4-06

Got three pairs of terminals?
Consider All Terminals and Honors

What would be your strategy if you had the hand shown in Figure 1?

Figure 1

You should meld any pungs immediately. For example, let's say that you meld a pung of . You're your next discard should be (Figure 2).

Figure 2

pung

The reason is that you want to keep more possibilities open than just All Terminals and Honors. Depending on what tiles you draw, you may be able to switch to an Outside Hand or a 123 Mixed Triple Chow. If you are fortunate enough to draw , or , you can go straight for All Terminals and Honors. Normally, when playing International Tournament Rules, you should try to build a quick hand, but Outside Hand is hardly a quick combination, in which case you should leave the possibility open for the higher-scoring All Terminals and Honors. Let's say that a few turns later you have reached the point shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3

pung pung pung

If you discard , you will be ready on an Outside Hand. But before you do so, take a close look at the board, and what tiles have been discarded. If the is still live, you may want to discard and go for All Terminals and Honors. Of course, if other players appear close to going out, you should stick with an already-completed hand.

All Terminals and Honors can also combine with Seven Pairs (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

This is one combination that could practically knock an opponent out in one blow: All Terminals and Honors (32 pts.) + Seven Pairs (24 pts.) tallies up to a devastating 56-point total.