How to play Mahjong is always the most searched keyword by Vietnamese people.
Especially among those who love Chinese culture.
However, the way to play and the rules of Mahjong are quite complex.
You need to remember all the following content if you want to start this game.
What is Mahjong?
Mahjong, also known as Mahjong, is one of the unique traditional card games of the Chinese people.
This is a type of card game with a very special way of playing and rules that no other type can have.
You can easily encounter images of Mahjong games all over the world and in Asian countries.
Currently, there are two main forms of playing Mahjong: traditional Mahjong and online Mahjong.
The tiles in Mahjong
The first step when approaching this special card game is nothing other than learning and memorizing all the tiles.
So how many tiles are there in Mahjong? How are they divided? The answer is right here
Basic Tile Set
The most basic tiles of Mahjong are the Basic Tile Set. It is divided into 3 types: Characters, Dots, and Bamboo:
- Character tiles: Consist of 36 tiles divided into 4 main groups, each group has 9 tiles. In which, the first tile of each group is a different type of bird.
- Dot tiles: Consist of 36 tiles marked with red Dot characters. The Dot tiles are also marked with numbers from 1 to 9.
- Bamboo tiles: Consist of 36 tiles marked with circular symbols. The Bamboo tiles are also marked with numbers from 1 to 9.
Wind Tile Set
- The Wind Tile Set is also understood as the wind in Mahjong. It consists of 7 types of tiles divided into two main sets: Four Winds and Three Dragons as follows:
- Four Winds: Consists of 16 tiles evenly divided into 4 types: East, West, South, North.
- Three Dragons: Consists of 12 tiles evenly divided into 3 types: Red Dragon, Green Dragon, White Dragon.
Frame Tile Set
The Frame Set consists of 8 tiles with representative and substitute meanings. The Frame Set can be used in place of all other tiles.
- Green Frame Set: Consists of 4 tiles in order: General represents all tiles, Full represents the tiles in the Bamboo set, Short represents the tiles in the Character set, Curtain represents the tiles in the Dot set.
- Red Frame Set: Consists of 4 tiles in order: Flower represents the Wind Tile Set, Joy represents the Four Winds, Origin represents the Red Dragon, and Harmony represents the Bamboo Dot Character.
Flower Tile Set
Next, Mahjong has a Flower Tile Set with 8 tiles divided into two groups: Green Flowers and Red Flowers as follows:
- Green Flower tiles: Consist of 4 tiles with green corners: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.
- Red Flower tiles: Consist of 4 tiles with red corners: Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum.
Four Seasons Tile Set
Finally, Mahjong also possesses the Four Seasons Tile Set, which includes the Four Seasons Set, the Four Emperors Set, and the Four Queens Set.
- Four Seasons Cards: Includes 4 cards Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
- Four Kings Cards: Consists of 4 cards marked with the word King and numbered from 1 to 4.
- Four Queens Cards: Consists of 4 cards marked with the word Queen and numbered from 1 to 4.
Detailed Mahjong Playing Guide for Beginners
Initially, all 160 Mahjong tiles are mixed and placed face down. The player at the East position will roll the dice, calculate points, and deal the tiles.
A Mahjong table consists of 4 players. Each player will be dealt 40 tiles arranged into 20 sets in front of them.
They can be arranged into 6 rows of 6 6 7 7 7 7 tiles, then stacked into 3 rows and connected into 20 pairs. Or arranged into 4 4 8 8 8 8 tiles, then stacked in pairs and connected back.
The dealer rolls the dice and decides where to take the tiles from. The dealer will take a total of 13 tiles, each player gets 2 tiles and 1 tile remains for play.
Tiles are drawn in a clockwise direction, while taking/exchanging tiles is done in a counterclockwise direction.
At this point, each player’s stack of tiles has 2 ends. The right end draws tiles normally, while the left end draws when there are flowers or a structure.
You can claim a tile discarded by the player on the left if you have 2 tiles of the same rank to arrange in a consecutive order.
Or if you have 2 tiles that match 1 tile discarded by another player, it is called a Pung.
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Winning Rules in Mahjong
When playing Mahjong, there are up to 13 cases for players to win, including:
- Mosquito Hand: 4 sets including Pung and Pung without any scoring
- Pung Hand: 4 sets of Pung counted as winning 1 point. But the East must not have a seat.
- My Hand: 4 sets of Goose counted as winning 3 points
- All in One Row: All tiles belong to 1 row counted as winning 6 points
- All Characters: All tiles are not counted as winning 18 points
- No Outside Tiles: All winning tiles are your own, not counting tiles taken from others. Considered as winning 1 point.
- Self-Draw: Drawing a tile, Pung, or Eyes while waiting is considered winning 1 point.
