Most Saturdays following Sabbath services at Boca Raton Synagogue, Aviva Reich Bierly and her friends get together for an afternoon of mahjongg.

“We all have two, three, four, five children,” said Reich Bierly, 45, of West Boca Raton. “When we can get away, we all run out and play.”

Reich Bierly and several other women in the group said they are part of a growing number of mahjongg players in South Palm Beach County and around the country.

Barak Bar Chaim, 38, a former assistant rabbi at Boca Raton Synagogue, tapped into that following with the DVD “Learn Mahjongg with Susie,” his first foray into Internet marketing.

The DVD features Susie Berger, one of the women in Reich Bierly’s group, introducing new players to the American version of the ancient Chinese game. It is available for $39.95 at howtoplaymahjong.com.

“There was no way of learning except having an experienced teacher in a group,” Bar Chaim said. “It can be quite intimidating to get into the game. The rules can be quite confusing, especially for the beginner.”

He said he approached Berger, who has taught about a dozen women to play mahjongg, to become a partner in the project. She wrote the script and narrated the video. And he hired a videographer to do the filming and produce the DVD from more than eight hours of video.

Bar Chaim said he never heard of mahjongg until he came to West Boca Raton from South Africa with his family a little more than two years ago to live near his parents and sister. He became assistant rabbi at the synagogue after leading congregations in South Africa for eight years.

Bar Chaim said he wanted to make a career change and decided to try Internet marketing, starting with the mahjongg DVD. “I saw it was a market that no one had done anything in yet,” he said.

He said he is considering producing a DVD about mahjongg strategy and is working on DVDs on self-growth and development and on cooking.

Berger, 41, said she learned mahjongg from a friend and was “hooked after the first game.

“A lot of people probably think mahjongg is for older women,” the West Boca Raton resident said. “It has made a tremendous comeback. It’s not just your grandmother’s game anymore.”

Mona Fisher, 52, of West Boca Raton who also plays mahjongg on the Sabbath, agreed that the game is making a comeback. “It’s just fun. It’s very social,” she said.

Fisher thinks “Learn Mahjongg with Susie” will do very well, especially with people who want to learn to play but don’t want to take a class.

Let’s get down to the Mahjong Rules for Jokers. Firstly, it is important to understand that jokers can only be used to complete a set containing three or more like tiles. Therefore Jokers can never be used in singles and pairs. In addition to this rule, a joker cannot be used in 2010 or similar runs.

To understand how the joker can be played during a game, let us assume a player exposes a set completed with the aid of a Joker. If another player has the tile replacing the joker in the set, they may switch the Joker for this replacement tile on their turn.

Finally, a Joker cannot be used during the pre-game Charleston.

Apart from the Mahjong Rules, for strategic purposes one should always keep in mind that there are only eight Jokers in an American Mahjong set. Once one has mastered the basic Mahjong Rules, the next step in learning how to play Mahjongg is to focus on strategy, which is the exciting and challenging part of the game.

I know that learning how to play Mahjongg may be intimidating at first, but I can tell you from personal experience that you will get into it before you know it. Mahjong is perhaps the hottest up and coming social game in America. Your children will pick it up in no time and once one knows how to play Mahjong, one becomes an instant Mahjong addict.

A courtesy pass may also follow the Charleston if two players sitting across each other agree. In American Mahjong rules there are more special hands than in the Chinese form of the game. The hand consists of a combination of quint, pung, kong, pair or single tiles. Another key difference is that jokers are used in the American form of the game.

You will find that American Mahjong will provide your family and friends hours of fun, excitement and entertainment. If you are willing to take the risk of becoming a Mahjong addict then learn how to play mahjongg today.

Learning how to play mahjongg used to be a extremely difficult, but now learning how to play mahjong is easier than ever.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Candy_Fox

Mahjong rules (American Mahjong) for the Charleston are as follows. Each player must swap three tiles facedown to their neighbor on the right. Next, each player swaps three tiles with the player opposite them. Then players must swap three more tiles to their left neighbor.
This can be followed up by a second Charleston if all players are mutually agreeable. For the left passes only, a player may choose to perform a ‘Blind Pass’. In the ‘Blind’ Pass players may take one, two, or three tiles that are being passed to them and pass them to the player on the left without looking at the tiles. The upside to all this tile swapping is that there is a very good
chance you’ll have a strong hand on your rack.

