Article Quick Jump:
Mahjong: A Friendly Game?
The 2 Types of Mahjong Players
Playing With Confidence is Half the Challenge
How to Spot a Mahjong Cheater
How to Calculate Your Potential Wins in Mahjong
The Risks and Rewards of Mahjong
Baseball is appropriately called the great American pastime. Playing Mahjong, then, is the great Asian pastime. Almost every Asian that I know either plays or knows someone that plays Mahjong. When I was growing up in my old apartment on Mott Street in New York City's Chinatown, the sound of Mahjong would fill the air everyday. My parents would have friends and coworkers over at least two or three times a week for an extended game. At the back of my aunt's store on Elizabeth Street, you will always find two or three tables of Mahjong during the weekends. My grandfather is Chairman of the Board for one of Chinatown's oldest and largest Benevolent Associations. It serves as a meeting place where retired immigrants can gather and socialize about current events. And of course, one of their main pastimes is playing Mahjong. On any given day, I could find over fifteen Mahjong games going on at the same time. So it's no coincidence that when I was eight years old, I became a very good Mahjong player.
Mahjong is one of the most challenging and exhilarating games I've ever played. Although the object of the game is to win your hand (Mahjong) before your opponents, there are many decisions that have to be made. Do you try to win a small hand quickly? Or do you try to build a power hand? Every move you make can have a different outcome. Whether you chow or pong can drastically change the results of that hand, not to mention your results for that day. I would much rather play a few rounds of Mahjong than play Nintendo or Game Boy. The outcome of computer games will always be the same because you are playing against a set program. With Mahjong, you are playing against three live, thinking human beings. There are endless styles and strategies in the game of Mahjong. Every hand is different; there is no set way to play. Most players are very defensive oriented and won't take too many chances, but then some will go for the big hands at every opportunity. In order to be a successful Mahjong player, one must be able to adapt to the different style that is being played at your particular table.
Mahjong: A Friendly Game?
Many people say Mahjong is a friendly game that can be played at home with friends and family - but I totally disagree with that notion. How can a game be considered friendly after you lose some money? Consider this: you were invited to a Chinese banquet where tradition dictates that Mahjong be played before the food is served. You play a few rounds, run into some bad luck or an expert player, and you lose $75. Still think it's a friendly game? I didn't think so either. Mahjong is a highly competitive game that requires one to out-think your opponents every step of the way. The moment you let your guard down, you can make a mistake and let you opponents take the momentum away. When that happens, no matter how well you play the rest of the day, you will be one step behind. The end result is that you can lose quite a bit of money. Not friendly at all! As a personal rule, I usually don't play Mahjong after a long day of work, especially on Friday nights. I started keeping a record of my Mahjong wins and losses that date back to 1983. One day I analyzed my play and concluded that most of my bad losses occurred on Friday nights. I soon realized that on most Friday nights, I was totally drained from a full week of work and was not sharp when I sat down to play Mahjong. I would miss important pongs or chows. My focus and my ability to think one step ahead were not there. So, I decided to avoid playing Mahjong on Friday nights. Instead, I would go home, get a full night's sleep and play Mahjong on the weekends. It is no coincidence that some of my biggest wins occurred on Sundays after a full day off on Saturday!
The 2 Types of Mahjong Players
In my opinion, there are two types of Mahjong players. One type is the amateur player. These players mostly play at private residences with the same players on a regular basis. These games are usually held either after work or on weekends. The drawback of playing in these tight knit circles is that you don't have a chance to improve your game against some of the better players. Then there are the more professional players that play in public Mahjong clubs and associations. Many people have a misguided concept of what a public Mahjong club is like. It is not the shady gambling joints you see in many Asian movies! Many are very nice places that provide food and drinks for a small table fee. Usually the fee is determined by the duration and value of the game you are playing. The place that I currently play at employs a cook that used to own a restaurant in Malaysia. For an average table fee of $10, I get a five-course meal that tastes better than some of the restaurants in Chinatown. Of course, all the drinks are on the house too! But most of all, I particularly enjoy the competition of being able to play with some of the best players in town. Two of the best players that I have ever come up against are Mr. Wong and William. What sets them apart from the other players is their tremendous discipline and focus. Their ability to think two or three steps ahead is uncanny. And most of all their confidence in their game never wavers no matter how much they are behind.
