Michele you are so good at explaining! I tell everyone I know who is learning when they join our group to check out your RU-vid pages to help them even more and strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the game. Most times when they hear it the first time or two it doesn't sink in or even make sense. And hearing it explained by someone else, like you who takes her time explaining, helps to make a light go off and encourages the beginner. So Thank You! Vita in Florida PS I think you're a keeper!
Other pain points include...different direction of play vs wall push out, not being able tp call a tile without exposure and/or the ability to complete a set. Your videos are great, Iam going to recommend them to a class I’m teaching.
I am a beginner. This video was very helpful. My main problem is trying to figure out what to keep during the Charleston. I know I'll get better with time.
I'm glad the video was helpful! As far as figuring out what to keep during the Charleston... that is a challenge for many players. See all the modeling videos for strategies and decision making :)
Michelle, Thank you for your videos, I just started playing this game 5 days ago and I am quite hooked. I downloaded all of your help cards. I used 80lb stock 8-1/2 by 14 Legal size paper and enlarged the print to 125%. Much easier on older eyes. I will make the cards available at no charge to anyone in our groups that want them.
I updated the links in the video description pointing to the new American Mah Jongg playlists. What may be of most interest to you are the Skill Builders (goo.gl/3TQAsM) and Strategy (goo.gl/3TQAsM) playlists.
Great video for beginnings. Wish I could politely show it to a few of the "experienced" players in our group who have to ponder every tile they pick up slowing the game considerably.
This is excellent! You’re answering a lot of questions that I wondered. I’m really new. I’m binge watching your videos. Very informative. I can’t thank you enough
Thanks for your speedy replies. I just started playing and have played only three times, so things confuse me. Thanks for the clarity!!! I have learned so much from your videos.
Just started this game and I have been trying to watch a lot of your videos. Last night, I watched your series of Charleston passing. You mention many times about multiples, so I went to a group to play today where almost all players were intermediate. I thought I knew what to do, but midway, I was so discouraged as I just could NOT decide what I should play from the card as fast as they were going. AND, I only got 2 Jokers in any of my hands in a 3 hour play period. But specifically, one hand I was 'dealt' was 3 2's in one suit along with 3 9's in another suit. Those were such great multiples and yet there is absolutely NOTHING that I could find on the 2023 card that uses 2's and 9's. by that time, I was a wreck and had no idea what to do, so just passed blindly. Needless to say, I did not Mahjong once today!! LOL (BUT, I still had fun!) also do you have any videos using the 2023 card of SINGLES and PAIRS? Since I never got Jokers today, I wondered if I could've tried for those???
I'm a newbie too but with only 2's and 9's I think you could have played "Any Like Numbers". You would have needed 4 flowers. If that was the hand you had the jokers in, you could have used them too.
Dear Michelle, I am very impressed with your logical teaching. However, you say at the end of your video on 10 pain points for novices, you promised you would put where we could down load cards that you had made up, and other links which as a novice would be very helpful indeed. Many thanks. Carol
@@MAHJLIFE Omg your a great teacher I am just learning and can’t seem to get enough Looking for the help cards you talk about Please forward anything you have that will help me advance Also do you find this is mostly a womens game or are men welcome? Thanks Scott S
@@scottsavo4162 I'm so happy to hear that my videos have been helpful to you! Please send me an email and I'll reply with more information michele@mahjongcentral.com
This is really great. I’m still sick, and I’m switching to my laptop in bed. I want to see your tiles! Too small on the phone. I have some thing that happened a couple of times. I’m wondering about the strategy on this.: I have picked out a section. Probably consecutive. I have a pung. No jokers in that pung. And then the fourth one comes up to make a Kong. I take the tile. So I’m locked into a hand-the top one in consecutive Later on, I see that would not be possible to make this hand. Maybe I didn’t have enough tiles in the others to pick up the tile and to expose. But now I’m locked in to a Kung and can’t figure out how to switch hands! For example: On the 2021 card I have four of the threes in the consecutive run. It’s the top one that I’m trying to make. And then I realize that I can’t get to the fours. I could switch to the fourth one down, but I don’t have any flowers. And everything’s of one suit. So I can’t do 2 suits. It’s pretty far along in the game So what I’m wondering for next time, I shouldn’t pick that tile up and expose. Maybe I should think about using a joker for that if I need to. The trade-off is I get more flexibility? Thank you for your advice
I'm so sorry to hear that you're sick - I hope you get well soon. It's hard to see my videos on a smartphone, so sorry about that. You are not locked into a hand with one exposure so taking the tile to make a pure kong is fine. When you call a discard to make a second exposure, you will typically be locked into one hand. I normally don't take a tile unless I have decided to commit to a hand and have no pair-gaps with at least one joker.
