Gemma's Journal #10

April 30, 2007

Gemma's Journal #10

A note from Jenn: This entry was supposed to be up a few days ago, but while in Vegas I had some technical difficulties. I'm back in Tokyo again, quite possibly for good. Stay tuned for more on-time updates!

Ok, so I'm hoping that everyone got what happened in the last post. I'm still not entirely sure of the whole scoring system myself so any encouragement is much appreciated! I'm hoping that the people I teach Mahjong to in Taiwan have been reading these too. Everytime I tell them how much a hand is worth they're completely incredulous and think I'm just making numbers up on the spot. Now I can prove to them that there is some logic in the seemingly random numbers I come up with!

So, you have your base points now hopefully! Where are we going to go from there?
You need your hand points! Garthe has been going through the hands and what each is worth, so hopefully you have a good idea how many hand points each hand is worth already. We then have to look at a chart (well beginners have to look at a chart and those of us who's brains are too tired from having to work out the base points already). The easiest thing that I have found is just learning the chart, although Jenn has kindly explained the whole thing to me. I did find it a lot easier to just pull the numbers from my memory than try and work the whole thing out mathematically each time. Also if you're not a genius then it's pretty difficult to work it out quick enough in a real game.

All the tables were automatic and quite frightening to the uninitiated. It took me a little while to get used to all the buttons and what they did; although it does speed up the process so much. I really appreciated not having to build the wall manually and not having to count the bones (They're counted automatically for you by magnets). So now I've decided that my new aim is to have one in my house (I have to get a house big enough for one first!).

I'm not going to swamp you with the entire chart now. I'm just going to give you the ones that are going to be the most useful (also seemingly the most random- if you can memorise these two charts the rest is a breeze!). Then, next week I'll give you the rest.

Non-Dealer

Top number is when won off a discard (one person pays). Brackets are for a self-drawn win- first number is what the non-dealers pay out and the second number is that which the dealer pays out (the bigger one!)

Hand Points -> Base Points	1	2	3
30	1000 (300/500)	2000 (500/1000)	3900 (1000/2000)
40	1300 (400/700)	2600 (700/1300)	5200 (1300/2600)
50	1600 (400/800)	3200 (800/1600)	6400 (1600/3200)

Dealer

Top number is when won off a discard (one person pays). Bottom number is what each player pays the dealer for a self-drawn win.

Hand Points -> Base Points	1	2	3
30	1500 (500)	2900 (1000)	5800 (2000)
40	2000 (700)	3900 (1300)	7700 (2600)
50	2400 (800)	4800 (1600)	9600 (3200)

At 4 hand points everything gets a lot simpler and base points cease to matter!

Non-dealer

4-5: 8000 (2000/4000)

6-7: 12000 (3000/6000)

8-10: 16000 (4000/8000)

11-: 24000 (6000/12000)

Full points (Limit Hand): 32000 (8000/16000)

Dealer

4-5: 12000 (4000)

6-7: 18000 (6000)

8-10: 24000 (8000)

11-: 36000 (12000)

Full points (Limit Hand): 48000 (16000)

So after three hand points things get a lot easier! So I would just remember that for the time being and those are the most common points to score.

However, one last annoying thing is that there is a different chart for All-pairs and Peace hand.

Non-Dealer

Hand Points -> Base Points	1	2	3	4
Peace	1000	2000 (400/700)	3900 (700/1300)	7700 (1300/2600)
All-Pairs		1600 (400/800)	3200 (800/1600)	6400 (1600/3200)

Dealer

Hand Points -> Base Points	1	2	3	4
Peace	1500	2900 (700)	5800 (1300)	11600 (3900)
All-Pairs		2400 (800)	4800 (1600)	9600 (3200)

After the 4 hand points it just starts to follow the 5 hand point values which makes things a lot better!

