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ID124-Beginning, Middle, End Game Strategy, Cont.
More on Beginning, Middle and End Game Strategy:
The way we play the game changes as the tiles are used up and we move through the different phases of the game. Following is a breakdown of the strategy used during each phase:
Begin-Game:
The begin-game is the first third or 33 tiles of the game after the deal. During this part of the game, you don’t have to watch so carefully when discarding because your opponents’ hands are not setup to call exposures. As a result, you can speed up the pace of your game by picking and discarding without hesitation always getting out “fresh tiles(see ID179),” as soon as possible.
 Middle-Game:
The middle-game is the second third of the overall game, comprising 33 tiles. By the time you get to the middle game there are already 33 tiles that have been discarded from the beginning phase or begin game. During this phase, you still discard without hesitation. However, you should be more mindful of your discards and start paying attention to your opponents’ exposures and the tiles they are discarding. It is still too early in the game to break up a potentially good hand. Always ask yourself this question, “Do I want to win or do I want to break up my hand?” Most likely, your answer during this phase of the game will be, “WIN”. During this phase, if your goal is to win, continue discarding “fresh tiles(See ID179).”
End-Game:
The end-game consists of the final phase of the game, which begins with the last 33 tiles, as a total of 66 tiles are already discarded. During this phase, the pace of picking and discarding slows down, and players pay closer attention to the exposures and discarded tiles of others.
At the start of the end-game, it is recommended to discard any unused Flowers and any pairs that you were holding for “joker bait”. “Joker bait” refers to pairs that are not needed for your hand, which you intentionally discard in the hope that someone will call it and expose it with a joker. This strategy allows you to seize the joker as a valuable tile for your own use.
As the amount of tiles decrease, you need to evaluate your chances of winning against the risk of discarding tiles that other players may need. If your odds of winning are higher than the risk of giving Mah Jongg, it may be the right time to adjust your strategy and adopt a more offensive style of play. However, if your odds of winning are lower, and you risk giving Mah Jongg, than you would want to adopt a more defensive style of play.
By carefully assessing the game dynamics and making strategic decisions, you can optimize your chances of success in the end game.
Other useful resources:
See also, ID11
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