If you are on a PC or laptop, click "SHOW MORE" under the video to open the video description for show notes and links. If you are on a mobile device, click the little down-arrow under the right corner of the video :)
Question: Do you have a video that talks about the initial set-up of your tiles on your rack? In which order, etc.? I’ve just started looking at your videos and appreciate them very much. I’m not a novice player, but I certainly play like I am and I get very frustrated. This video helped some.
I like to arrange my tiles in this order: Jokers, Flowers, Winds, Dragons, each Suit in numerical order; no spaces. This is just for the initial assessment as I identify the strength of the hand which would be a multiple (i.e., pair, pung) or predominant pattern (i.e., Evens, Odds, Consecutive Run). If you send me an email (michele@mahjongcentral.com), I can send you a handout I give at lessons that you might find helpful :)
@@MAHJLIFE I’m still confused about the card. You said the colors can be any colors as long as they are different but I’m not understanding the numbers
Thank you Michele for these great classes! I am just new to Mah Jong and very excited to learn. Please share the link to the mock card. I can’t find it anywhere.
Hi Michelle, I'm very new to this game and looking forward to watch more of you videos. Please send me the order of how to watch your videos. You also mentioned exercises for practicing and help cards. Please if you can send me links I would very much appreciate it.
Here is a PDF with an index of American mah jongg lesson videos: facebook.com/download/preview/1357249741126394/ If you don't use Facebook, you will get an error for that link. Instead, please send me an email so I can send it to you directly michele@mahjongcentral.com The list of links to recurring skill builders will be posted on a rotating basis beginning the week of 4/12/2020 on Monday's and Tuesday's.
These videos may help: Style goo.gl/kvyARX Tile Efficiency goo.gl/r3rRCy How to Pick a Hand I Strength ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T3ba3Hxjg3o.html How to Pick a Hand II 3 Ways ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KY9MJ--xtc4.html How to Pick a Hand III 3 Ways Solitaire ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V1pUZv0MDDE.html How to Pick a Hand IV 3 Ways Solitaire Wall Game ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xLUvspuLeOg.html
Thank you; I'm just learning and this was very helpful. One hint that I just learned yesterday was checking other exposures before discarding in case I can capture a joker. I stupidly discarded a tile that someone had exposed, and I could have exchanged it for a joker. Our teacher said to ALWAYS check the other trays before discarding.
I’ll have to look at the videos I watched. I may have confused them. Cannot do today. I’ll try to get back to you later or tomorrow. Thanks for responding so quickly.
Hi Michelle - Thanks so much for these excellent videos! I noticed that you appear to be using the larger tiles in this video and have racks/pushers that fit them - which I’ve had trouble locating. Any chance you could post a link to where you got yours? Thank you!
Thanks, Patrick. The tiles are the same. The racks can be purchased here (scroll to the bottom): www.gammonvillage.com/mah-jong-shop/mah-jong-accessories/mah-jong-tile-racks/
Let`s say I played an exposed pung of 2 bams using a joker. Later I draw a 2 bam from the wall. Can I replace my own joker to my hand using the newly drawn 2 bam? ...
Do you have a recommended order of videos to watch for newbies? You have great content but there is soooo much i am sorting through trying to find the best entry level content.
