Tag Archives: Jokerless

JOKERLESS HANDS ABOUND!

This past Monday I had a full afternoon of Mah Jongg – and what fun it was. But something unusual happened that I rarely see – I had two Jokerless hand and one other player also had a Jokerless hand. I found it unusual to have three of those money-making hands in one afternoon – it definitely was a big money day!

If the photos don’t show up, go to www.mahjonggandme.com.

Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 6.44.31 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 6.44.15 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 6.43.59 PM

MAH JONGG WEDNESDAY!

I made it back from Florida just in time for Mah Jongg Wednesday at S2’s apartment. I have so much to tell all of you about my trip to Florida but that will have to wait for a couple of days while I sort out all of the photos, etc. Suffice it to say that I had an amazing time, met amazing people, and told Charlotte about a million times how very amazing she is! How did I get so lucky to have a friend like her? Photos and a good posting about my adventures in Florida to follow soon. Until then, there were some good hands played today at our weekly game, including a Jokerless hand for me – first time ever!

Lunch was absolutely perfect for a snowy, slushy, wintery day – spicy chili and polenta with lots of choices of yummy cheeses.

First game of the day and I happily declared Mah Jongg with a Jokerless Consecutive Run hand of 55 66 777 888 9999…as I wrote above, the first time ever for me! Very exciting!!

IMG_2743

S2 was next with this 13579 hand of 111 3333 333 5555.

IMG_2744

My turn again  with another Consecutive Run of FFFF 6666 7777 DD.

IMG_2745

J came through with the same Consecutive Run hand but with different numbers and suits to form FFFF 7777 8888 DD.

IMG_2746

K’s turn next with a great 2014 hand of FFFF DDD 2014 DDD

IMG_2747

The next two wins belong to J, first with a Consecutive Run of 111 2222 333 4444.

IMG_2749

And then another Consecutive Run of 555 6666 777 8888.

IMG_2750

Second to last hand and I won with yet another Consecutive Run hand (it seems that Consecutive Run hands were the thing to do today): FFFF 3333 4444 DD

IMG_2751

And the last hand of the day belonged to K with a 369 hand of 333 666 6666 9999.

IMG_2752

PLEASE CHIME IN…

Gladys Grad, the Grand Master of American Mah Jongg, included me in what turned out to be a very lively email discussion regarding a question that had been posed to her. I promised Gladys that I would post the question on my blog and now I am asking for your opinions on this. Can’t wait to hear from you!

3MKeeper_0847

Hi, How would you rule in this situation?  Player A is set for Mahj, waiting for a 5 Bam.  Player A has two 5 Bams in her hand and a Joker.  Player A wants to self-pick her Mahj.  A 5 Bam  is thrown. Instead of calling Mahj, Player A calls for the 5 Bam and exposes it with one 5 Bam, a Joker, and the 5 Bam  picked up from the table.  With that action it is the  beginning of Player A’s turn. Now….Player A takes the  remaining 5 Bam from her hand and exchanges it with the  exposed Joker on her rack and calls Mahj. Is it a self-picked Mahj??? Does it matter that the exchange happens in her own hand? I know if she exchanges a tile from another player’s hand to get the Joker then it would be a self-picked Mahj. Does the same rule exist when it is her own hand? Thanks for your opinion.  P.S. Player A CHOSE not to call Mahj (just as some players would possibly throw the Joker to try for a Jokerless hand). Interesting dilemma….what do you guys think?

MAH JONGG WEDNESDAY

As I wrote yesterday, K hosted the OM’s Wednesday Mah Jongg game this week. She had a fabulous lunch but first take a look at the beautiful table that greeted us:

IMG_2159

K had just returned from a family wedding in Michigan and, as she said, she was in “wedding mode,” hence the all white table setting.  Continue reading →

PICKY, PICKY, PICKY – OR IS IT?

A JOKERLESS HAND!

Gladys Grad, the Grand Master of American-style Mah Jongg tournaments, has some new Q&A’s in her latest newsletter. Here’s an interesting one and I’d like to hear back from you as to whether or not you think Miriam’s friend was being picky or just following the table rules…

 Q.  I made the jokerless hand today of 3 sets of consecutive numbers (FF1122 1122 1122).  One of our “table rules” is to announce when we make a hand without jokers.  In this case, I didn’t announce it as this was an obvious “jokerless hand.”  I was paid $1.00 since I picked my mahj tile.  My friend said I should have announced it!  Was that necessary?  Miriam

A. You have initiated a “house rule” in your own game that “you must announce when you make a jokeless hand.”  Perhaps, your opponent was being a little picky about the details of your “house rule.”  However, unless you were all in agreement and specific about the “terms” of your “house rules,” you really can’t expect everyone to be in agreement when an issue arises….especially one that doesn’t appear on the back of the NMJL Card.

In a tournament, you are well advised to clarify the hand that you played, and to announce the score you are entitled to receive.  That way, when your score is verified and initialed by the person across from you, you all know your score is correct.  Or sometimes, we need a little deeper insight into the obvious.