Understanding the Charleston dance is an important stepping stone towards learning how to play Mahjong.
Following the Charleston is a voluntary tile swap called the Courtesy Pass. Mahjong rules dictate that a maximum of three tiles can be swapped during the Courtesy Pass. The players must agree on the amount of tiles to be swapped in the Courtesy Pass. At this point the fun continues with the regular game.
This may sound confusing, but don’t worry, before long you will know how to play mahjongg. Once you learn how to play Mahjong, you will be rewarded with hours of addictive game play with friends and family.

Learn How to Play Mahjong Today!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Candy_Fox

But as one Rabbi discovered, you have to be an “insider” to learn how to play.

He discovered the only way to learn to play mahjong is either by buying a book or finding someone patient enough to teach you.

But as a newbie to the game, you slow everything down. You not only slow down your teacher, but all of their partners as well.

They get frustrated and glare at you and make you feel uncomfortable.

Well, when this Rabbi heard about these complaints, he investigated and found out there wasn’t a single DVD teaching women How to Play Mah Jong.

So he went ahead and found one of the top players in his community and the rest is history.

Formally the domain of older women, Mah Jongg is “in” again and people are finding the game a challenging meeting of the minds.

While it’s a competitive game, everyone celebrates when someone excitedly says “MahJongg!”

Shouldn’t this be you?

The DVD featuring Susie is simple to understand. You watch it once, maybe a second time, and you are ready to sit down at the table and play.

It covers everything from how to set up your pieces to how to play the game of Mah Jongg.

And so much more.

You’ll never wonder if you are doing it wrong.

You’ll never be embarrassed by saying the wrong thing or making the wrong move.

You’ll understand strategy, which hand to play, and all the rules of playing American MahJongg.

So if you’ve been on the outside and want to learn how to play Mah Jongg but didn’t have a patient teacher, let Susie be your guide.

You’ll never wonder if you are doing it wrong.
You’ll never be embarrassed by saying the wrong thing or making the wrong move.
You’ll understand strategy, which hand to play, and the American Mahjong Rules.
So if you’ve been on the outside and want to learn how to play Mahjong but didn’t have a patient teacher, let Susie be your guide.
You’ll fall in love with her patient and clear teaching style an learn how to play American Mahjong with confidence.

How to Play Mahjong With a Winning Hand

For today’s baby boomer generation learning how to play Mahjong (American Mahjong) is a must. This incredibly addictive game is a great social unifier. It is a great way to meet new people, make new friends and have loads of stimulating fun. Although the ‘house rules’ differ in some ways from the official rules, the basic American Mahjong rules are more or less the same.  At first learning how to play Mahjong may be intimidating but it is well worth the effort. Its Chinese origins give the game an air of mystique.

The aim of the game is to complete a winning hand. The American Mahjongg League produces a card showing the winning hands. The card is changed annually ensuring the game remains fresh and exciting. Some hands are more challenging than others. Part and parcel of the ‘learning how to play Mahjongg‘ process is gaining an understanding of the winning hands presented on the card.

It takes great skill and strategy deciding which hand to play. It often happens based on the tiles you have been dealt that there are a number of hands that could be played. Often the best thing to do in these situations is to keep all possibilities open for as long as possible. However, beginner players would be well advised to pick a winning hand to work towards as early as possible.

There is nothing like the thrill of declaring “Mahjong”. Upon declaring ‘Mahjong’ you will need to reveal your entire hand to the other players so that they can verify that you do in fact have a valid hand. After that, it is time to play again! Rotation in Mahjong occurs counter clockwise, so the player on the south end would move to the east and become the dealer, and so on around the table.

The game is growing in popularity on a daily basis and more and more baby boomers are interested in learning how to play Mahjongg. Mind you, people in their twenties and thirties are learning the Mahjong Rules and are also becoming Mahjong addicts. I highly recommend learning how to play Mahjong today.

Up until recently the only way to learn how to play mahjong was either by buying a book or finding someone patient enough to teach you. Without good guidance the Mahjong Rules can be very confusing.

But now there is great way to enter into the exciting world of American Mahjong? There is a step-by-step DVD that takes you by the hand and teaches you How to Play Mahjongg in just hours!

Learn How to Play Mahjong Today!

(ArticlesBase SC #2893898)

Candy Fox – About the Author:
Candy Fox is a young baby boomer that recently learnt how to play Mahjong . She can now be classified as an official American Mahjong addict. She discovered the first ever DVD teaching the Mahjong Rules in a clear and concise way at www.howtoplaymahjong.com.  She was so astounded by the social benefit that playing Mahjong had on her life that she has dedicating herself to spread the word and teach others the American Mahjong rules and how to play Mahjongg.