Welcome to the game, Abigail. Start here: mahjlife.com/wiki/american-mah-jongg-article-162/ for a list of videos in order, look under links, and then click Mahj Life Direct Links to NMJL videos.
Thank you for the great tips! For the 2019 card, does the Consecutive Run FFF 1111 2222 DDDD mean you have to use 1s and 2s or can you use any 2 consecutive #s?
My pleasure, Lisa. In regards to Consecutive Run #5, except for the first hand in this category, all the hands in this category can start the sequence with any number. Remember, there is no around-the-world so a sequence cannot go from 9 to 1.
Categories, sections, neighborhoods are all synonymous. The style of play I recommend is called “adaptive” where the focus is on the best category for the strength of the hand plus most of the remains supporting tile. I have many videos demonstrating this strategy. Here is a wiki article with links covering it and much more mahjlife.com/wiki/amj-s2-matrix-article-210/
To open the video description, click "show more" under the title if viewing on a desktop monitor or click the little grey down arrow if viewing on mobile devices.
@@anitatackett7838 Here are links to everything I use to play solitaire: Solitaire Helper.pdf (print on 80 lb coverstock for long term use) goo.gl/sAzoyx Holder: goo.gl/NR8vbw Risers (I use 6 tile trays to create the tiered affect - stack them upside down with 3 in the back, 2 in the middle, 1 in front): goo.gl/52Qqpx
Thanks, Carol. Mah jongg is a complex game so, every now and again, a player may say, “I need a minute.” If the delay is more than a minute or the delay happens several times in one game, there is a fundamental problem with decision making. I would ask that player if they want some coaching. Maybe recommend my skill builders videos.
I think so. You definitely discarded them with 2 other tiles, sooo I do think you passed them (twice). But let’s say you we’re allowed to do so. You definitely wanted to rid yourself of them. I would think that you would keep jockeys if at all possible. I am enjoying your videos. I just started playing. I have a whole 3 games under my belt. Amazing , I used to play as a child. The last time I was 9 years old. I can’t imagine that I had all this info in my brain. 🙂
Per the NMJL, omit the Charleston for a 3-player game. The rules are in Mah Jongg Made Easy, a booklet written by the NMJL I highly recommend that every player have their own copy. www.nationalmahjonggleague.org/store.aspx# If your group wants a 3-player game including the Charleston, here is a video with a couple demonstrations: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uYUja7aZ3bE.html
Michele Frizzell how do I find the cards you refer to in this video? I can only find the mock card. I’m happy to pay for the cards you refer to as they sound very helpful for beginner If you could tell me where they might be ordered or pdf downloads that would be great. You mentioned several in the video 10 pains points thanks
hello Michele, this is Brigitte spelled like your sister. I am going to be learning to play Mah Jongg and have really enjoyed your youtube channel so thank you so much. I am not very good with navigating the channel so here are a few questions about how to get in touch with you. Do you have an email that i can send you questions with out being at the bottom of a video and when you say below is a link to my strategy card I can never find the links. I would love a copy of your strategy cards you talk about in this video, your points are so clear and simple and i think you are wonderful!!
Which device are you using? I'm guessing a smart phone. If that's the case, there is a tiny grey downward triangle to the right of the video title that you need to click in order to open the video description where you will find the link to the handout. You are welcome to send emails to michele@mahjongcentral.com.
When hands are shown in one color, one suit must be used; two colors, two suits must be used; three colors, three suits must be used. In other words, a change in color means a change in the suit. Flowers, and Winds are always shown on the card in blue and they are neutral components when used with number tiles. In other words, Flowers and Winds are not related to suits. For example, Winds-Dragons #7 is a two-suit hand even though there are three colors because the Winds are neutral and are not associated with the suits.
