Japanese Mahjong Tactics B

Yaku

Names of hand patterns

Short term list:

Haipai

Ryuukyoku

"Exhaustive draw"

Haipai

English translation unclear

• Pinfu
• Chanta

Approved

• Consider your best options
• Even with a bad looking hand
• Ditch useless tiles early

Start hand

Example waits:

Wait patterns

Wait patterns may work in combination

Specific waits with names

Things to consider:

More:

• Ryanmenten
• Nobetan
• Sanmentan
• Entotsu

Basic waits:

• Ryanmen
• Penchan
• Kanchan
• Shanpon
• Tanki

• Yaku
• Seat positions
• Wait patterns
• Strategy terms
• Seat positions

Recognizing waiting patterns...

... easier to see waiting tiles.

• Which yaku(man) to go for?

• Dora?

Mixing some English

with Japanese terminology

• May not need to

Seat positions

Strategy terms

• Play closed vs open

• Alternatives?

Relative to your view point

Terms to describe concepts

Toimen

• Can't change hand

Shimocha

Kamicha

Just focus on important ones

• Shanten

• Useful vs useless tiles

"player to the left"

Learn as we go along.

Wordy

YOU

• So, can't defend

• Muh riichi stick!

Oikake riichi

Damaten instead?

Riichi after yours

Dis

Advantages

Jargon

Situational Mahjong

Japanese Terminology

Riichi

Tile efficiency

Since you can't defend...

... someone may come after you.

• Mahjong is hard enough

Depend on the tiles, given to you

• Riichi is a yaku

To riichi, or not to riichi...

Getting to tenpai - fast

• Learn new language?

• More points

• English can confuse

Risk/Reward play

• Apply pressure

Synonyms, translation mixups

• Ura dora

Riichi

e.g. round, set, draw, etc.

Huge list of words

Be careful....

... but don't be timid either.

Contact:

ACEN Mahjong Tournament

Main topics

Defense

Reading the Tiles

Chicago Area Mahjong Players

Deny players YOUR points

Japanese Mahjong

Tactics

Signup

16 or 20 players

Facebook: groups/chimahjong

• Riichi
• Defense
• Tile efficiency
• Kan
• Scoring

Midwest Mahjong

Soon after this panel

midwestmahjong.com

Hyatt @ Florence Room

Enough talking

Why defend?

Visible tiles

Scoring

What you should know

by now?

Today

• Memorize like Mult. Table
• Note equivalences

Don't get ron'd

Basic tactics

Point loss (ron) > Point loss (tsumo)

Focus

• Basic game rules
• Furiten
• Kan usage
• Yaku

Tiles you can see:

• Your own
• Discards
• Dora indicator
• Any called tiles

However...

Know to count

Han and Fu

I don't know much.

Disclaimer:

Avoiding ron

Let's play

Most importantly...

... everyone has a playstyle.

At your own leisure

More wins

You've played some # of games.

Counting tiles

Show me some tanoshii

What to look for?

When to defend?

Hidden tiles

Defense strategies

How late into the hand

Choose your waits wisely

All the time?

Tenpai, against kamicha riichi

• # of unavailable tiles
• Tiles invoking furiten
• Specific tile types

e.g. Suit discards?

• Called tiles

• Genbutsu
• Suji
• Kabe

Tiles you can't see:

• Other player's hands
• The wall
• The dead wall

• Late in the hand
• When not in tenpai
• When in tenpai
• After someone calls Riichi

Backfire

Potential threats

Sometimes, can't afford to defend...

Safe tile order

Temporary Furiten

Safest: Genbutsu

Tenpai for 3-6

Most dangerous: Middle simples

Decline a win

See Osamuko.com

(basic defense techniques)

Not enough pts

for gyakuten

Temp

Furiten

Genbutsu

Suji

Permanent if in Riichi

100% safe tiles

Intervals

• Furiten rule, involving ryanmen, nobetan, etc.

• Discards
• 4th honor (after 3 discarded or called)
• Tile discarded by Kamicha (left)

Example: if 6 is discarded, then 3 or 9 might be safe.

Tenpai

Non-ryanmen are immune to suji

(Temporary Furiten)

Beware: Suji trap

May be safe only to one player

Other defensive

considerations

WWYD

Why?

Example: All one suit 2's

discarded

Betaori

Kabe

What would you discard?

• Which player is most threatening?

Tile counting

• What yaku might particular players going for?

Abandon the Hand

Consequence:

1-2-3 sequence impossible

• Which suits are in demand?

• Escape losing points (or minimal)
• Play the next hand

Take account certain numbered tiles discarded

• How many dora do you have?

Screenshot puzzles, asking for the best discard to choose

• How many open calls?

http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014050418gm-0029-0000-526c934c&tw=3