Playing With Confidence is Half the Challenge
Just like anything you do in life, confidence plays a huge part in being a successful Mahjong player. I go into every game with a "I dare you to beat me" attitude toward my opponents. I always start with a huge amount of money - maybe ten times more than is necessary, so that when I fall behind, I don't make irrational adjustments to my game. When I do Mahjong, I slam the winning tile down on the table, especially if I win a hand that is 4 points or above. Many people get intimidated when I do that. But it is exactly how I want my opponents to feel. Over the years, I have gained a reputation as one of the best players at several Mahjong clubs in Chinatown. Psychologically, I win most games even before we play a single hand. I can sense the fear in many of my opponents because they are not confident they can beat me. Conversely, I am intimidated when I play against top players like William and Mr. Wong. Maybe that's why they usually get the best of me whenever we meet.
How to Spot a Mahjong Cheater
There is a Chinese saying that you can usually judge the character of a person by the way they play Mahjong. After twenty years of playing, I totally agree with that saying. Most of the players I've met are professional and honest players. Unfortunately, I have also run into some cheats. To me, there is nothing more dishonorable than cheating. There are many ways to cheat. One of the most popular ways to cheat is to stack the cards in your favor. How is that done? When a hand is finished, all the tiles on the table must be flipped over and mixed thoroughly. But the cheater only flips over important tiles such as flowers and dragons, and doesn't really mix them that well. He would then stack all of those tiles in front of him. When the dice is thrown, he would know exactly who has what tiles so his chances of losing on a discard is minimized. This provides him with a huge advantage! What are the signs that this is happening? Usually, someone that is using this method of cheating will always be the first one to finish stacking the tiles. Also, he would win huge, improbable hands consistently. Here is the tricky part: sometimes a player can get lucky and win improbable hands too, so you don't want to accuse someone of cheating just because they are lucky that day. But if that player wins those types of hands for several days in a row, most likely something is wrong. A way to defeat this type of a cheater tactfully is to thoroughly mix the tiles at the end of each hand. How do you do this? When the hand is over, quickly grab the exposed dragons and flowers tiles and flip them over. Mix then thoroughly. Most cheaters will get the hint you are on to them. They will either stop cheating or make up an excuse to end the game early. One last thing about cheaters: they exist everywhere. They are not limited to public Mahjong clubs and associations. I have exposed many cheaters at so-called friendly home games too!
How to Calculate Your Potential Wins in Mahjong
The current and most popular style of Mahjong being played in New York is the 13 tiles Cantonese style (the 16 tiles Taiwanese version is also gaining popularity). In the twenty years that I've played the 13 cards style, the game has evolved quite a bit. In the early 1980s when a player Mahjongs from another player's discard, that player would have to pay double the amount that the other two players are required to pay. For example, based on a $50 value game, if I won a hand that is worth 4 points, the player that discarded my winning tile would have to pay me $16 and the other two players will have to pay me $8 each, for a total of $32. But in many games now, the player that discards the winning tile is responsible for paying the entire amount. So with the above example, she will have to pay $32 to the player with the winning hand. The other two will pay nothing. This new rule came about because many players felt that it was unfair that they had to pay for another player's mistake. Personally, I really like this way of playing. If you limit your mistakes, you can play many hands without having to pay the winner unless they win the hand directly from the stack.
The Risks and Rewards of Mahjong
Game values have also changed throughout the years. When I first started playing Mahjong, the three most popular game values were $25, $50 and $100. Each winning hand is assigned a point value based on how the winning hand was built. In the $50 dollar game described earlier, a 1 point winning hand is worth a total of $4. Two points is worth $8. Three points is worth $16. Four, five and six points are worth $32, and most games have a maximum point count of seven, which is worth $64. If you were playing in a $100 value game, all of those prices would be doubled. In a $25 game, those prices would be cut in half. In the past five years or so, a new and somewhat simpler point value system has emerged. Here is how it works: Before a game is started, all four players will decide how much each point will be worth. Usually, it will be worth $5, $8 or $10 a point, with a maximum of seven points per hand. If I'm playing at a $5/point table and win a hand for four points, I will be paid $20 by the player who discarded the winning tile. The other two players don't have to pay unless I Mahjong from the stack. Herein lies the risk/reward decision. If I Mahjong from someone's discard, I will only win $20. If I take a chance and try to win my hand from the stack, I can potentially win $75, because it's worth an extra point and all three players must pay you! But by taking a chance and waiting, I will give my opponents an opportunity to Mahjong before me. I may end up with nothing or worse yet, I might even have to pay for discarding a winning tile!