@@suemandry307 the house rules are in this handout: facebook.com/groups/mahjongcentral/permalink/1295268150844976/ Here is a link to the playlist: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GNUZ62cHxRg.html
When playing mah jongg, your main objective is to complete a valid hand on the card before your opponents. This requires shrewd decision based on the tiles you draw, the tiles in the discard pile, the tiles in exposures, and the tiles remaining in the wall. If you can identify the hand your opponent is playing based on their exposures and you know they are ready to win or if find that you will not be able to win your chosen hand, you can abandon your hand and play with a defensive approach. This is a "switch to defense". If you decide to switch to defense, do not claim a discard to make an exposure, especially with a joker, and discard tiles that have already been discarded or are in exposures so as not to give your opponents their winning tile.
Sometimes the league has Math Play as a category, usually called ADDITION. The standard blocks are a Kong of Flowers with a Kong of two numbers and a sum. Lucky 13 hands require a Kong of Flowers with a Kong of two numbers that equal 13, FFFF 6666 7777 13.
If you are on a PC or laptop, click "SHOW MORE" under the video to open the video description for show notes and links. If you are on a mobile device, click the little down-arrow under the right corner of the video :)
Michele, thank you so much for all your videos. I’ve been playing for a few months now but don’t feel competent enough to teach my friend who wants to learn. Could you tell me the 2 or 3 most helpful videos you’ve posted for Newbie to get their feet wet? You have SO MANY videos I’m having a hard time finding the most appropriate. Thanks!
Michele Frizzell 1 second ago Welcome to the game and thanks for watching my videos! Please send me an email (michele@mahjongcentral.com) so I can send you the new version.
Mahjong Central. I love your videos and have recommended them to close to twenty people. Our newly formed Mah Jongg group really appreciates you! OK. I. found the link to your other videos. But not the card - unless it is the link to you webpage where you sell them.
Thanks, Susan! There is a link to a PDF version of the Core Strategy card under the FREE DOWNLOADS area of my website. Here it is www.mahjongcentral.com/uploads/NMJL_CoreStrategy.pdf
The links are in the video description. Top open it, click "SHOW MORE" just above the "COMMENT" area.National Mah Jongg League Strategy-Introduction ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZPhtB1f_6q8e.html9DwjquzIQ0Y2IfcUK (link to PDF provided in the video description).
The reason players make an exposure with jokers is to expedite the building of their hands. The risk is that anyone can exchange the joker for a natural tile so players should assess their hand and count the cost of making the exposure. For example, if I am gathering tiles for a category and I don't know what hand I am playing, I will not claim a discard to make an exposure with or without jokers. If I know what hand I am playing and I have tiles for every block in the hand (i.e., no gaps), I may claim a discard to make an exposure with or without jokers. Assess your hand, scout the discards and exposures, count the cost of making an exposure, make a decision, then accept the consequences with dignity :)
I’m in a beginner class and twice a woman at out table announce to everyone she knew what hand I was playing and told them not to discard a Westwind. I’m re-learning Mahjong I used to play at years and years ago. But I don’t think that this is really supposed to be done. If someone has figured out the hand you’re playing, should they tell the rest of the table? Should they tell the table what not to discard?
That is not cool! No one should say anything about another player's hand. I would have a private conversation with the instructor and they should address the issue with the entire class.
@@MAHJLIFE thank you. We have had a stand in instructor and we have never had a chance to address etiquette. I gently said I don’t think we are supposed to do that.
So sorry I missed your comment. There are lots of links in the video description but here is the bit about reading the card: Links to American Mah Jongg for The Card goo.gl/BjzQsX, The Tiles goo.gl/m3Vtro, Set Modeling goo.gl/6rJbrT, and Suit Modeling goo.gl/Tu98rG
Ok breathe easy. you didn’t pass the joker. However you said if you pick a joker, put it back. Then when you were organizing your hand, you thought you might DISCARD the joker. I couldn’t understand why you would ever discard a joker. I was watching Charlestón Model 20180924. At 3:15.
The National Mah Jongg League publishes an annual card with valid hands for the year. Consecutive Run is one of the categories of hands on the card. You can learn more about the card here: Links to American Mah Jongg for The Card goo.gl/BjzQsX, The Tiles goo.gl/m3Vtro, Set Modeling goo.gl/6rJbrT, and Suit Modeling goo.gl/Tu98rG