Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 513 views

    Riichi Mahjong Strategy PDF

    Uploaded by

    AndresFelipePrietoAlarcon
    1. Honor tiles, terminals, and 3-7 tiles are generally more useful than other tiles. 2,8 tiles are also useful. Sets of 3 or more tiles are better than pairs or lone tiles. Middle lone tiles are better than edge lone tiles. You must consider the dealer, dora tiles, score, and your opponents' possible waits when choosing a wait. Defend carefully against riichi hands and big open hands. Pay attention to discarded and remaining tiles to read opponents' hands. 2. When defending, discard less useful tiles first and avoid risky discards late. Consider defending against damaten hands as the round progresses. Be wary of honor tiles and terminals as they become fewer. Flexible waits

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Riichi Mahjong Strategy PDF

    Uploaded by

    AndresFelipePrietoAlarcon
    513 views24 pages
    1. Honor tiles, terminals, and 3-7 tiles are generally more useful than other tiles. 2,8 tiles are also useful. Sets of 3 or more tiles are better than pairs or lone tiles. Middle lone tiles are better than edge lone tiles. You must consider the dealer, dora tiles, score, and your opponents' possible waits when choosing a wait. Defend carefully against riichi hands and big open hands. Pay attention to discarded and remaining tiles to read opponents' hands. 2. When defending, discard less useful tiles first and avoid risky discards late. Consider defending against damaten hands as the round progresses. Be wary of honor tiles and terminals as they become fewer. Flexible waits

    Original Title

    Riichi Mahjong Strategy.pdf

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    1. Honor tiles, terminals, and 3-7 tiles are generally more useful than other tiles. 2,8 tiles are also useful. Sets of 3 or more tiles are better than pairs or lone tiles. Middle lone tiles are better than edge lone tiles. You must consider the dealer, dora tiles, score, and your opponents' possible waits when choosing a wait. Defend carefully against riichi hands and big open hands. Pay attention to discarded and remaining tiles to read opponents' hands. 2. When defending, discard less useful tiles first and avoid risky discards late. Consider defending against damaten hands as the round progresses. Be wary of honor tiles and terminals as they become fewer. Flexible waits

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    513 views24 pages

    Riichi Mahjong Strategy PDF

    Uploaded by

    AndresFelipePrietoAlarcon
    1. Honor tiles, terminals, and 3-7 tiles are generally more useful than other tiles. 2,8 tiles are also useful. Sets of 3 or more tiles are better than pairs or lone tiles. Middle lone tiles are better than edge lone tiles. You must consider the dealer, dora tiles, score, and your opponents' possible waits when choosing a wait. Defend carefully against riichi hands and big open hands. Pay attention to discarded and remaining tiles to read opponents' hands. 2. When defending, discard less useful tiles first and avoid risky discards late. Consider defending against damaten hands as the round progresses. Be wary of honor tiles and terminals as they become fewer. Flexible waits

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 24
    At a glance
    Powered by AI
    The document discusses various mahjong concepts including wait types, hand values, tile safety, and defensive play.

    Common wait types include terminal waits, 3-7 waits, 2-8 waits, pair waits, sets, and multi-sided waits.

    When choosing between waits, considerations include wait strength, potential yaku, suitability for the current round/scoring, and the dealer/dora tiles.

    Basic lone tiles

    Honor tiles:
    Terminals (1,9):
    2,8: 3-7:

    Helpful tile count:


    Helpful tile count: 15 Helpful tile count: 19
    11
    Helpful tile count: 3

    3-7 tiles >2,8 tiles >1,9 tiles > Honor tiles


    Example 1: Sample starting hand
    East round, seat-west
    Dora: North wind

    Example 2: Sets and lone tiles

    Example 3: Poor hand exception


    Seat:west
    Basic set waits

    Middle wait/Kanchan (4
    Pair to triplet (2 tiles) Edge wait/Penchan (4 tiles)
    tiles)

    Double middle
    wait/Ryankan (8 tiles) 2-sided/Ryanmen (8 tiles) 3-sided wait (11 tiles)