Put off now? I think I am! This is possibly not the most ideal way of explaining or teaching it so I think I might try it out on the people here and see if we can come up with a better way of explaining the whole thing. Next column I'll try and work through some examples and also post up the remaining charts for base points over 50. You'll have all the materials you need for scoring then and hopefully with a few examples the entire ordeal will be a lot clearer!

I took all the numbers for the charts from a book so if there are any mistakes I blame them, or my transcribing! Either way please post up so I can rectify the problem.

Finally, I shall leave you with a question. Why does Peace hand and All-pairs not follow the scoring system that uses the base points? I'll demand an answer from one of our pros if no one else knows!

Good luck going through these charts! And remember the best way to learn is practice! Set yourself questions, or even better make up a question and post it up here and have us all look at it and argue over it. You lot are probably helping me more than the other way round anyway!
Thank you for reading this far! Until next week!

And as usual every week I love to get emails and now that I'm home I have lots of time! So email me!

In Garthe's Hands #10

April 15, 2007

In Garthe's Hands #10

Greetings from Vegas!! I'm working! And studying, compliments of Jenn, Kirk (poker buddy) and the rest of the Poker community at Bellagio and the MGM Grand. I have to say that in case any of you thought I was just out here fooling around. Unfortunately, work isn't paying so well this time around, but there are still some more work days ahead so we'll have to see. I'm always intrigued when I can make comparisons between ways to play things in Poker and Mahjong. I just hope all this Poker doesn't take me out of the zone when I'm playing Mahjong, I've been doing so well lately. Ha!

Last time I wrote, I promised the next hands you would see out of me would not be very useful, but maybe I'll put that off for another week. Before we delve into total obscurity, how about a couple hands that might actually still figure into your Mahjong futures? I've only given one column to limit hands so far so let me introduce another one that does come up sometimes along with its little brother.

Little Dragons: 4 Hand Points (2 for Little Dragons, 1 for each set of 3 Dragons)

Let's start off with Little Dragons. I've only seen it a few times, and have yet to see it on Fight Club, but when it hits, it can be a nice payoff. Called Shosangen in Japanese, it's worth two points whether or not any tiles have been bumped or chowed. One qualifies for this hand by getting 2 triples of any of the 3 Dragons and a head consisting of the third Dragon. The other two groups in the hand can be any runs or triples of any suit or honor tile. Because each of the Dragons will always count for a hand point, the hand will always be at least a 4 hand point hand. One of the ways to make it count for more is to mix in the Half Flush. This shouldn't be too difficult as more than half the hand is already given over to Honor tiles anyway. If the remaining two groups are the same suit or are honor tiles, it bumps the hand up to 6 hand points for a score of at least 12000/18000 points. However, the best way to get the most bang for your Dragon's buck is to go for this hand's big brother: Big Dragons.

Big Dragons: Limit Hand

The difference between Small Dragons and Big Dragons is all about one tile, but that one little tile makes all the difference in the world. While the Little version is just two of the triples, the Big version is triples of all three of the dragons. This is another limit hand (like 13 Orphans or 4 Concealed Triples) which means we'll get the most points possible no matter what else is in the hand, 32,000/48,000 points. Again, the remaining two groups can be any kind of run or triple. There's no restriction against bumping or chowing and indeed, it would be pretty difficult to assemble triples of all three dragons without at least one bump. And once that second Dragon has been bumped, suddenly everyone will be extremely wary of discarding any of the last remaining dragons. That last one will almost certainly need to be drawn though there are situations where it will sometimes come out, most notably when a player has reached and must discard anything that is not his winning (or a quad-able) tile. It is a sick feeling to have reached and then see someone bump the second dragon, especially if none of the third remaining dragons are on the table.

