American Mah Jongg Lesson Fundamentals 9 Phase I The Charleston (mock card)
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
- Mah jongg is the 4-player Chinese tile game that took America by storm in the 1920s. A hand of American mah jongg is divided into two phases, Phase I is The Charleston. The purpose of the Charleston phase of the game is to gather tiles that strengthen your starting position. The first Charleston is compulsory where you get 3 tiles at one time in 3 passes - that's 9 tiles! The second Charleston is optional. While it is true that the second Charleston can be stopped no questions asked, it can improve your position exponentially if you continue. Those 9 tiles can make or break your position going into the pick and discard phase of the game. In this video, I act as each player and demonstrate the process of the Charleston. Videos that demonstrate strategy will be in the next playlist.
Mock American Mah Jongg card goo.gl/MqqaUb
The mock American Mah Jongg card is timeless and generic. This way, no matter when someone new to the game watches the video, they will have a stable reference as they learn how to play the game.
The content in the handouts have been included in my Amazon Kindle American Mah Jongg Primer books: www.amazon.com...
The content in the handouts have been included in my Amazon Kindle American Mah Jongg Primer books: www.amazon.com...
NMJL website: www.nationalmah...
Below is an index of videos covering the fundamentals:
Introduction for Teachers goo.gl/d1SYii
Introduction for Players goo.gl/wGVQLu
The Tiles goo.gl/LfbSzs
Block Modeling goo.gl/DWioGm
Suit Modeling goo.gl/b76hU3
Reading the Card goo.gl/LT8kCP
Category Modeling goo.gl/vNYZZR
Charleston Modeling goo.gl/Qi7EpP
Shuffle up and Deal goo.gl/heqNSM
Phase 1 The Charleston goo.gl/27JkC5
Phase 2 Pick and Discard goo.gl/mo34Zd
Phase 2 How to Exchange a Joker bit.ly/2ocJhzf
The next playlist covers skill builders goo.gl/3TQAsM
~~~
I pour passion, time, and resources into the Mahj Life UA-cam channel, Facebook group, and website which are free of charge to all viewers since their inception. My goal is to provide content that is educational, enriching, and entertaining. My mission is to help you learn fast so you can play hard. If you find this content of value, consider showing your support in the following ways:
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Between now and the next video, may all your picks be keepers!
Michele Frizzell
Instructor, Author, Speaker
michele@mahjlife.com
6175 Hickory Flat Hwy Ste 110-335
Canton, GA 30115
The mock American Mah Jongg card is timeless and generic. This way, no matter when someone new to the game watches the video, they will have a stable reference as they learn how to play the game. To open or download the mock-American Mah Jongg card, look for a link in the video description by clicking "show more" above.
Super❤
You are the best teacher! Thank you!
This is the most helpful and amazing video!!! I can't imagine how long it took you to film it. Thank you so much, Michele! This yime, I stopped the video to see what I would do. I got about 50%.
As choosing a hand is the most difficult part for this beginner it would be much more helpful if we could see the tiles up close while you are discussing options. thanks.
I get as close as I can with my current equipment with this particular type of video. Other videos will have a zoomed in approach. Next Sunday I will be releasing a play list of skill builders that focus on the Charleston and I zoom into the tiles. What device are you using to view the videos?
This video is so helpful. It’s like having a personal teacher! Thanks.
Thank you, Eunice and it's my pleasure :)
The video on Dealing was excellent! Thanks. Just starting on watching the video on Charleston... Got a headache, lol, but will prevail. It's a lot to take in, but very helpful. Thanks so much
Up till now I've been jumping around watching your videos. Yesterday I started watching this series and it has been most helpful.. I'm fairly new and the people we play with can play very well..but, just because you can play doesn't mean you can "teach"... Seems so simple yet so distant until now.. Pick a Catagory first...I've been focusing on a Hand ever since being introduced. Also.. the blind pass...that was never told to me and we only pass RCL & an optional across.. The second Charleston proves you can build your hand with those nine more tiles before the game begins. Thank you for your time.
Overland Transportation System welcome to the game! I can’t wait to hear what you think about the other lesson Playlists 🤓
Excellant instruction!!❤
Very good video on building and hand and looking at options.
Thanks! Just like playing at the category level. having options gives you flexibility. When you run out of discards, whittle down your options :)
Michele Frizzell Makes good sense.
