Hong Kong Mahjong with My Mother in Law: Part 3 - Winning Hands

Hi there,
This is Part 3 in the "Mahjong with my Mother-in-Law" series -- just me showing you four different potential winning hands before I upload the next videos in the series which will be actually be setting up and playing the game with my mother-in-law.
Note that the winds in Chinese go from East clockwise to North. In Cantonese they are pronounced:
East = dùng (東)
South = nàahm (南)
West = sài (西)
North = bāk (北)
So far in the series, we have:
Part 1: A Bit of Background
Part 2: Explaining the Tiles
Part 3: Winning Hands (this one! :)
Part 4: Setting Up to Play
Part 5: Let's Play!
And then after that we'll see what else we can add! :)
If you're new to my channel, I also have videos on learning Cantonese, Cantonese Cultural Conversations, and of course, the mahjong series.
I'm also on Instagram and Facebook @cantonesecorner.
And my teaching website is www.cantolingo.com.
Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions in the comments below, and thanks so much for watching, liking and subscribing!
Happy learning,
Sue Marguerite
PS. Follow me on IG and FB: @cantonesecorner
PPS. Learn more Cantonese with me and open new windows into Cantonese culture by taking my Traditional Characters in Cantonese Pronunciation courses over at www.cantolingo.com.
Learn traditional Standard Written Chinese characters, their Cantonese equivalent (if any), the radicals, proper stroke order, and much more! Classes are on-going and combine online self-study with Zoom sessions. This is a university-level course based on materials from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and is effective and fun!

[@euniceho449]

For the first winning hand u are calling 4 cards, 6,7,8 and 9 bamboos

[@CantoneseCorner]

Absolutely! So I didn't mention the 7 to win cause I figured it would be understood, and my thought process was that your hand would be lower in points if you chose to mix it up and win with the 6 or 9 by changing from three-of-a-kind to the "runs" (which, if you win with the 6, would be: 3 East, pair of 6s, then 6-7-8, 6-7-8, and three 9s. The same is true if you won with the 9, but going backwards: 3 East, pair of 9s, then 7-8-9, 7-8-9 and three 6s). Not as impressive as a complete three-of-a-kind win, but I still could have showed that to be possible ... maybe I'll do another more "advanced" video where we go more in-depth! Thanks for taking the time to comment - pinning your post so everyone can learn! :)

[@PaigeKayeBroker]

great tip to expand your odds when collecting into a straight by counting from the high number down as well as 1,2,3 ;-)

[@mahjonglun]

Love this video, thank you so much for sharing Hong Kong mahjong to the world 🌎 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@smonster]

Your videos are the only videos that actually made me understand Mahjong... Thank you very much :)

[@CantoneseCorner]

Your comment made me so happy! You're welcome and thank you for letting me know. The mahjong videos are the ones I spent the most time on by far, so I'm glad to know they helped you learn. Happy playing!

[@kristinamiller6090]

I love these videos! Thank you so much for sharing the game and your mother in law with us :) I would love to see a video that talks about strategy. I am super new to mahjong, your videos have uncomplicated it for me. Thank you!

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi Kristina - thanks so much for commenting and leaving such a nice compliment! We appreciate it :) A strategy video would be fun to do ... it may take us awhile to get to it, but I'll definitely keep in in mind. Happy to hear the videos have helped, and have fun playing! :)

[@johnfu9073]

Thanks for the lesson. A handsome teacher with good command of the language.

[@CantoneseCorner]

You’re welcome and thank you so much! ☺️☺️☺️

[@ChirpyChat]

Thanks! I'm Cantonese and come from a family of strong players. But never picked it up till now. And learning it in English and Cantonese helps tremendously.

[@CantoneseCorner]

I'm so glad it helps! And I hope you've had some fun times playing with with family members! :)

[@vLawcity]

My partner and I are learning the different winning hands to play with our parents! We are ABCs. Thanks for the lesson :)

[@CantoneseCorner]

You’re welcome! I’m so glad it can help! I also have another video about special winning hands ... I hope that can help too! It’s on my mahjong playlist. Not sure how to link to it here 😅😅😅 Thanks for watching and happy learning! :)

[@AndieeeX]

Great video!! Well explained thank you

[@CantoneseCorner]

ANDIE You’re welcome! I’m so glad you think so 😁

[@Codynstef21]

Great explanation, really helped 👍

[@francislouiemante3017]

You have a lovely voice 😍

[@gordcarleigh9157]

Great video!

[@natbugrock]

Thank you for going slow 😂I get a confused if it’s too fast,

[@robertf9290]

Great video. Flowers - in traditional Mahjong, how do they score ? Thanks

[@amosaiccosmos6302]

Hey Thanks for the video!

