December 29, 2006
Jenn's Corner #3
Well, it is my last column for the year and it's a long one! Garthe and I are finishing up 2006 in Las Vegas! We are checking out the Poker scene and scouting possible future environments for our life's work in progress, Mahjong.
I would like to use this week to talk about Mahjong Parlors ('jansou') in Japan. There are parlors in other countries as well, but it is definitely an entirely different culture in Japan. It can be compared to card rooms in the US.
Imagine a dark, smoke-filled room holding a few strange perfectly square-shaped tables topped with green. Four people with visible tattoos and greasy hair sit in the middle of the room with cigarettes hanging from their lips, an audience of 7 or 8 scary-looking fellows gathered around and a wad of cash on 2 tables. Sound like a place you wanna visit?
If it is, you are out of luck. The type of place I just described only exists in Japanese comic books. While they are sometimes smokey, many Mahjong Parlors in Japan are clean, brightly lit with low stakes that are highly regulated. Despite operating through loopholes of the law, I always feel safe in Mahjong Parlors.
Finding a parlor in Tokyo, and most other parts of Japan, is a piece of cake. But how do you choose the right one? How do you know what the rate is? What do you do if you don't know anyone there? How much money should you prepare for bad days? What if you can't speak Japanese? A lot to think about, but keep in mind, gambling in a foreign country, especially a country where gambling is illegal, is not a bad thing to be cautious about.
So let's start from the beginning. First, find a place. If you have a friend willing to go, it's is definitely OK to go to a parlor in pairs. Three people is a little tricky, I wouldn't recommend going in a trio unless you plan to play a 3-player game. It is much better to get a fourth and rent a table for yourself. So let's concentrate on casino-style Mahjong. In Japan it's called "Free Mahjong", meaning that you are not tied down to your own friends and are 'free' to play with others. I made that definition up... Anyone know the original meaning?
Moving along, there are many advertisements in the Kindai Mahjong comic biweekly and also signs for most Mahjong Parlors on the buildings in which they reside. Many parlors nowadays have websites. Sometime's you will see Mahjong Tiles on the sign or in the advertisement. These are explaining the rate. The tiles used are dots. The first one is the amount of money per 1000 points. The second is the bonus for the second-place winner and the third is the extra bonus for the first-place winner. Three 5's on the sign is advertising the use of red 5's.
Next, let's walk in. Casino-style Mahjong Parlors have a place to sit while you wait. Sit down and wait to be approached by a Member (staff). They will get you a drink, a towel and explain the rules used in play. If there is a card-system, they will accept your deposit and exchange some cash for house-cards used like chips in a casino. They will take your first game fee out of the deposit. There are many places with subtle house rules, but most parlors stick to the same basics when it comes to play and scoring, so let's get those out first. Some places play for cash and only take your first game fee.
Almost all Mahjong Parlors have a starting score of 25,000 and a return of 30,000. Think of the 5,000 point difference as a buy-in pot that the 1st-place winner keeps at the end. In addition, there is always a bonus or 'Horse' for the 1st and 2nd-place winners paid for by the 3rd and 4th place losers. Unlike the JPML A-rules, there are rarely 3rd-place winners in casino-style Mahjong. A normal Horse is 1-2 or 1-3, meaning that the 2nd place winner will get an extra 10,000 points and the 1st-place winner will get an extra 20,000 or 30,000 points. Most Parlors round a non-dealer's 7700 point hand win to 8000 and a dealer's 11,600 win to 12,000. Most parlors use 3 or 4 red tiles, usually one of each 5 and sometimes 2 red 5 of dots. Sometimes one of the 5 of dots will be gold instead of red. Red and gold 5's always count the same as a Drag (lucky dragon), giving you one extra hand point for each hand won. In addition, there is a monetary bonus for using red and gold 5's.
So let's talk rates. The most common rates when playing casino-style in Tokyo are Point 3, Point 5 and 1. This explains the amount awarded for each 1,000 points you have over 30,000 at the end of the game. Point 3 is 30 yen, Point 5 is 50 yen and 1 is 100 yen. Point 5 is a very comfortable rate for both beginners and seasoned players so let's use it as an example.
