JOKER BAIT (Article 181)

Approximately 85% of the hands on the American mah jongg card use big multiples (i.e., pung, kong). There is a high likelihood that players will claim discards to make an exposure to expedite the completion of their hand. Players with the natural tile have the option to exchange it for the joker on their turn.

Joker Bait is a strategy that can create an opportunity for a joker exchange. The term was coined by Tom Sloper of Sloperama. It’s a hit-or-miss strategy and when it works, it can be very helpful. Here’s how it works:

A player would keep a pair that is not needed for their hand. At about the middle of the middle wall, the player would discard one of these tiles to entice another player to make an exposure with a joker. On the next turn, the player uses the second tile to exchange it for the joker.

Here are video demonstrations of strategies for playing with jokers.

• 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/4Ct7Pm
• 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