American Mah Jongg Lesson Strategy Joker Bait I Hit or Miss (mock card)
Channel: Michele Frizzell #MAHJLIFE
Date: 2018-11-18

Mah jongg is the 4-player Chinese tile game that took America by storm in the 1920s.  One of the things that differentiate American mah jongg from all the other versions is the use of jokers.  Jokers can be used for any block of tiles consisting of 3 or more identical tiles.  Joker bait is a term coined by Tom Sloper (https://goo.gl/wG7YAR).  Basically, joker bait is made up of multiples that you keep even if you do not need them.  You discard one of the tiles from the multiple to coax an exposure with jokers. You can also hold onto single valuable tiles like Flowers and Dragons. During the pick and discard phase of the game, when someone makes an exposure with a joker using those tiles, you may be able to make an exchange using the natural tile to get the Joker.  Be mindful to get rid of them before the end of the third wall.  In this video, I play a game of solitaire to demonstrate the concept.

Mock American Mah Jongg card https://mahjlife.com/wiki/american-mah-jongg-article-id-162/
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. 

NMJL website:  https://www.nationalmahjonggleague.org  

Below is an index of videos covering strategy:
Strategy Introduction https://goo.gl/YKDjEQ 
Style https://goo.gl/8ueenn
Tile Efficiency https://goo.gl/r3rRCy
How to Pick a Hand - Strength https://youtu.be/T3ba3Hxjg3o 
How to Pick a Hand 3 Ways https://youtu.be/KY9MJ--xtc4
How to Pick a Hand 3 Ways Solitaire https://youtu.be/3TWLWCiZIP0
How to Pick a Hand 3 Ways Solitaire Wall Game https://youtu.be/d-CqTx94qL0
Strategy by Wall https://goo.gl/5EXcg6 
Joker Bait I Hit or Miss https://goo.gl/2dqb3M 
Joker Bait II Etiquette and Tells https://goo.gl/W9xCY2 
Joker Bait III Chum the Table https://goo.gl/3Hs1U8 
Plethora of Jokers I Focus on known tiles https://youtu.be/1YhV7aeTVHY 
Plethora of Jokers II Build around strength https://youtu.be/xRQS81UrH9E 
Plethora of Jokers III Force a Quint https://youtu.be/7DYn5GB_fDs 
Void of Jokers I Leverage Multiples  https://youtu.be/0Bq5K9T2bVc 
Void of Jokers II Force a Pair Hand https://youtu.be/IkFub9SuQhE

The next playlist covers variations https://goo.gl/vaMzZt
The first playlist covers fundamentals https://goo.gl/wGVQLu 
~~~
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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