Because the Little version is so close to the large version, it's always a quandary deciding whether to go out on the cheap or go for the glory with the Big. It's not an issue if one has somehow managed to get to ready with triples of all three in the hand through bumping or even just drawing. However, the vast majority of the time, at least one or usually two of the dragons will have been bumped and our hero's ready hand will be waiting with two pairs, one of them being the last remaining dragon, and the other being some unrelated non-glorious nothing. If the nothing comes out first, what...do...you...do? Well, there are a lot of f>actors to consider: what everyone's scores are the moment, how early in the hand it is, whether or not someone has reached or stolen tiles so he seems close to going out, etc. Also sometimes people and Mahjong parlors play with an extra reward for finishing a limit hand, so that might also figure into the mix when deciding whether or not to continue trying for the limit hand even after a cheaper winning tile has come out. It's an extremely rare hand, of course, it's a limit hand! But it will spice up the game once in a while, even if someone only manages to finish with the Little version.

Here are some examples

Little Dragons ex.1

Let's say this is a river-win. Just the two value tiles (the White Dragon and Red Dragon), and Little Dragons for a total of 8000/12000 points. (Note that if the Blue Dragon was drawn or bumped, 8 of Dots or 9 of Dots could be discarded for a single tile wait and a chance at Big Dragons and a glorious earth shattering win)

Little Dragons ex.2

Blue Dragon, Red Dragon, Half Flush (concealed), 3 Concealed Triples, and Little Dragons for a total of 16000/24000 points

Big Dragons ex.1

Big Dragons, 32000/48000 points, no matter how you slice it. (You may notice that this hand is also actually a Mixed Outside hand, but it's already a limit hand so the point is MOOOOT)

Jenn's Corner #11

April 10, 2007

Jenn's Corner #11

Hello everyone! It's Jenn. I got tired of waiting for Garthe to write his column (he is currently in the US, working on some other stuff), so I will take his place and post his next column. I know you would rather read about me anyway (^.^)

So the new Mahjong year has started and there is a lot to look forward to this month! First of all, JPML's first League session of the year took place this past weekend and I finished in the black with 7.9 points, putting me in a tie for 31st place out of 71, so just 4 more sessions to stay ahead of the game if I want to move up a league next season. Garthe had to miss the first session and take a penalty, so he is in the red right now...

The first game I did horribly. I was not concentrating properly; I was playing my hands badly and worse, reading the board badly. I took a few minutes after the first game to reflect on my play and I was able to regroup and take 1st place in the next 2 games. I took a negative 2nd place in the 4th game, but it was enough to have the highest score at my table. About 20 people or so will move up from D2 to D1 this season, so if I can keep my composure for the rest of the season, I really do think that I have a chance this time!

The JPML League has 9 levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, C3, D1, and D2. Almost everyone starts at D2 and has to work their way up. You can only move up once each season for leagues B1-D2 and once a year for the A leagues. There are 2 seasons of 5 months each year. Garthe and I, starting last year, are still in D2 League. By normal routes, you can see that the quickest anyone could make it to A1 and a chance at winning the Phoenix Cup is 5 or 6 years. That's a long time for a good player to wait and not have any bad days... But, this year JPML announced a new special league to allow young players to move up faster, making the playing field more fair and competitive based on good performance.

JPML's Special Advancement League invites players under the age of 40 who have participated in JPML's 4 big tournaments (Pro League, Masters, 10-Tier and OUI) to fight for a spot in a higher League if they have: moved up one league by their own ability in the previous season, made it to the final table in Champion's League, got 1st or 2nd place in the annual Rookie Tourney, won the Pro Queen Tourney, made it to the final table in Masters, 10-Tier or OUI tournaments, or place first in a regional league. In addition, they must end in the black for the current League season and may not miss any League sessions for the current season.


It is a strict set of conditions, but for a chance to move up 5 levels or so it seems a small price to pay and many people are participating. So yes, I will also work to move up this season so that next season I might fight for a chance to up my status the "easy" way.