[@CantoneseCorner]

You're welcome! :)

[@richardlam8919]

That's is get helpful😁👍

[@josephpoon266]

You're so good

[@HarrisonWong-lo4gs]

the third hand proves the 3 6 9 rule

[@LongNg88]

Hi, if the hand with 3 of 3-bam, 3 of 4-bam, pair of 7-bam, 3 of bak ban and pair of 9-bam, then draw a bak ban or get from the other, can we win the hand with 4 bak ban, what should we do?

[@urdinofriend861]

Do you have to follow all bamboos or all dots or can you do a mix?

[@alanmach2774]

Is there a general rules to count point?

[@liverpix]

I think the third winning hand was the best as you would have 3 possible tiles to win the hand, ie. 3,6 or 9 of the bamboo suit. Where was the mother-in-law ? Behind the sofa ? : )

[@CantoneseCorner]

LOLOLOL :) Rest assured I haven't hidden her behind the sofa -- now I'll really have to get this fourth video done today so she can make a reappearance haha! Regarding the winning hands ... I guess you could say the third one is best since there are 3 ways to win, but by giving it a pair of non-point-getting faat choi (no points for only having a pair), I kind of messed up the potential for a higher-scoring hand. :)

[@McDoulgham]

I am new to Mahjong, never played it, just trying to understand the rules first. I've been reading the "British rules", what about concealed pongs? Are there any here?

[@shaneho4262]

If im not wrong, for Hong Kong mahjong , if you have all concealed pongs , it is a winning hand worth max scores. But lets say if you have only 1 or 2 or 3 sets of concealed pongs in ur hand when u win, you receive no extra points for having that, unlike some other mahjong rules.

[@zachpaymyloan9270]

where did you get your table from

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi Zach! Oh gosh, that is just a table-top (just the top, no legs) that we've had forever! However, I recently bought a proper table from a guy who was leaving Hong Kong - it's a fold-up wooden one that I think he said he bought online. It's sturdy and stores nicely - not sure the brand, but I'd look online. Hope that helps!

[@userfanxy]

东西南北中，学麻将到广东

[@sayjaibao01188]

Wait..is this vid somehow inspired by the movie Crazy Rich Asians? :-)

[@CantoneseCorner]

Yes! One would think so, but actually it was planned before I had ever seen the movie and when I did see the movie I thought "what a weird coincidence!!' :) I did do a video about the mahjong scene in the movie, though, after I had seen it the first time (I've seen it three times so far - can you tell I love it? :)

[@msqunhua]

How many points are the last winning hands worth?

[@CantoneseCorner]

Let's see...the way we count, the third hand would be a minimum of 3 points since you get 3 points for having just the bamboo suit. The faat choi don't count since they are only the pair (not 3 of a kind). As usual, there could be 1 point for picking up the winning tile yourself and 1 point if you display your hand completely when you win, so a potential total of 5 points. The fourth and last hand would be a minimum of 7 points (3 for the suit; 3 for being all 3-of-a-kind; 1 for the red dragons) and then it would depend on what the winds were -- I had mixed them up, so that doesn't count -- and which round it was and which seat the winner was in. So a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 11 (2 extra points for the "right" wind (seat and round); 1 extra for picking up the winning tile yourself, and 1 point if you display your hand completely when you win!

[@patriciakhor6028]

Mahjong with my mother in law part 1

[@selviangelita]

can you explain how to count the point?

[@CantoneseCorner]

Oh wow, there are so many ways to count, but basically the way I've always played has been to first, set the rule that to win, you must have a minimum of 3 faan (points). So basically, that means you play by the suit (so no mixed suits unless you are doing all three of a kind, then you can mix the suits up for the basic 3 faan. Lots of people don't play this way -- they basically play where any combination of suits as long as they are in runs or three of a kind can win - they just don't get as many points from them and the game goes much faster. After you establish the basic three points from having all one suit, then you add in the extra point values from having three of the special tiles (if any) and the winds (if you have the 3 wind tiles that match the round you're in or 3 that match the seat you're in). There are other combinations that will lead to even higher points -- say if you have ONLY the suit tiles with no specials; or an extra point if you draw the winning tile yourself; or if you have a special combination, for example the special tiles only (making 9 tiles) and then 3 favourable wind tiles for the round and a pair of say the wind tiles that is your seat; or something called 13 orphans (I think I've seen it called that in English) where you have the 1 and 9 tiles of each suit and then one each of every other tile. I just realised you may have meant counting the tiles as they appear in the video -- for that, I've replied on Ms Qunhua's comment, so be sure to check that out! Happy playing! :)

[@selviangelita]

@@CantoneseCorner 好多谢你 🙏

[@isaacchan1213]

Wind cannot chow

[@userfanxy]

麻将

[@kobeashi5669]

What a horrible explanation