- Four Pungs: Drawing 4 Pungs of Goose
- Thirteen Wonders: Winning with 13 unique tiles, 9, and Treasure Tiles is considered winning 13 points
- Great Three Dragons: Winning with 3 Pungs including 3 Geese but must have Red, Green, White is considered winning 9 points
- Small Three Dragons: Winning with 2 Pungs including 2 Geese with Red, Green, White, and one pair of Red, Green, White is considered winning 6 points
- Great Four Happiness: Winning with 4 Pungs including Geese East, West, South, North is considered winning 36 points.
- Small Four Happiness: Winning with 3 Pungs including Geese East, West, South, North, with the remaining tile as Eyes is considered winning 24 points.
Scoring Rules in Mahjong
Mahjong Rules are as follows:
- 0 points: Just right win
- 1 point: Win with 4 unique tiles, win when self-drawn, win with Flowers matching the seat,…
- 2 points: Win with four matching Flowers, win when self-drawing the last tile, win with a Chow or Goose in the same Wind.
- 3 points: Win with 3 Geese in the same Wind or Three Dragons, win when having tiles of the same rank.
- 6 points: Win with Small Four Happiness, win when self-drawing but all are Geese.
- 8 points: Win with Great Four Happiness.
Simple Mahjong Playing Rules
Understand the agreed rules to grasp the flow of the game.
Understanding Chow Goose Pung
The player who has the right to play first is the Dealer. The tiles are dealt into 4 sets.
Each set consists of 3 tiles and 1 pair of tiles:
- Chow: The player has 3 tiles, then self-draws 1 or claims a tile.
- Goose: Consists of 3 identical tiles. When the player can only play Goose and cannot claim, it is called Treasure Tiles.
- Pung: Consists of 3 tiles arranged in order.
Priority Rules for Playing Mahjong
There are 3 priority types when playing Mahjong as follows:
- Priority 1: When waiting for one tile to win, the player in the lower position will be prioritized to take that tile.
- Priority 2: The player who uses a tile to form a Chow or Pung will be prioritized to take first.
- Priority 3: Only the player in the lower position can take a tile to form a Kong.
Penalty Rules
Playing Mahjong also has its own penalty rules including:
- Penalty for incorrect win: Deduct 32 to 64 points and must share money with other players.
- Penalty for having 9 honor tiles: If you take 9 honor tiles in the same row, you must inform all other players. Conversely, when playing honor tiles, the player must share with the two players sitting next to them.
- Penalty for running win: In the case of winning with more than 3 points, the game must continue.
4 Ways to Win at Mahjong
When entering a game, of course, we all hope to win as much as possible.
Of course, this only happens when you have researched and learned effective playing tips.
Not everything is based on luck as you might think.
Remember the Rules of the Game
The first way to easily win at Mahjong is to clearly understand the rules of the game. Mahjong has its own special rules and scoring methods.
Therefore, to avoid confusion leading to serious mistakes, you need to remember all the tiles, the rules of the game, as well as how to win.
Choose the Right Seat
When playing Mahjong, there will be 4 seats in order: East, West, South, North. Accordingly, the player sitting in the East position is the dealer and has the right to go first.
The game will be played clockwise to the following players. You should consider your playing ability to choose a suitable seat.
Understand the Scoring Rules
Besides the scoring method, the money calculation rules of Mahjong are also quite important. Even if you don’t win, if you know how to play correctly, you can still earn a decent amount of money.
Know When to Stop
Each round of Mahjong is extremely exciting. Once you start playing, many people cannot control themselves.
Therefore, learn how to stop at the right time to avoid getting carried away and losing money.
Manage Your Capital Effectively
As a smart player, you should manage and use your capital effectively.
For example, set a daily playing limit of 1 million, for instance.
Try not to exceed that amount.
Refer to the shared article on Betting Capital Management Tips to practice right away.
Online Mahjong Game
Currently, the form of playing Mahjong online is gradually becoming popular. It still retains the extremely attractive and interesting rules of the game.
You can sit anywhere to play Mahjong with many players without having to move, wasting time and costs.
At the same time, playing online also helps you avoid the risk of opponents using cheating techniques to lose money unfairly.
Where to buy a Mahjong set in Vietnam
So in case players want to play Mahjong directly, where can they find to buy it?
With the development of the market, you can easily find various Mahjong sets on websites or e-commerce platforms.
Depending on the material, the price of a set is not expensive, starting from 200,000 VND and up, you can own a playable set.
Conclusion when playing Mahjong
The way to play Mahjong does not require you to think too hard.
Just spend some time researching and playing a few times to become proficient.
This is a game that requires memory, analysis, and special strategies.
You will improve your thinking, train your memory, and develop strategies very effectively.
Another type of game that also uses tiles is Domino.
You can refer to how to play Domino to enrich your gambling skills.