At your average Point 5 Mahjong parlor, the 'horse' is going to be 10,000 points and 20,000 points. The prize for red 5's will be 100 yen each. Often there is also a 100 yen bonus for pushing someone else under 0 points (also ending the game) and a 1000-1500 yen bonus for winning a Super Hand (limit hand). So the final score and payout would look like this.
The totals are often rounded to the nearest hundred. As you can see, just for getting first place you get a 2000 yen bonus. The game fee usually costs 300-400 yen. So for a Point 5 game, take 10,000 yen with you and plan for 4 games. If you win you can keep going and if you lose, well, think of it as a cheap lesson fee. Also, since the first-place score is often counted last, the rounding errors get saved up into the first-place person's score. That's why the rounded score is 54 instead of 55.
There are also Mahjong Parlors that offer rate-less games just for fun and even Costume Parlors that feature girls in maid, cat and other costumes while they play with you! Check out our 'Parlors' section under the 'Play' menu for Mahjong Parlors in Tokyo. It's not ready yet, but we should have some up in January!
5 comments:
Interesting column, Jenn!
In regards to the small monetary reward for the lucky Red Fives (100yen), is the external money exchange done immediately in cash or in special chips (not scoring sticks) after the game?
On my PS2 game "Maajan Taikai 3", they have "Ura Dora shou" (Internal Dora bonus), "Ippatsu shou" (Instant Riichi win bonus), and "Yakuman shou" (Quad Limit hand bonus). And each special Chip is worth 5000 points I think on top of the final scoring calculations. For example "Ippatsu Shou" is 2 Chips from each person if you win by Tsumo (self draw).
Do many mahjong parlours use these bonuses? I am also curious about the card system. I see on some Japanese websites (including Twin Red's), and they give you other "Special Points" e.g. for visiting the parlour 3 times, introducing a friend etc. What sort of things could these special points be spent on?
Thanks in advance.
Btw, I was surprised that you said Ten Go (0.5 gambling rate) is very comfortable for beginners. I would've gone for No-Rate (no gambling) or Ten San (0.3). But I'm guessing playing mahjong at a parlour is still better value than other activities, e.g. Karaoke/Pachinko?!
Hey John,
I hope you had a great holiday!
The money for the Red Fives, Instant Win, and Hidden Drags (Ura-dora) are all 100 yen in Point 5 games and are all given right away when the win happens. In a 1 Point game, the bonus would be 500 yen and so on.
When I mentioned the card system, I was actually referring to a different way to exchange cash. Because gambling is technically illegal in Japan, many parlors use cards instead of cash, much in the way that a casino uses chips.
There are also membership cards that you can accumulate stamps for. The stamp-cards, however are really different depending on the parlor. Some give you a cash prize after accumulating a certain amount, some give you small gifts like key-chains, etc.
When I go out gambling anywhere, I usually figure that if I lose, depending on the game, that amount is either my entertainment fee (blackjack, slot machines, etc.) or my lesson fee (mahjong, poker). In Japan, 2,500yen doesn't hold as much value as in other places and a night on the town usually costs more than that. Also, it is true that people improve much faster when there is cash at stake.
I also play Point 3 sometimes and Tournaments that we participate in are all no-rate with prizes for only the first 3 or 4 placers. Point 5 is usually the general wager when setting up a private game and the most popular at parlors. We're lucky though, 1 Point used to be the most popular amount!
Jenn, thank you for your reply, and I'm sorry I forgot to greet you, so a belated "Happy New Year" to you.
I forgot about the gambling being "illegal" (Horse Races are ok?!) in Japan. They also had a Pachinko situation where you can secretly exchange the balls for cash next to the main building, or something I heard.
I would shudder at the thought of gambling at Pin (1.0) or higher, too risky for me. If I ever visit Japan for holiday, I'd probably aim for a minimal daily budget of 5000 yen which is hard...
John,
Happy New Year to you too!
If you win everyday your budget could be 10,000 yen! hehe
The horse races I'm not sure how they get around, but the pachinko and slot machines are a very clever loophole.
At pachinko and slots you win cartridges or prizes. If you opt for the cartridges, you can sell them to the TUC shop. So technically, you are not gambling for money. It's a thin line huh?
Come to Japan soon! You will be welcome!
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