Mahjong is one of the most popular games enjoyed by Chinese.
The pleasure you get form just playing It can be so addictive that one continues to look forward to another session as soon as a session finishes.
This can be so even if you have lost money on the mahjong table.
Because mahjong is often associated with gambling even though it can also be a social game between family and friends, if you don’t know how to play the game, maybe you should never learn it at all.
Anyway, this is not a discussion about whether one should learn mahjong or not.
If you have arrived here, you must already be a player of some sort.
Whether it is a beginner or expert level, there are some ways you can maximize your power on the playing table with some simple tips in feng shui concepts and good old Chinese superstition.
You ready?
1) Seating orientation
A seat with no backing will not have the support of the energies present at the area.
Ideally you’d want to have a wall to act as a mountain behind you to act as a support to your winning hands.
At the same time, be aware that it would be mahjong suicide if there is a wall behind you that reflects.
For example a mirror or reflective surface would reveal your cards to other players.
While a seat with wall behind will be good, if the seating configuration allows, the best seat will be the one in walled corner.
This is because the corner would be able to accumulate wealth chi for a player to immediately tap on.
2) Chairs
The person with the most powerful chair assumes the authoritative player amongst all.
This means that playing with you instills fear onto others.
And people might be so intimidated by your presence that they unknowingly play hands that feed into your winning strategies.
The best chair to choose from is the one that has the highest seat. If every chair is of the same height, then place cushions for elevation so that you are above the rest.
Plastic seats made just for the sake of seating puts you in a disadvantaged position against the others… unless everyone has the same type or chair.
In this case, do use some type of elevation.
If there are different types of chairs to choose from, then choose the one with the sturdiest structure, with backing support and arm rest when available.
A grand chair made for an emperor would undoubtedly make you the royalty on the table.
Who would dare win a game against the emperor?
3) Left green dragon and right white tiger
When seated for a game, notice the layout of the space in your view.
If the left side is brighter and with more open spaces, it means that your seat is primed for attacks and being bold in your play.
When the right is the brighter and more open area, it means that you have to be more defensive and cautious in your tactics.
If the room is equally bright and open from all sides, then it you would have to gain a feng shui advantages in other areas like the chair selection as mentioned previously.
4) Grand duke
This tactic is really devious. But some people see playing mahjong as a battlefield war zone.
You might already know that the grand duke (tai sui) is a force to be reckoned with in feng shui.
Those who are in conflict with the grand duke have to face his fury which translates to bad luck.
In every room, there will be an area where the grand duke resides.
Everybody who is facing him will be afflicted while the person with the grand duke behind him will have the general’s support.
This means that if it is under your control, you should sit at a sit with the grand duke behind you.
The player opposite will just have to face up with the might of the general and will have no idea what hit him.
The other 2 players will be indirectly afflicted too. And every time they look in your direction, they will be staring right at Mr tai sui!
To take this up a notch, you can even schedule the game to commence during the zodiac hours of the grand duke!
This is when the influence of the grand duke is even stronger.
Those afflicted will lose their pants in the game!
5) Neutralizers
If there is a very skillful player in which you want to neutralize, if it is within your control, have him sit on the sector where the 3 killings is.
Contrary to the grand duke, the 3 killings is a negative affliction that affects people sitting right on it.
This can cause a player to suffer from total loss in the game.
I feel guilty even mentioning this to you…
On top of that, you can also have these players sitting under beams on the ceiling.
It will exert downward pressure on him and cause him to make mistakes during the game.
6) Red underwear
This is more to do with superstition and how much Chinese culture value the color red as an auspiciously lucky color.
Take note that you should never enter a game intentionally wearing red undergarments from the start.
This is because you don’t even know yet whether your personal feng shui is better or worse than the 3 other players.
Only after you have been losing numerous hands and convinced that you have the elements against you rather than in your favor, should you politely excuse yourself and go to the washroom to change into your red underwear.
This is assuming you intend to carry on playing in the first place.
Red underwear will stealthily charge you up with more yang energy, potentially drawing in more luck for winning.
So infamous this tactic is, that we often joke about people wearing them when they keep on winning. The big winners will of course deny it.
Wearing red underwear to play majong is sometimes known to give players such a winning advantage that it can even labeled as an evil and despicable act.
Cheaters!
Finally, doesn’t it just annoy you when a newbie to mahjong ends up the big winner of a game when the experts with years of experience are floored by his rookie playing style?
This is probably because he had inadvertently sat on the power seat and no matter who the opponents are, he is just going to blow them away.
This power seat can be your is you learn to be more aware of your surroundings.
I hope you are old enough to realize that these are just fun things to do when winning in mahjong is more important than anything else.
Thus, you need to call on the magic of the elements to work in your favor.
Personally, I play the game only for leisure and socializing.
