Greetings and salutations from your schoolmarmish Bubbe, who
wants to talk more about backup hands through real-world examples.
One of the things I love about leading post-beginner mah
jongg classes is seizing on teachable moments. Students need to master the
basics of reading the card, understanding the Charleston, etc, before they can
really learn strategy from one another, and an intermediate class for players
with 6 months to 4 years of experience is sort of my sweet spot for
teaching people. Of course, anyone can continue to learn even at an advanced
stage, and we all love a shortcut or two each year when the new card comes out.
I'm presenting these case studies to my 6-month to
4-year-"olds", but I suspect that veteran players can find something useful
in them as well.
Tale #1: "Like Numbers or....?"
F 257 147 3778 EE
I was dealt a nice collection of 7s: two 7 dots, a 7 crak,
and a 7 bam. I also had two Easts in the deal, and one Flower.
My thoughts immediately went to a couple of options: LN1
(a 4F hand!) and, if single dragons showed up, perhaps LN2 (the concealed triplets), as well as Q1
if I acquired enough jokers. [Remember that Q1 is the LN/N quint:
quints of the same number in two different suits, and a kong of any
specific Wind.]
Sadly, I had started with zero jokers, but held on to the
Easts because, for Bubbe, Hope springs eternal.
My mind was already prepared to accept as many Flowers, 7s,
dragons, and Easts (or perhaps another wind?) as came along during the
Charleston, to see which (if any) of these three hands started to reveal
itself.
During the Charleston I was passed two more 7 dots which
made it very easy to still keep Q1 in the running; I wouldn't need to
have a joker to call for the 7 dot exposure. I also got a second 7 crak which
made it possible to consider LN1, since I now had a natural pair to go
with my kong of 7 dots. Unfortunately I still only had one 7 bam.
Interestingly, I was also passed a soap and a green dragon
during the Charleston, so LN2 was
definitely still in the running. I just needed a red dragon and a second
Flower, as in that hand the single dragons and the pair of Flowers must be
natural. I also had to remember that the hand was concealed, although each of
the triplet 7s could use as many jokers as necessary.
Obviously, without jokers, I wasn't going to be able to
make exposures anyway, so I just picked and threw, hoping that I would pick
tiles that would help me better define one specific hand.
When I picked a red dragon, I held onto it, of course,
since I hadn't made any exposures. I have a new "Bubbeism": all
hands begin as concealed, meaning that until I made a commitment by
calling for an exposure, no one would know what I was playing, including
concealed hands.
Someone threw an East, and as I said, without a joker I
wasn't going to be able to call for that to complete the kong. Jokers were
still few and far between, no one had exposed any and I hadn't picked any, so I
was despairing of ever accomplishing Q1.
Then I picked up a second Flower, and had
FF 7 D 77 D 7777 D EE
This was 11 of the 14 tiles required for LN2 (I had an extra 7 dot). I had to discard
something. The obvious choice was to get rid of one of the Easts, as I still
wanted to keep the kong of 7 dots on the off chance of still making LN1.
Especially if I were to pick up another Flower, I could call for the fourth. It
could be easier to complete an exposed hand than a concealed one.
Of course, this was all theoretical, because with no
jokers I wasn't completing any melds. I couldn't call for things, I
just had to sit and wait for lucky picks. Time ran out on me: someone else made
mah jongg first.
Lesson: It's important to consider backup hands, but
without jokers, you will probably lack the flexibility to win the hand.
Tale #2: "Like Numbers or....?" WITH Jokers
JJJ 144 2 11334 N
This hand already started out much better than the first
one, as I was dealt three (!!) jokers. Remember, on average you're going
to get 2/3 of a joker per deal as well as 2/3 of a Flower. Some hands you won’t
get either, some hands you get one of each, sometimes you get a bonanza!! I
wasn't dealt any Flowers, but I certainly got some nice jokers.
SO many options. There's the possibility of LN1 with
1's or 4's, CR5.3 with "234", or even A1, since the 2 was in
the complementary suit to the 1s.
I decided to focus on either doing LN1 with 1’s or
keep my option open for the A1 hand, because either would be using kongs
of 1’s. The appeal of LN1 was that I would not need a natural pair
of Flowers, but I certainly would for A1.
I passed away my 3s, 4s, and North. By the end of the
Charleston I had
JJJ 113
27 1114 S
The strongest case was there for A1, if I could get
the natural pair of Flowers. Q1 would be harder since I only had
one Wind tile. If I couldn't get a natural pair of Flowers, I would need to get
a kong of them and go for LN1; either way, I most definitely needed to
call for that last 1 dot if and when it was thrown.
My first pick was a Flower, which made me confident that I
could pick up a second one at some point to complete the pair. I committed
(mentally, anyway) to going for the Addition hand.
That mental commitment bore out when someone discarded
a 2 crak, and I used two of my jokers to expose the kong. I knew that when it came time to call for either of the kongs of 1’s, my opponents wouldn't know whether I
was playing CR 5.3 or A1!
Sure enough, someone discarded that last 1 dot and I called
for it. I was fortunate enough to pick up a second Flower, and found myself
"set" with
1111 2JJ2 exposed // FF 11J on my rack
Someone exchanged a 2 crak for one of the jokers and I felt
a little regret about exposing two of them so quickly, but I knew that was the
best way to make the hand—I might never see another 2 crak! Luckily, I picked
up the other 2 crak and exchanged for my own joker to complete mah jongg!
Lesson: If you have some jokers and know the card well, pay
attention. Be ready for opportunities to make decisions.
As you can see, these were very similar scenarios in terms
of having interesting backups and possibilities, but the Jokers made a huge
difference!
We can't control what we're dealt.
We CAN control how we plan and execute.
Luck (like being dealt three jokers!) favors the prepared
mind.
If you have any questions or comments, you can email me at bubbefischer@gmail.com
I always love hearing from you!
Talk to you soon!
Bubbe
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