Wish you would go around table counterclockwise exactly but understand you’re doing this for the camera angle
When EAST is pushing out their wall (after the break) I noticed you just "push out" with your hands. I've been told that we need to use our rack or "helping hand" (pusher) so as to not touch the tiles. I like your approach better. Any comment on this? I was told EAST is not to touch the tiles because it's a gambling game. It seems unnecessarily complicated to me, but, thought I'd ask. Thank you, Your videos are helpful and you are so practical in your teaching,
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement :) If your group has established a practice of using the rack to push out tiles, by all means use your rack but there is not a rule governing how to push out the walls. In my opinion, it's a matter of comfort and convenience.
A consecutive run can use a joker for a missing number? Then the run are not unique tiles?
You can use any number of jokers in any block of three or more identical tiles (i.e., pung, kong).
Thank you!
Great job; my wife is teaching me and your videos are a terrific help to both of us. Question: Are you doing video on your own or do your have a video person working the camera? Reason I'm asking is that not only is Mahjohn my new hobby (thanks to you & my wife) but also photography & video is my hobby. Once again, I'm (wifey too) learning so much from you. Thanks!
Hi Lyle, welcome to the game! Occasionally, my husband (IT professional) and son (gaming streamer) help me with technical trouble but, other than that, I do everything by myself. Research, study, trial, error, and process improvement are a way of life for creators. I'm in it to win it!
You look amazing in glasses
When you say collect tiles for the category until you run out of discards, do you collect any tile, in any suit, for the category you are working on, or only tiles of multiples that you already have for that category
During the Charleston, gather all the tiles that can be used in your chosen category based on the strength of your hand. Don't focus on the numbers or suits, just gather. If you're playing in Consecutive Run, pick a 4-number range around your multiple. When you you run out of discards, whittle down your options or pick a hand to free up tiles as needed to finish the Charleston.
Thanks!
Also, do you have some sort of "practice" whereby we just are dealt a hand and practice trying to come up with the best category to go for? Secondly, in one of the earlier videos, you mentioned a few of the categories that best lend themselves to being almost paired up as optional to go for (because they both have such similarity ... that early on, you can go for one or the other, but they relate so much that you could almost go for either one). I don't remember which categories you said match up best.
The next playlist in the American Mah Jongg Lesson is called Skill Builders which includes ways to practice decision making. I highly recommend that you watch all the videos in this playlist before moving onto the next one. There will be a link to it in the last video in the Fundamentals playlist but here it is for your convenience: ua-cam.com/play/PLLk097vMqukbjbiLUszY6ks3UFTke11z-.html
There are categories on the card that "tandem" well depending on the tiles in your hand. For example, they Year category and the Wind-Dragon category share some of the same tiles. Another example is the Consecutive Run category and either the Evens or Odds category depending on the gaps in your sequence (i.e., gap leaves evens, or gap leaves odds).
In this lesson (9), I think it would be very helpful if, for each player's hand, you had captions to remind the viewer of which category that player is going for. When we are new to this game, the viewing time you allow in this video is not sufficient to look at all the tiles, check the card, and determine which category. (Yes, we can pause the video, but even then it would be helpful for you to caption each player's hand as to what they are going for).
Thanks for the feedback. I added you suggestion to my pipeline.
@@MAHJLIFE I just want to say that I was about to add the same suggestion. I found this lesson very hard to track. As you want from player to player, it would have helped to review what category the player was in, and, as a result, WHY new tiles were kept or passed.
It's also hard to understand your explanations of strategy when you leave the view of the rack as you explain why you pass what. Also helpful would be for you to identify on the Mock card which hands you're considering.
Thanks so much for these tips. Did you have a link for your mock card?
The link to the mock card is in the video description. Here it is for convenience: goo.gl/MqqaUb
@@MAHJLIFE thanks so much I can’t seem to down load it so I’ll just stitch together my screen shots.
Please send me an email mail and I’ll attach it in reply michele@mahjlife.com
Is it a courtesy to wait until all players have slid their three tiles to the right before anyone looks at their new tiles?
Players don't need to wait to look at their tiles until all players have completed their pass with one exception with the 2nd left because a player can stop the optional Charleston. At this point, someone should ask, "is everyone ok to do the 2nd left?". It is courteous to wait for players to accept their passes before passing again or there could be a traffic jam.
@@MAHJLIFE Thanks Michele. I did get that about waiting for the second left Charleston until everyone agreed. I suggested your videos to my friends and at least four of us are going to learn with you. I've watched all ten of the American videos but I didn't see any place where you discussed the scoring aspect and the use of those round coins with the square hole. Did I miss it?
@@naturesmagic8430 I talk about the values of hands in Reading The card at 31:32. Most groups play a penny a point and use nickles, dimes, and quarters. The rules written are on the back of the NMJL card, first panel at the bottom next to "Scoring" and "Bonus".
