Hi friend,
ON THE TABLE TODAY
🀄 Meet the teachers: the three women at my table, and their full July of live classes.
Plus: my own July strategy sessions, four live labs.
Challenge Corner: last week's answer, plus this week's vote.
Quick bit of tile talk before the introductions: the fastest way to get better is not cramming the whole card at once, it is picking one skill a week and letting the rest run on autopilot. This week, only watch exposures. Next week, only watch what you throw and when. Because you are holding one idea instead of ten, you actually catch it, and patterns you have walked past for years start to surface.
Here is something I have learned after a year of teaching this game: nobody learns mahjong one single way.
Some of you get calm through reps, running the same move until your hands stop hesitating. Some of you want the why behind every choice before you trust it. Some of you only really click when you sit down at a real table with other players and just play. None of that is the wrong way. It just means the teacher who unlocks the game for you might not be the one who unlocks it for the person next to you.
That is exactly why I don't teach alone. This July, I want you to meet the women who teach at my table. Same game we all love, NMJL rules, all live on Zoom. Different chairs, different lanes, and between us there is a class for wherever you are right now.
MEET THE TEACHERS AT MY TABLE
Jillian, of Mahj-el Tov (@mahjeltov), is my deep-thinker. She makes the strategy behind a hand make sense, layer by layer. This July she and I teach Mahjong Mysteries together, a 4-week series on Thursdays at 8pm ET (July 9, 16, 23, 30). Go deep with the full 4-week series ($179), or drop into a single class ($65). A Lara and Jillian collaboration.
Alicia, The Mrs. Mahj (@mrsmahj), is my reps-and-confidence teacher. Her lane is the warm push to stop overthinking and start doing, and her specialty is the Charleston, the part where most players freeze. A full month of live classes: Office Hours ($40), her signature Solitaire solo practice ($50), a quick Tune-Up ($25), Charleston Confidence (Mon July 27, $45), and Navigate the Card Like a Pro (Mon July 13, $65, with a take-home guide). She and I also teach a Strategy Salon for seasoned players (Sun July 26, $75).
Michelle, of Cypress Mahjong (@cypressmahjong), is my get-you-playing teacher. She is for the moment you are ready to stop drilling and sit at a real table. Two classes this July: a Tournament (Mon July 20, $50) and a League (Wed July 22, $50), both about putting the game into real play with other people.
So: reps, depth, or real play? Meet all three and find the teacher whose lane fits you.
I'll see you in there, and so will they.
AND MY OWN JULY SESSIONS
While each of them teaches their lane, I am running my own live strategy sessions this month. Each one is a lab, not a lecture: we take a single skill and work it through real example hands together, on actual racks, so you see the decision getting made instead of just hearing about it. $75 each, live on Zoom.
Saturday, July 11 · 12 PM ET: Defense (Reading the Table)
Sunday, July 19 · 1 PM ET: Joker Strategy
Saturday, July 25 · 4 PM ET: Charleston Strategy
Sunday, July 26 · 4 PM ET: Hand Selection and Flexibility
Confidence Club members: you always get the replay, plus a member discount if you want to join live.
CHALLENGE CORNER
Last week's question and answer
In case you missed it, here is what I asked last week:
You are mid-Charleston. After your first pass and the one that came back, you are leaning toward one section, but it is not locked. On this return pass you pick up your three incoming tiles and one of them is a third match to a tile you had quietly written off, the start of a real pung in a totally different section. You still have to pass three tiles along. What is the smartest move?
The smartest move is to let the incoming tile change the plan. That third match is the loudest signal you will get all hand, so fold the new pung into your keep pile and re-read your whole rack before you choose your three passes. Pass from your now-weakest tiles, even if some belong to the section you were leaning toward, because that lean was never locked. You do not have to commit yet. The Charleston is still running, so keep both directions alive one more pass and let the tiles vote.
This week's question
You are midgame with a hand built around a single suit, and it is coming together nicely. Then the player to your left exposes a pung in that exact suit. You still need two more tiles of that suit to finish, and the wall is about half gone. What do you do?
What do you do?
- Stay the course. Your hand is close and switching now wastes everything you have built.
- Keep building, but stop discarding anything in that suit so you are not feeding the player on your left.
- Read the exposure first. Figure out what they likely need and whether your two tiles are still live before committing.
- Pivot immediately to a different hand. One exposure in your suit means you are probably blocked.
Cast your vote above, and I will reveal the answer and the reasoning in next week's recap.
WHERE TO FIND ME
The Confidence Club ($19.99/mo)
Instagram @larasmahjongedit
TikTok @larasmahjongedit
The free Facebook group
Or just reply to this email
Talk soon,
Lara
P.S. Confidence Club and Teacher Edit members, your own member-only sessions this month are included with your membership. Watch your community space for the dates.