First haipai of the year
The first haipai of the year should be something special. A chance to start your mahjong year the right way. I drew my tiles and got Daniel and Mama Jong to give their opinions. –Gemma
Gemma’s opinion
Gotta throw a (1) for me here. It’s a fairly good starting hand with some stuff to do. A few ugly shapes but some nice draws could easily solve that. Only one honor but another green dragon draw would make me smile. I can also accept the dora.
Because I’m a lunatic, I’d also want to keep the hope of a 234 sanshoku alive as long as possible.
mahjonggem.com
twitter: @mahjonggem
Daniel’s opinon
Obligatory stats from Daniel:
Not the best of hands, not the worst of hands, but overall has slightly higher than average speed and value. While a yaku might be hard to come by in this hand, the 七九 inside wait taking in the 八 dora gives the hand some value, giving it some force and Gemma should head straight to tempai. While 3-shanten (3 away) in and of itself might not be that great, 3-shanten with a formed group isn’t bad. The average expected tsumo-only tempai won’t come to this hand untill about the 14th turn, but this only an average; perhaps Gemma will get a lucky break for her first hand this year!
Twitter: @xDasukex
Mama Jong’s opinion
Did you know that mahjong is not just for playing but also for fortune telling?
I got Gemma to take a photo of her hand BEFORE she organized it.
Your first four draws show your past. Gemma here has had a fairly regular past by the looks. The green dragon or hatsu is a good character for beginnings, everything has fitted together and her plans have proceeded in an orderly fashion. The second four draws are the present and it seems she has been building on the foundation of her past with a third (8) follow through and a (3) to progress. However, she has thrown something new in the mix with the 四 . Perhaps Gemma is considering a new course and trying something new?
The final group of four tiles she draws is the future. This is where we see complete detachment from her past and present. Although she has drawn some more man tiles to accompany her 四 (perhaps indicating this new activity will be her direction?), the range is wide and it is fairly disconnected. Plus we have the introduction of an entirely new suit, suggesting she will continue to search out the novel.
She has so few honors in her draw and no particularly tidy shapes, she can’t expect any easy wins. She’s going to need to build for victory.
The final tile to make the 13 indicates someone instrumental in her life. A tile higher in the man suit suggests an older person with authority over her.
The first tsumo is the advice. She draws toward an already formed triplet. Some of the people near her aren’t helpful and she needs to discard them early.
Hope your first haipai of 2020 were good!