Nowadays, online Shenzhen games are offered by Mahjong Logic. Shenzhen Mahjong is also popularly called as Bang Bang Mahjong. It is considered to be a fast-moving game where kongs are paid out during the game, besides settling as some person wins.
Rules are similar to any Mahjong game type: avail 4 sets and a pair (or 13 orphans or 7 pairs) to declare Mahjong for winning. The hand does not have any minimum requirement and every Mahjong hand is said to be equal in value – no fans, doubles, yakus, hans, or points. Shenzhen game, in essence is quite fast and also an easier variant to learn.
But, the devil including the fun is present in details. Firstly, discarded tile cannot be claimed for chow, unless final tile is required for Mahjong. Secondly, it is not the best course of action always going for Mahjong, as any of the kongs declared during the game pays usually much or even more, than having the hand won. Thirdly, discarded tile can be used for going Mahjong and to decline it, discarded titles may not be claimed for Mahjong, until next hand.
The bet levels in live games are presented in the form of two numbers: one large payment and other small one, for instance $2/$1. With Mahjong Logic software it is shown 6 times big payment online, since it is where your losses are capped. Going Mahjong payment is simple. If on discard, you go Mahjong, then big payment is paid to you by the discarding players. Each player is required to make big payments to you when it is Mahjong on self-draw. Given big and small payments of $2 and $1, following payments are likely to take place during the course of the game:
- If a hidden kong is declared, other players need to pay $2 (big payment)
- If discarded tile is claimed for from hidden pong for forming kong, then big and small payment is made by discarding player, totaling $3.
- In case, pong has already been declared, and a fourth tile of similar kind is drawn from the wall and kong declared, then all the other players are required to pay a small payment.
It is for this very reason that in Shenzhen Mahjong, Kong is considered to be king, leaving just a single case: if kong is declared in some way, however, another player uses a tile from that kong to go Mahjong, then you get robbed of the kong and need to make payment to the winner and also the other players, since the winner wins on self-draw.
It is a great strategy to go for Mahjong if any of the kongs are not closer to you. Also, there is a reason for going Mahjong, which is the following lucky draw. There is a lucky tile list with each wind. If on self-draw, you declare Mahjong, you can have next tile drawn from the wall. In case that tile is regarded to a lucky tile that connects with the seat wind, then there is a need for making big payments by the losers for self-draw Mahjong (robbing kong is not counted in this case as self-draw). Lucky tiles for East are East, 9, 5 and 1 of any suit; they are Red Dragon, South, 6 and 2 for South; they are Green Dragon, West, 7 and 3 for West; they are White Dragon, North, 8 and 4 for North. It means a lucky tile can be drawn more by East. The game’s final twist is that in case, you win, the next hand for you is to be East.