanca," the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Fern was kind of a little sister to me, vis-a-vis publishing--having been through it myself, and knowing what a fertile topic she'd chosen, I knew it would be a success. I loved her natural writing style, which showed off her optimistic and caring personality, and wanted to help her reach her target audience.

If you haven't read the book yet, you should. One of the main topics, other than the friendships she formed, was a story line about how much she went through supporting her husband, Len (yes, Leonard Bernstein!) through his own medical struggles. Fern had lost her mother very young, and she was the main caregiver for her aging father. As optimistic and cheerful as she was, she hadn't had an easy life.

The book was a tremendous success. Film rights were even discussed! It was only one of the many things going on in her life, along with caring for Len and their three sons; Fern was also a Religious School teacher and yoga instructor. 

I should also mention that she was gorgeous. Incredible blue, almost violet, eyes. A brilliant smile. Lovely complexion. Just a stunning girl. When I spoke about her to my daughter, I kidded around, always using the Boston "R" like SNL's Rachel Dratch, calling her "Fehn Behnstein"--never just "Fern." When my daughter finally saw a photo of her, she said, "Mom, you never told me she was so pretty!!" Well, she was.

The funny thing is, Fern and I only met twice in person. The first time, in early Summer 2019, we met up at the Italian restaurant at Macy's, Herald Square. Fern had come in on the LIRR, and I took NJ Transit. Penn Station was only a few steps away. We had a great time, talking about mah jongg (of course), but also our books, our friends, our families. We really were on the same wavelength, and I was so glad we got a chance to actually meet.

The second time I saw Fern was in November, 2019, when she surprised me at a speaking gig out in Holtsville, Long Island. I was not expecting her, I'm not even sure how she heard about it. She said she enjoyed my lecture, and we sat and chatted for awhile after everyone else had gone. She had big travel plans for her own lecture tour, but we figured we'd be meeting up again soon.

As you know, fate intervened. COVID ruined any major touring Fern would have, not to mention her not wanting to be too far away from Len and the boys. I had to limit my travel and exposure, too, as I was taking care of my ailing mom.

Then Fern had the brilliant idea of starting up a podcast. She ended up recording dozens of them, with guests talking about all sorts of topics--some directly related to mah jongg, some only tangentially. She invited me on her show, every Spring, to go over Bubbe's analysis of the new card. She would pitch me a few softballs and I'd just start yakking. Of course, we'd have a much more personal chat before we began the recording, but sometimes we'd slip up and start talking about our lives in the middle of the podcast. I thought her engineer would delete that part, but often Fern wanted to keep it in!! I still get feedback from people saying, "I loved those podcasts, it was like I was listening to two friends chat about the card." Well, you were.

Fern started working on a second book that she ultimately published, "Staunch," about the two Edies (mother and daughter) of Grey Gardens, a decaying mansion out in East Hampton, Long Island. Fern and Len bought their own little waterfront cottage on Long Island. The boys were thriving.  They even got a dog. Despite the pandemic, things were going beautifully. 

Then Fern started feeling unwell. She finally got a diagnosis and started a series of procedures and treatments at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Some had positive results, others less so. She was really on a roller coaster, but she kept her spirits up and continued to go out to the beach house, and record the podcast, as often as she could. 

Some of you may remember an article I wrote back in late March, 2024, about the importance of friends in mah jongg. I particularly cited two people: a former student and friend of mine who had recently passed away, and also Fern and how she was both a good friend and a tremendous asset to the mah jongg community. I have lost several loved ones to cancer, and knew enough to see where her illness was headed: Fern was not going to have a long life. I consciously included Fern in the article to let out some of my anticipatory grief. 

Fern continued to keep up her spirits as best she could. Mah jongg friends, yoga friends, just FERN friends sent her cards and gifts; I sent her little tsatskes to make her smile. Her friends on Long Island were fantastically supportive, doing things for her and her family; her doctors were the best in the world.   

I used to text Fern late at night because I knew she wasn't sleeping well. I didn't want to interrupt her or make her speak if she didn't have much energy, but we sometimes texted well after midnight. She continued taking trips (some planned, some emergency) to the hospital. When she started talking about multiple transfusions, I knew things were going downhill faster. 

Before she ran out of time and energy, Fern hosted a total of 98 podcasts. I wish it had been a hundred, I wish it had been a thousand. 

When Fern ultimately passed, her funeral was packed full of friends and family. There was even a simulcast so that those who could not travel could still "attend" and pay their respects. 

Fern had a curious mind and loved her life. She was warm, genuine, and enthusiastic about the things and people who mattered to her--and that was pretty much everyone she knew. I can't think of anyone who ever had a mean thing to say about her. I still think about her all the time. It probably sounds like I miss my friend very much. Well, I do.

 

Karen 

Illegal Exposures 2026

Greetings and salutations from your jurisprudent Bubbe, writing today about illegal exposures on the 2026 card.

There are a number of reasons why this is an important topic. First of all, you need to know what the specific illegal exposures are so you, yourself, don't make them. Second of all, they might help you defend by being able to identify an opponent's dead hand–in a separate article I'll talk about why you may or may not want to announce that situation, but you should still be able to identify it. Third of all, as you might remember from my descriptions of the three panels of the card, knowing which combinations are illegal will help you to remember the actual components of various hands. 

Let's first identify them. 

No single tile, meld of single units (e.g. NEWS, 2026, 369, 2468, etc.) or pair can be exposed. You can call the final tile for mah jongg, but not before that.

In addition, the following specific, unique melds do not appear on the 2026 card, so any such exposure would be illegal:

Kong of Flowers

Quint of Flowers

Quint of Dragons

Quint of Winds

I ordinarily don't need to talk about sextets at all, but there is of course only one legal sextet this year: Flowers.

The most significant finding about this is about the kongs of Flowers, because that has to do with how hands are made. Whenever you're playing a pung/kong hand, if it involves Flowers, those are going to be pungs. 

 

Also important is to recognize situations where a second or third exposure is illegal. You must figure out your own proper exposures so that you are making the hand you intend; it's also important to determine what your opponents are playing so that you can play defensively and/or call their hand dead if you so choose.

What double exposures are illegal? 

Pungs of Like Numbers: these only occur in concealed hands (E8, CR8, O8)

Winds of the same size as their non-partner: for instance, there are never exposures of the same number of Norths and Easts, or South and Wests. Per above, NEWS and/or pairs are not exposures!

A kong of dragons and a kong of numbers–also, there's only one very specific situation where a pung of dragons and a pung of numbers can be exposed: Y1, with a pung of 2s and a pong of soaps (000). O9 is a concealed hand.

One way to remember this is that except for Y1, number and dragon exposures are an either/or situation: exposures can either be kongs of numbers and pungs of dragons, or pungs of numbers and kongs of dragons, but never both the same size. Even Q3 follows this rule: two quints of numbers and a kong of dragons!!

Pungs of Winds only appear with kongs of like numbers; kongs of Winds don't appear with exposures of numbers.

Sextets of flowers only occur with two number kongs.

As I mentioned, the more you know about the rules of this year's card, the easier it is to remember certain hands. All hands have to use 14 tiles.

I’ll reiterate: 

*there are never four Flowers

*The only quints are numbers 

*The only sextets are Flowers

*Exposed Wind “partners” are the same size 

*Except for Y1, you never expose melds of numbers and dragons of the same size

*Never expose pungs of like numbers

If you have any questions or comments (and I figure some of you will!) you can email me at Bubbefischer@gmail.com.

More articles to follow! Talk to you soon! 

Bubbe