Friday, November 3, 2023

Scoring with the Hongkong Style Mahjong and the Philippine Style Variation

Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring and the Philippine Style Variation

Playing mahjong with Dinah, Alix and Brendan, Dublin, California October 29, 2023

My Winning 7-pairs Hand without a Joker- The last time I had a hand like this was 5 years ago.

I started playing mahjong Philippine style when I was only 5 years old. My mother had a mahjong group and they play every weekend. At times one of their players can not make it and my mother allowed me to play as a "sub". I still remember playing in my short pants and have a hard time reaching for the tiles in the center and playing against my teacher and my mom's adult mahjong buddies. However, I never learned how to feel the tiles with my touch except for the jokers and the white dragon and the one circle or dot tiles. Here are some scoring with the Hong Kong style ( 13 tiles-no joker) versus Philippine style ( 16 tiles with 2 to 3 jokers( wild tiles).

Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring

In addition to the scoring system above, there are also the following special hands which are difficult to compose but rewards the player with maximum payout!

Seven Pairs - 16 points + components
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Seven Pairs

Hand containing any seven pairs.

Hidden Treasure - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Hidden Treasure

Four Pungs, any pair, all concealed, and win by Self-Drawn.

Three Great Scholars - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Three Great Scholars

Pung or Kong with all three dragons, any chow, pung or Kong, and any pair. May all be melded.

Little Four Winds - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Little Four Winds

Pung or Kong of three Winds, a pair of fourth wind, any other set completing the hand. May be all melded.

Big Four Winds - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Big Four Winds

Pung or Kong of each Wind, and any pair. May all be melded.

All Honors - 64 points
Mahjong Game Scoring - All Honors

Four Pungs or Kongs and a pair of Dragons and Winds. May all be melded.

All Terminals - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - All Terminals

Four Pungs or Kongs and a pair of 1's or 9's. May all be melded.

Nine Gates - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Nine Gates

Three 1's, a sequence of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and three 9's, all of the same suit, and any other tile of the same suit completing the hand. The hand must be concealed (the winning tile can be a discard). No Kongs are allowed.

The Philippine style we called it the Escalera ( stair case). The pairs could be of other suits.

Thirteen Orphans - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Thirteen Orphans

One of each Dragon and Wind, 1 and 9 of each suite and 14th tile forming a pair with any of these. The hand must be concealed (the winning tile can be a discard).

The Philippines style we called it Devil's hand.

10.

All Kongs - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - All Kongs

Any four Kongs + any Pair.

11.

Jade Dragon - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Jade Dragon

Jade Dragon: Pung or Kong of Bamboos and a Pung or Kong of Green Dragon.

12.

Ruby Dragon - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Ruby Dragon

Ruby Dragon: Pung or Kong of Characters only and Pung of Red Dragon.

13.

Pearl Dragon - 64 points
Hong Kong Mahjong Game Scoring - Pearl Dragon

Pearl Dragon: Pung or Kongs of Dots only and Pung or Kong of White Dragon.

14.

Heavenly Hands - 64 points
East declares "Out" with the dealt hand (after supplement tiles, if any)

15.

Earthly Hands - 64 points
Non-dealer goes out on dealer's first discard (supplement tiles are allowed)

Philippine style that I learned when I was a Child. A hand with same suits is called PURE.( $4x) A winning hand with one suit with either a dragon or wind Pung is called PLACIS ($3x).

The one who declares mahjong gets to score fan (points). These fan are based on the contents of the winning hand. Once the fan is calculated, it is then converted into a payment amount based upon a payment table called "fan-laak" table. The losing players will in turn pay the winning player based upon this payment table.

Below is the payment table:

Fan	Points	By discard	Self drawn
0	1	1+1+2=4 chips	n/a
1	2	2+2+4=8 chips	4+4+4=12 chips
2	4	4+4+8=16 chips	8+8+8=24 chips
3	8	8+8+16=32 chips	16+16+16=48 chips
4, 5, 6	16	16+16+32=64 chips	32+32+32=96 chips
7, 8, 9	32	32+32+64=128 chips	64+64+64=192 chips
10+	64	64+64+128=256 chips	128+128+128=384 chips

If a player makes a faulty declaration of out - the deal is abandoned and the offender shall each of the other players 100% of the Limit (i.e., full laak, which in the rules described here is 64 points). If the faulty declaration was made in context of a claimed tile, the discarded gets double the amount. The deal normally passes after a faulty declaration of out.

Personal Note: Mahjong could be addicted and can be a gambling activity or as source of income activity. When I was still residing in Fair Oaks, my home-care aide who was a Filipina-American played regularly mahjong for money in a friends house nearby. Sometimes she informed me she loses $60 for a 4-5 hour session. But, it is her only recreation, so she plays every week. The host charges each player a fee ( flat) and a commission for every winning hand. The host provides food and drinks. So the more players, the higher income for the host for every session. The bets could ranged from $1 to $5 per game plus additional fee for special hands mentioned in my article above.

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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Friday, November 3, 2023

Scoring with the Hongkong Style Mahjong and the Philippine Style Variation

Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring and the Philippine Style Variation

Hong Kong Mahjong Scoring

The Philippines style we called it Devil's hand.

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