One of the biggest news items this month is that JPML tournaments are now all non-smoking. Or so it may seem... Actually, players currently involved in a game and spectators must refrain from smoking. Players in between games and players at tables that are finished with games are allowed to smoke to their hearts' content, so the parlor still ends up smoky. But, if a player wants to smoke between games, they must get permission from the other players at the table. I personally ask them to go outside (nicely of course)...

Also, Mahjong Fight Club 6 is finally in arcades all over Japan! You can check out the website (in Japanese) here and see pictures of Garthe and I here. The new version has added a Competition Rules option, so now players can play a more skill-based game using JPML's A-Rules. Just like the Pro League except for the dealer has to win a hand to continue as dealer and cannot continue if he has a Ready hand on a draw.

The Ron2 translation is coming along. Garthe and I are doing our part and are working hard with the administrator to get a game to you as soon as possible! I can't wait to see you all there!!

Now, I have to get ready for my own trip to Vegas to teach Mahjong and also work on my poker skills. If anyone will be in the Vegas area in the next 2 weeks, send me an e-mail and Garthe and I will be happy to set up a time to play Mahjong together!!

Now, just for kicks, here is a hand that I had during the 3rd game on Sunday:

The Drag is 8 of Bams. What would you discard and why? Also, after you discarded, what tiles would you be waiting for? As dealer, how many points is your hand worth on a river win? How about a self-draw? Do you think this hand is worth Reaching in a game with no First-turn win, Quad Drags or Hidden Drag bonuses?

To post comments to this column, click here.

Gemma's Journal #9

April 3, 2007

Gemma's Journal #9

Here it is, the first part of the series of entries on scoring that I've been putting off writing! This will probably go quite slowly for those already acquainted with the art of scoring in Japanese Mahjong. As you know, though, my entries have always been aimed for beginners by a complete beginner. I'm expecting that I'll make lots of mistakes over the next few weeks so I'll be expecting you experienced ones out there to be correcting me and cheering all the newbies on!

Scoring... once you've finally managed to commit all the hands to memory (I have to admit having a card in front of you with the hands on like they do in America does sound a little appealing from a beginners point of view!) scoring really is a bit of a kick in the teeth! I'm not going to lie but you're going to have to get memorising some more. There are a lot of points handed out for different things, I think it looks quite daunting but we can make it together! Good Luck everyone!

There are two kinds of points in Mahjong.

Hand points - the points associated with hands that Garthe has been introducing to us:



Base points - the points that you gather in other ways for having sets, certain waits, etc.



Base points is where I want to begin explaining. So how do you obtain these base points?

Mahjong

First things first, you get 20 points for going out. You then get an additional 10 points if you Mahjong off someone else's discard if your hand is concealed, to make 30 points. If you draw the winning tile yourself (concealed or not) you get 2 points, for 22.

Sets

32 points for a concealed quad of 1 , 9 or honor tiles

16 points for a concealed quad of 2 - 8



16 points for an open quad of 1-9 or honor tiles

8 points for an open quad of 2-8



8 points for a closed set of 1-9 or honor tiles

4 points for a closed set of 2-8



4 points for an open set of 1-9 or honor tiles

2 points for an open set of 2-8

Head

Head made of value tiles is 2 points

Anything else... 0 points!

Wait

Double sided wait = 0 points

Waiting to complete a set, e.g. 44 88 = 0 points

Middle wait e.g. 57 = 2 points

End wait e.g. 12 = 2 points

Waiting for the head = 2 points

It's not too horrific! I mean, sure, you have to memorise a lot, but at least they're all even! Imagine if it had been multiples of three! (you wouldn't think I had an A-level in Maths!)

Best way to memorise it though is, as always, practice! So with that here are some more puzzles for you. I want you to try and count up the base points. Perhaps I'll post up some more, later in the week, if I can get enough replies.

Self-Drawn

River Win (taken from another's discard)

East-Round

East Seat

River Win (taken from another's discard

And as usual every week I love to get emails and now that I'm home I have lots of time! So email me!

To post comments to this column, click here.