Important Questions and Answers
Proprietary Information
1. Does a player have to know "Mahjong" to play Mahjong
Poker?
2. How do you explain the Mahjong Poker cards to someone
who has never seen Mahjong?
3. How do you explain Shoot Out to someone who has never
seen Mahjong before?
4. Is Mahjong Poker a variation of Mahjong?
5. The Shoot Out game allows players to exchange one card,
consuming some extra time. Why should casino operators
like this?
6. Who performed the mathematical analyses of Mahjong
Poker Gold and Mahjong Poker Shoot Out?
7. Why is Shoot Out simpler/easier than Texas Holdem?
8. What are the major differences between a poker game and
a Mahjong Poker game?
9. How many hands of Mahjong Poker Gold and Shoot Out
can be played per hour?
10. Could Mahjong Poker be made into a video game?
===========================================================
1. Does a player have to know Mahjong to play Mahjong Poker?
Absolutely not. Playing Mahjong Poker requires a player to recognize a 3-card set (trips or a 3-card straight), a 2-card pair and the combination of one set and one pair. A player does not have to look beyond these 2-card, 3-card and 5-card combinations in the player’s hand.
2. How do you explain the Mahjong Poker cards to someone who has never
seen Mahjong?
Mahjong Poker has 82 cards. There are 3 suits: Green, Red and Black. In each suit the cards are numbered from A to 9, with 3 identical cards for each number. (Therefore each suit has 27 cards.) There is also 1 Joker.
3. How do you explain Shoot Out to someone who has never seen Mahjong?
Shoot Out is in many ways similar to Texas Holdem, but there are several important differences. The rules require - just as in traditional Mahjong - that the two cards in a pair be of a single suit, the three cards in a straight be of a single suit, and the three cards in trips be of a single suit. All pairs are equal to one another (i.e., there are no higher or lower rankings); all straights are equal to one another; and all trips are equal to one another. In Shoot Out, a player uses his best 5 out of the 8 cards dealt to compete with the Dealer’s five-card hand.
The rankings for five-card hands are:
• Flush Trips Hu (A “Hu” is a hand with a 3-card set and
a 2-card pair)
• Trips Hu
• Trips
• Flush Run Hu
• Run Hu
• Two Pairs
• Straight (or “Run”)
• One Pair
• Nothing (Lower than one pair)
4. Is Mahjong Poker a variation of Mahjong?
The various Mahjong Poker games have some Mahjong attributes, as explained in the earlier questions. But in most other respects, Mahjong Poker Gold and Mahjong Poker Shoot Out are very much like traditional Vegas-style table games.
5. The Shoot Out game allows players to exchange one card, consuming some
extra time. Why should casino operators like this?
The card exchange feature is an exciting innovation that will attract more players and keep them playing longer. And because players must pay a fee to the house to exchange a card, the house’s revenue will increase, more than paying for the extra time required for card exchange.
6. Who did the mathematical analyses of Mahjong Poker and Mahjong Poker
Shoot Out?
Opercon Technologies, Inc, an Alameda, CA-based company, contracted the analyses to seasoned post-graduate computer professionals. The work was performed under the oversight of Dr. Wayne Hong, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, who has been a visiting professor at San Francisco State University, the University of Santa Clara University, and the University of California at Berkeley.
7. Why is Shoot Out simpler/easier than Texas Holdem?
Shoot Out uses Mahjong Poker cards and Mahjong-based rules under which all pairs are equal, all straights are equal and so on. Players only need to recognize 2-card and 3-card patterns and their combinations. These rules are simpler that those used in Texas Holdem. Every Mahjong player can recognize these patterns readily.
8. What are the major differences between a poker game and a Mahjong Poker
game?
In traditional poker-based games, there are 3-card straights and flushes, 5-card straights and flushes, and so on. The cards in a pair can be of different suits, and the cards in a straight can be of different suits. Higher-numbered cards outrank lower numbered cards. In Mahjong Poker Gold, there are only 2-card pairs and 3-card sets (either 3-card straights or trips). The cards in a pair must be identical, and the 3 cards in a set must of the same suit. Higher-numbered cards do not outrank lower-numbered cards.
9. How many hands of Mahjong Poker Gold and Shoot Out can be played per hour?
Mahjong Poker Gold is a medium-speed, high-tension game with up to four rounds per hand, challenging players who like to rely on skills and math. One six-player hand requires about 6 minutes, so 60 hands can be played per hour. Please note that this is a high wager game; the minimum wager per hand is at least 3 times of the minimum bet.
Shoot Out is a faster game that requires 2 minutes for one six-player hand. So up to 180 hands (6 players, 30 rounds) can be played per hour. Please note that the average wager is at least 2 times of the minimum bet. This is compitable to a Blackjack table.
10. Could Mahjong Poker be made into a video game?
Definitely. Mahjong Poker is very suitable for either a stand-alone video game or an interactive, server-based multi-player system. Please see the following conceptual design of the screen display for one player Video Mahjong Poker .
For more information, please write to: