Learning to enjoy a night on the tiles with my in-laws

Once I've made my turn, the others at lightning pace begin to chi (to grab from the discarded pile a tile that completes a straight of three tiles), peng (to grab from the discarded pile a tile that completes a set of three identical tiles), and gang (to grab from the discarded pile a tile that completes a set of four identical tiles).

Despite the saying in mahjong that new players have the best luck, I rarely ever hule — complete a hand before the other players.

Ms Roberts does not divulge in her interview which version of mahjong she plays, for there are many variations, too many to go into detail about here, but I play the standard game with the inclusion of north, south, east, west tiles; flower tiles; fa tiles; zhong tiles; and baiban tiles. Those who play mahjong will know what I'm talking about.

The game had, for many years, been associated with gambling in China until there was a push in the late '90s to clean up the scene, and today, at least at the tables I frequent, there's no gambling, no smoking and no drinking.

And judging from her interview, Ms Roberts also adheres to these chaste principles while hitting the tables. An attitude and approach that can be admired, and one that I approve of, too. That being said, after losing for hours on end, a drink here or there wouldn't go amiss.