Revealing Super Easy-to-Understand Ways To Play Mahjong for Beginners
How to play mahjong requires each person to be quick and have high thinking ability. Therefore, grasping basic knowledge when starting is very important. Today’s article by Pogo88 will summarize for you from A to Z all issues surrounding the game of mahjong.
What Is Mahjong and Where Does It Come From?
According to the Sino-Filipino dictionary, Mahjong means sparrow. This is the symbol of the first card in the deck. In a game, every person need to use particular Mahjong gambling strategies and meticulous calculation abilties to win.
Since historical times, Mah-jong has been a activity of the Chinese top class. When it became added to many different nations across the world, many versions regarded with new approaches of playing. However, today we will only learn about Mahjong played in the Hong Kong style, because this is the most popular and traditional type.
What Equipment Does A Mahjong Table Include?
To create a mahjong table, you must prepare the following items:
Game Table
Mahjong table is designed quite simply, with a square surface, the sides are about 80cm long, and the height ranges from 60 to 85cm. You can spread a cloth on the table to avoid scratching the cards. In the Philippines, due to the unique way of playing mah-jong, many people also cover it with a reflective layer to help the cards reflect more clearly.
Mahjong Cards
The smartest way to play Mahjong is to make the most of the power of the cards. To do that, you must understand the structure of the winning hands. Mahjong will have 160 cards, divided into 4 sets and 1 frame:
- The lean set: includes books – ten thousand – letters.
- The financial set: Also known as the wind set, consists of 28 cards, made up of 7 types: East – South – West – North – Center – Phat – Bach.
- Flower set: How to play mahjong often focuses on the sets with the highest chance of buzzing, for example, the flower set, this set will include 4 types: Apricot, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo.
- The four seasons set: Spring – Summer – Autumn – Winter.
- The four emperors: This is the king set, numbered from 1 to 4, with the Chinese word Hoang below.
The Most Basic Rules Of Mahjong
The way to play Mah jong must comply with certain conditions and regulations, for example:
- A game of Mahjong must have 4-6 players. In case 6 people participate, there must be 2 people sitting outside as reserves. After the east team’s turn is over, they can enter the table to replace the east and west gate keepers.
- The way to play Mah-jong does not focus on seating, as long as you feel comfortable and focused.
- The rules of the game stipulate that all cards must be face down before starting to deal. The dealer shuffles the cards and arranges them into 2 rows. Each row consists of 18 cards stacked in a pile.
- Dealer sits at the east gate position, they roll 2 dice to know the deal point. Each member receives 40 cards, arranged into 20 pairs in front of them.
How To Play Mahjong Simple and Easy To Do
If you want to win and not lose all your money, you need to read and study carefully the basic mah-jong playing method summarized by Pogo88 below:
Mahjong Consists of 4 Turns
Each game consists of 4 turns, called east, west, south, north. The dealer also owns 14 cards, starting the game by playing 1 card. After that, each member can play 14 cards for each turn. Keep playing like that until someone wins, then stop.
Mahjong Winning Conditions
According to the Hong Kong Mahjong way of playing, the 14 cards must include 4 phu, each phu has 1 pair and 3 cards.
- Pair: Two identical mahjong tiles.
- Phong (Horizontal Phu): Picked up by yourself or taken from someone else’s table, including 3 identical tiles.
- Bulge (Vertical bulge): Must follow the order of the frames.
- Check: The card already has 3 identical cards, and at the same time captures 1 more card from the opponent.
How To Play Mahjong Priority Rules
- First, if there are 2-3 people waiting for a card together, the person sitting below has priority. For example: If the East door plays, the South door has priority.
- The person who needs to use the cards on the table to create a phoenix or a mat has priority to draw first.
- Finally, drawing cards to form cards is only applied to the person sitting at the bottom. Suppose the East door is playing, only the South door can eat. However, the West door and the person who wants to eat a phoenix or a mat have priority.
Common Types Of Mahjong Winning
If you fall into the following cases, you will have to call mahjong or come to announce your victory.
- “Win” with a mosquito: According to the way of playing Mah jong, “Win” with a mosquito wins very little money because there is no “Phang”.
- Bulge: All 4 people are swell, except the east door.
- No need for people: No need to take more cards from the opponent to win.
- Win through: If you are waiting for a card, an eye or a husband to come back and you pick it yourself, you will be counted as 1 Phan to add a bonus.
- Win Thirteen Grand Guardians: Enough one, nine, and fortune.
Mahjong Playing Guide to Be “Unstoppable” in Every Betting Hall
Each person needs to spend a lot of time learning and improving their skills to be able to play Mahjong proficiently. If you are worried about losing, you can apply the following tips to ensure your safety.
Build A Strategy Before You Start
In addition to learning how to play mah-jong, you also need to learn more tips from experts. Luck seems to have little effect on the win/loss results of a mahjong game.
Instead, the experience of experts is the factor that helps you seize the opportunity to win the game. Just one bad move and the player has lost the opportunity to receive an important card.
Focus On Each Square
Watching the squares will make you more alert when the target card appears. However, this also makes your opponent pay attention, guessing which card you are waiting for. Therefore, be subtle and spread your vision a bit to fool other players.
Bet Small and Slow Down
At first, when you only know how to play basic mah jong, you should choose a moderate bet level. At the same time, do not rush to bet but think carefully. If you lose, you will quickly realize the reason and successfully take revenge in the next game.
Change Your Playing Style Continuously
Many experts only need to observe to recognize which method you are playing mahjong, from there find a way to deal with it. Therefore, never use the same strategy in many consecutive games.