    (Requires 3 tiles)

    Example hand: Choosing the best wait

    Example hand: Improvable waits


    Less useful tiles and overlapping waits
    1) less useful tiles

    2) Overlapping waits

    Example hands
    Basic pairs, part 1: No clear pair hands
    Pair waits

    Single pair wait Double pair waits

    More complex pair waits

    Example hands
    With no clear pair, choose set waits over good pair waits

    Basic pairs, part 2


    In general, keep 2 pairs …

    Lost tiles:

    And only 2 pairs:


    Review of the basics
    Middle lone are better than edge lone tiles
    Sometimes, lone tiles can be less useful (or more useful) than normal
    Groups of 2 are better than lone tiles
    Some groups of 2 are better than other groups of 2
    Be careful about breaking up completed sets of 3

    Focus on making hands rather than making yaku


    Think about lost tiles
    There are plenty of exceptions!
    Check the dealer, dora, and score
    Dora: West wind

    Dora: 8m

    Dora: 9s

    Dora: 8p

    Dora: 2p

    Dora: West wind

    Basic defense
    Genbutsu – tiles the player has discarded and all tiles discarded after riichi.

    Suji
    Suji comparison
    Terminal waits:

    2/8 waits:

    3/7 waits:

    Non yakuhai honor tiles, yakuhai honor tiles, terminals


    When playing aggressive against a riichi, discard safest useless tiles first

    When to defend:
    Often against riichis (Maybe no when: in tenpai, close to a big hand, or in a must win
    situation)
    Against big open hands
    Against the dealer
    In higher level rooms, consider defendig against damaten hands as round progresses

    Lost tile and furiten


    Flexible hands
    Dora: 5s
    Complex hands
    More defense
    Walls:

    eliminates and

    making safer

    makes safer
    Red 5 discard: safer

    Outer tiles:

    Discarded early makes tiles closer to the edge likely safe

    Hand range:

    Value considerations:
    Suji guarantees no pinfu
    Honors and terminals guarantee no tanyao

    Playing in on a dora guarantees at lest that dora


    Near dora tiles are at risk for playing into a hand with dora

    Special yaku considerations: Honitsu/ Chinitsu, Chanta/ Junchan

    Situational play and declaring riichi


    When to consider not riichi`ing:
    Closed 4 han (or 6 han) hands

    No riichi ron: 7700, Riichi ron: 8000 (12000)


    No riichi tsumo: 8000, Riichi tsumo: 12000 (rare 16000)

    Very improbable hands

    Winning is more important tan points


    Last draws, unlikely to win

    Riichi can be better with tricky waits

    Player’s choice:
    2/3 han (pinfu) hands

    No riichi ron: 3900, Riichi ron: 7700 (8000/very rare12000)


    No riichi tsumo: 5200, Riichi tsumo: 8000 (12000)

    No riichi ron: 2000, Riichi ron: 3900 (7700)


    No riichi tsumo: 2700, Riichi tsumo: 5200 (8000)

    South 4:
    You (South) – 23500
    West- 24000
    North -14000
    East – 33500

    South 4:
    You (West) – 40000
    North - 27000
    East - 23000
    South - 10000

    South 3:
    You (East) – 8000
    South - 45000
    West -26000
    North – 21000
    South 3:
    You (South) – 8000
    West- 45000
    North -26000
    East – 21000

    South 4:
    You (West) – 8000
    North - 45000
    East -26000
    South – 21000

    East 1, renchan 2, 3 riichi sticks in middle:


    You (West) – 24000
    North - 25000
    East -22000
    South – 26000

    South 2:
    You (East) – 55000
    South - 21000
    West -13000
    North – 11000

    South 4:
    You (North) – 29000
    East - 26000
    South -23000
    West – 22000

    West 2,8th turn


    You (North) – 24700
    East - 24400
    South -28100
    West – 22800

    Dora: 9m
    South 4, renchan 4,3 riichi sticks in middle:
    You (South) – 23500
    West- 23000
    North -22800
    East – 27700
    Thenhou and last place avoidance:
    East – South matches

