Figuring it out

Greetings and salutations from your driven Bubbe, on a mission to help you improve your game!

The past two articles were groundwork in order to show you the most powerful benefit of 4F. When I talked about DEDUCTION, I mentioned that the word has several meanings. The first one I referred to was “subtraction.” Each 4F pattern is really a (14-4) tile pattern; each can be broken down into components adding up to 10 tiles. Think about each for a moment.

·       Which was 5+5?

·       Which were 4+2+4?

·       Which was 4+1+1+4?

·       Which was (1+1+1+1)+3+3?

·       Which were 2+2+3+3?

·       Which was 1+2+3+4?

 

Deduction also has a second meaning. I wrote,

There’s also the logic-related term, meaning “the inference of particular instances by reference to a general law or principle”. In other words, the solving of a puzzle based on other established facts.

That other meaning of “deduction,” inference, is the real value of understanding 4F. Our established fact on this year's card is that there is only one 4F hand in each section; that means, when you’re trying to differentiate or decipher other hands in a section, you will know that they do NOT have a 4F.

 

I’ll give you the example of that perennial favorite hand involving Flowers, consecutive numbers, and dragons. Although there was one magical year when it was all pungs and kongs, it has usually been three kongs and a pair. Some years that pair is the dragons, some years it’s the Flowers. It can be really frustrating to remember what the current pattern is.

Consider some of the established facts Bubbe has given you for the 2023 card:

·       Every hand has 14 tiles

·       This hand has Flowers, two consecutive numbers, and dragons in the same suit

·       The only legal Flower combinations this year are pairs and kongs

·       The only 4F hand in CR involves five components, including two pairs and two pungs

From these facts, we know that this hand is not the 4F hand for the CR section, so it must use a PAIR of Flowers. If the Flowers are a pair, the other three melds for this hand have to add up to (14-2) = 12 tiles. That means all three non-Flower melds are kongs.

Sure, it’s a bit of backwards logic to suss out exactly what the hand is, but just puzzling it out strengthens the association in your mind. You have figured out for yourself why it has to be a kong of two consecutive numbers and a kong of dragons; it’s because the Flowers are a pair.

 

Let’s try another. You are considering going for the Addition Hand rather than Like Numbers, but you can’t remember how many Flowers you will need. Is it a pair or a kong?

Bubbe already told you that the only two sections of this year’s card with NO 4Fs are Addition and Singles and Pairs. That means that the Addition hands use a pair of Flowers, and the three number melds, in separate suits, are all kongs.

 

A third example. You’ve got a kong of 2 craks, a kong of 3 bams, and a Soap among your tiles—with no exposures!!--but someone just exposed a pung of 2 dots. There’s no way for you to make Y2 without two single 2 dots.

“I’ve got a pair of Flowers and some jokers, though. What are my options?” you think to yourself. “There’s a consecutive runs Junk hand, with three kongs in a row in different suits….there’s a Quint hand with two consecutive, different-suited numbers. Is that the one with the Wind kong or the Flower kong?”

Well, if you remember your list of 4Fs, you’d know they go with the consecutive quints. **A useful mnemonic to differentiate the two "two Quint" hands, Q1 and Q3: the “N” (representing ANY Wind) kong goes with the LN quints**

 

Bubbe feels strongly that you can improve your game by preparing, based on the adage, “Luck favors the prepared mind.” The better prepared you are, by knowing the hands on the card, the easier it will be for you to make a good choice when opportunities fall in your lap. Whether it’s by learning how to defend against other hands, or to know when and how to switch your hand, or just being more aggressive and taking chances, I’m here to help you prepare and be the best player you can be!

Feel free to email questions or comments to me at bubbefischer@gmail.com

Talk to you soon.

Bubbe