On the back of the card, it says that the courtesy pass after the first and second Charleston is possible. But in the rule booklet, it says it’s only possible after the second Charleston. I played with a woman who did a courtesy after the first and second Charleston. But I noticed you only did it after the second. What do you suggest? Do some rules become preferred house rules?
The Charleston is a pre-game activity that allows players to improve their dealt hand. It consists of two rounds of passing with a final "courtesy pass" (i.e., optional across pass). The first round is compulsory with three tiles to the right, three tiles across, and three tiles to the left (players may pass up to three tiles blind in this pass). The second round is optional so at this point, any player can stop the second round no questions asked. If someone stops the Charleston, all may participate in the final "courtesy pass" (i.e., optional across pass). If all players agree to do the second round, they continue the process with three tiles to the left, three tiles across, and three tiles to the right (players may pass up to three tiles blind in this pass). Once underway, a round must be completed. The Charleston ends with a final "courtesy pass" (i.e., optional across pass) with players negotiating a pass of up to three tiles with the opposite player.
Can you "call" a discarded tile to make block of RED Dragons? Example I have 3 red dragons in my hand and a red dragon was discarded. Can I call it and add it to my hand exposing the 4 red dragons? I know you said some discarded tiles can't be called to add to the tiles in your hand. You have to draw them yourself. I get confused on this.
You can call a discard it complete a block of three or more identical tiles. The blocks that cannot be completed with a discard are those with singles or pairs (o.e., 2023, NEWS) unless you are ready to win.
Is the numbers on Flowers used for Years? I see a 1,2,3,4. Can they be used for 2024?
The numbers on the flowers are not used in American mah jongg. When you see an F on the card, any flower will do :)
Why would you choose a blind pass of 3 tiles, as opposed to simply looking at the tiles and then passing them?
It is called a blind pass. You are not allowed to look at them. You would do this if you don't want to give up tiles already in your hand.
Why do you never discard Flower tiles? What’s special or perilous about them.
In my opinion, Flowers are the most valuable tiles in American Mah Jongg because 27 of the 64 hands require Flowers, that's 40% of the hands on the card for 2021.
This is why I pass Flowers rarely - maybe once on a game-day. I think passing flowers is equal in risk of passing Like Numbers. Both of those I see as one step down from passing a pair which should be a last resort if I'm one or two tiles from being ready to win during the Charleston.
Dragons are valuable too - consider them as a close second to Flowers. There are only three Dragons in the set and most of the categories on the card have at least two hands with Dragons so they can be a hot commodity! There are two or more hands with Dragons in every category except Singles-Pairs and Like Numbers has one and Quints has none.
During the Charleston I tend to keep White Dragons in particular because they have a dual purpose - they are used as a Dragon and they are used as zeros for any Year hand. If I have suited tiles (i.e., Dots, Bams, Cracks) that I don’t need, I try to pass those with Winds if I have them and don’t need them before I will pass a White Dragon. Here is the priority I use when considering tiles to pass:
1) A different numbered tile from each suit
2) A single Wind or Red/Green Dragon with mixed numbered and mixed suited tiles
3) All the same category
4) All the same suit
5) White Dragons or Flowers (pass rarely)
6) Like Numbers or Pairs (pass as last resort)
On the Charleston is the last right a blind pass?
Yes, but it is optional. In other words, on the first left and last right, players have the option of passing up to three tiles blind.
Eat soup with noodles?
Eat Soup With Noodles would make sense too. My mom taught me how to play and she always said East Soup With Nuts.
What is a knitted hand?
The term "knitted" has been adopted from Western Mah Jongg which is played in Great Britain. It means that a set has an alternating relationship with another set. An example of a knitted hand on the 2019 card is 369 #3 where the convention is Kong Pung Kong Pung and the Pung of Dragons must correspond to the middle Pung of numbered tiles.
2-4-6-8-news???? Where?
2468 NEWS is the concealed hand under the Evens category on the mock card. The mock American mah jongg card was created to be timeless so these videos will never expire. Any lessons learned are transferable to any card for any year. If you haven't already downloaded it, the link for the card is in the video description.
im very new at this. Why don't you like to pass flowers?
In my opinion, Flowers are the most valuable tiles in the set next to the White Dragon. Flowers are required in 44% of the hands on the NMJL 2023 card. I pass Flowers rarely - maybe once on a game-day. I think passing a Flower is equal in risk of passing like numbers. Both of those I see as one step down from passing a pair which should be a last resort. If I'm one or two tiles from being ready to win during the Charleston, I may pass a Flower.
Thank you!