    Ippan (general) room points gain: 1st = +45


    Joukyuu (expert) room points gain: 1st = +60, 2nd = +15
    Tokujou room points gain: 1st = +75, 2st = +30
    Houou room points gain: 1st = +90, 2st = +45

    4th dan point loss: 4th =-90


    6th dan point loss: 4th =-120

    3 kyuu point loss: 0


    1 kyuu point loss:4th =-30 (can’t rank down)
    2st dan point loss: 4th =-60

    A note on tiles near triplets and pairs

    Awareness
    Recognizing empty waits or weak waits
    No 1 bamboos remaining

    Noticing curious discards and important (dora) discards

    Seeing waits (for defense and tile distribution)


    Noticing discards from the hand vs tiles discarded after being draw
    Hand planning and defense planning
    Defense!
    Want to avoid:
    Unnecessary risks (genbutsu before honor tiles or suji)
    Excessive risks
    High risk low reward

    Defend against riichi


    Defend in dangerous situations (Dealer with double east and dora/yakuhai)
    Avoid dangerous discards late

    Try to be aware of all genbutsu, all suji, and all walls


    Easy to miss:
    Middle suji (ex 5 when 2 and 8 are safe)
    Walled tiles late

    Be wary of honor tiles when they are missing late


    There are many easily believable “fake rules”
    -A player discarding a lot of one suit doesn’t make every tile in that suit more likely to be
    safe
    (depends on what the tiles are and if the tiles came from the hand…)
    -A player not discarding any of one suit doesn’t always make that suit the most
    dangerous
    (depends on held tiles, most recent discards from hand…)

    Safe vs dangerous first


    Play dangerous tiles while you think they are safe
    Play safe tiles first when you think (or know) a player is in tenpai

    In some cases, the normally safer tile may be more dangerous

    When defending , may want to play tiles that are safe but more dangerous to others, and
    hold tiles that are safe to everyone (can think of it as the “dangerous first” rule for other
    players)

    Defensive hand progression and exceptions to the efficiency rules


    Defensive hands
    Can give chance at more value. Particularly when dora is a terminal or honor tile

    Defensive vs risk chiitoitsu

    Defensive vs risk open yakuhai hands

    Hold a lone 3 over a lone 6, and a lone 7 over a lone 4

    Defensive progression

    Hand reading and dangerous tiles, general topics


    You can’t know the opponent’s wait for sure
    However , the tiles that complete the wait you knew about are clearly more dangerous

    Hand reading basics


    The question: Why would you discard that tile, or why would you hold that tile?
    Two big notes: unusual held tiles and early stronger number tile discard

    Early 1 (terminal) before non yakuhai: Higher likelihood of needing 2,3,5


    Early 2(non terminal) before a 1 or non yakuhai: Higher likelihood of needing 3, 6
    Early 3 , 4, 6, 7: Higher likelihood of needing next suji towards the middle
    Early 5: Higher likelihood of needing 1, 4, and/or 6,9

    But , not all early discard indicate a wait:

    This is less applicable when a group of 2 is discarded

    Riichi/near riichi discards from hand:


    Nearby tiles may be dangerous

    Before discarding suji near riichi tile, think if it completes a wait that makes sense
    5799p->799p->79p
    799p, 899p, 779p, 889p, 999p
    6899p->899p->99p
    899p->888p
    889p is unlikely against a strong player (barring special hands, defensive play, or 9p dora)
    But , not all riichi discards even indicate a wait

    It is rare to see a riichi on an improved wait:


    46->67
    So, the tile 4 away from the riichi tiles is not more dangerous. But it may be a separate
    wait:
    24467->234 67
    Or, may be a 3 sided wait:
    344567p->34567p
    Open hands are much easier to read like this. Tiles close to the most recent discard from
    the player`s hand are quite often dangerous

    The “center half suji”


    If a player discarded 1, 2, or 3 (or 7, 8 or 9) early, the middle tile on the same suji is slightly
    safer than the opposite edge on the same suji
    1-4-7
    2-5-8

    But, this doesn’t mean it’s safer compared to other tiles!

    Hand reading and dangerous tiles, specific examples


    Must use good reasoning and understanding to put together information accurately
    1.

    You can see all

    Player riichis and discards from hand

    Is safer or more dangerous?


    (Walled 3 makes 2 safer, riichi on 5 makes 2 more dangerous)

    2.

    Player discards early

    You can see all


    Is safer or more dangerous?
    (Early 7 discards makes 3/6 more dangerous but you can see all 6)

    3.

    Player discards early

    Player riichi and discards from hand

    Is safer or more dangerous?


    (Early 7 discards makes 9 safer as it’s outside of the 7, but tiles near riichi discard more
    dangerous)

    4.

    Player discards early

    Player riichis and discards

    Is or safer?
    (Early 2 makes 5 safer than 8… usually)

    5.
    Player discards early

    Player riichis and discards

    Is or safer?
    (Early 2 makes 5 safer than 8… usually)

    maybe

    unlikely

    6.

    Player discards early and discards on the draw

    You can see all

    Is safe or more dangerous?


    (Early 6 makes 2/5 more dangerous. 6 then 8 may change meaning but 8 was in the
    draw . Does walled a matter?)

    A Trick with middle tiles, suji, and walls:


    For 4, 5, 6 to be safer, usually you need to see the suji on both ends
    With walls, you sometimes only need to see one suji
    All 2 out: safe 7 makes 4 likely safe
    All 3 out: safe 7 makes 4 likely safe (same as a suji terminal)
    safe 8 makes 5 likely safe

    Strong drawing ranges


    Don’t do this incorrectly!

    Intimidation plays and aggressive plays

    +1300 (2000) on ron, +3000 if only player tenpai


    Kan double east or double south
    Other (closed) kans
    Dora pon
    Obvious honitsu or chanta
    Giving up on tenpai too easily might be giving up too much of an edge:
    -Can stick to your hand when other players’ hand are probably cheap
    -Sometimes knowing likely safe tiles helps you play safe and hold on to your hand

    Special tips and tricks


    Predicting tiles in the wall
    Early 1 may mean player has 4 (especially 1/9 before non yakuhai honor tile)
    Early 2 mean player likely doesn’t have 3
    If tile behind a wait aren’t discarded, maybe no one has them (67789 with two 7’s
    discarded)

    5 over 6
    Hands that discard 6:
    246, draw 3
    46, draw 3

    Hands that discard 5:


    135, draw 2
    579, draw 8
    35, draw 2
    57, draw 8

    There is surely much more out there…


    Example hands from actual matches
    South 1, west wind hold
    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014102909gm-0089-0000-xd06647d172ad&tw=1

    South 2. safe as dealer with 4 dora


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014111113gm-0029-0000-x60e12725fea3&tw=1

    East 2, reckless read as dealer


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015051114gm-0029-0000-72adbbb6&tw=1

    South 1. steal the win from the open hand


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015060408gm-0029-0000-081d21a3&tw=3

    East 3 (1), riichi tile suji; South 2 (1), north wind hold
    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015061112gm-0029-0000-226c14a4&tw=3

    South 1, missed dodge .


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015062114gm-0029-0000-d74a7770&tw=0

    East 2. tenpai vs 2 riichis: South 4, riichi and dealer damaten


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015072806gm-0029-0000-5df39d9d&tw=0

    East 1 (1), after a frustrating loss


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015080313gm-0029-0000-caab9475&tw=1

    East 2 (1). 9 vs suji 3


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015080808gm-0029-0000-9ae46da2&tw=0

    South 1 (1). north wind hold


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015072407gm-0029-0000-bf6c2763&tw=3

    South 3, situational risk


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015080613gm-0029-0000-6e3574b7&tw=2

    South 2. houou room, dodge the open hancj


    http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015090213gm-00a9-0000-baee5e89&tw=0

    You might also like