WWydS for pre-

intermediate
players
By Krabman

50 SHADES OF
MAHJONG
 Introduction
Are you an aspiring intermediate Riichi player? This book may be for you! It contains 50 WWYD
questions divided into five categories:

- hand planning
- call judgment
- riichi judgment
- defense
- push/fold

Mind you, it’s not a school test. Your goal as a reader is not to simply guess the answers and move on.
The ‘why’ behind every single discard is far more important than the ‘what’. That’s why I provide the
reasoning behind each answer. Key points are mentioned in some cases as well. If you give a good
answer but your logic is off or you can’t explain the decision – study more!

The questions vary in difficulty. The difficulty rating is shown under each question. It’ s a rough
subjective estimate. I used a 5-star scale: 1 star – basic, 5 star – difficult.
Answers are provided on separate pages. Even though I used Tenhou screenshots, assume you’re
playing with a standard 10-30 uma.

Always give your own answer before you take a peek!

50 Shades of Mahjong will bring best results in combination with Daina Chiba’s Riichi Book 1. If you
haven’t studied it, make sure to do so and then go back to 50 Shades.

❖ RB1 link:
https://dainachiba.github.io/RiichiBooks/

❖ Japanese terminology is used throughout the book. All terms can be found here:
http://mahjong-ny.com/features/terminology/

❖ If you’re looking for a good place to discuss strategy:

https://discord.gg/Aqfp9bU Competitive Riichi Hub
https://discord.gg/n5nbDhU Haneman Hunters Club

Krabman
 Contents
CHAPTER 1: HAND PLANNING ........................................................................................................ 5
Q1 ............................................................................................................................................ 5
A1 ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Q2 ............................................................................................................................................ 7
A2 ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Q3 ............................................................................................................................................ 9
A3 ...........................................................................................................................................10
Q4 ...........................................................................................................................................11
A4 ...........................................................................................................................................12
Q5 ...........................................................................................................................................13
A5 ...........................................................................................................................................14
Q6 ...........................................................................................................................................15
A6 ...........................................................................................................................................16
Q7 ...........................................................................................................................................17
A7 ...........................................................................................................................................18
Q8 ...........................................................................................................................................19
A8 ...........................................................................................................................................20
Q9 ...........................................................................................................................................21
A9 ...........................................................................................................................................22
Q10 .........................................................................................................................................23
A10..........................................................................................................................................24
CHAPTER 2: CALL JUDGMENT........................................................................................................25
Q11 .........................................................................................................................................25
A11..........................................................................................................................................26
Q12 .........................................................................................................................................27
A12..........................................................................................................................................28
Q13 .........................................................................................................................................29
A13..........................................................................................................................................30
Q14 .........................................................................................................................................31
A14..........................................................................................................................................32
Q15 .........................................................................................................................................33
A15..........................................................................................................................................34
Q16 .........................................................................................................................................35
A16..........................................................................................................................................36
 Q17 .........................................................................................................................................37
a17 ..........................................................................................................................................38
Q18 .........................................................................................................................................39
a18 ..........................................................................................................................................40
Q19 .........................................................................................................................................41
A19..........................................................................................................................................42
Q20 .........................................................................................................................................43
A20..........................................................................................................................................44
Chapter 3: Riichi judgment............................................................................................................45
Q21 .........................................................................................................................................45
A21..........................................................................................................................................46
Q22 .........................................................................................................................................47
A22..........................................................................................................................................48
Q23 .........................................................................................................................................49
A23..........................................................................................................................................50
Q24 .........................................................................................................................................51
A24..........................................................................................................................................52
Q25 .........................................................................................................................................53
A25..........................................................................................................................................54
Q26 .........................................................................................................................................55
A26..........................................................................................................................................56
Q27 .........................................................................................................................................57
A27..........................................................................................................................................58
Q28 .........................................................................................................................................59
A28..........................................................................................................................................60
Q29 .........................................................................................................................................61
a29 ..........................................................................................................................................62
Q30 .........................................................................................................................................63
A30..........................................................................................................................................64
Chapter 4: defense .......................................................................................................................65
Q31 .........................................................................................................................................65
A31..........................................................................................................................................66
Q32 .........................................................................................................................................67
A32..........................................................................................................................................68
Q33 .........................................................................................................................................69
A33..........................................................................................................................................70
 Q34 .........................................................................................................................................71
A34..........................................................................................................................................72
Q35 .........................................................................................................................................73
A35..........................................................................................................................................74
Q36 .........................................................................................................................................75
A36..........................................................................................................................................76
Q37 .........................................................................................................................................77
A37..........................................................................................................................................78
Q38 .........................................................................................................................................79
A38..........................................................................................................................................80
Q39 .........................................................................................................................................81
A39..........................................................................................................................................82
Q40 .........................................................................................................................................83
A40..........................................................................................................................................84
Chapter 5: push/fold ....................................................................................................................85
Q41 .........................................................................................................................................85
A41..........................................................................................................................................86
Q42 .........................................................................................................................................87
A42..........................................................................................................................................88
Q43 .........................................................................................................................................89
A43..........................................................................................................................................90
Q44 .........................................................................................................................................91
A44..........................................................................................................................................92
Q45 .........................................................................................................................................93
A45..........................................................................................................................................94
Q46 .........................................................................................................................................95
A46..........................................................................................................................................96
Q47 .........................................................................................................................................97
A47..........................................................................................................................................98
Q48 .........................................................................................................................................99
A48........................................................................................................................................ 100
Q49 ....................................................................................................................................... 101
A49........................................................................................................................................ 102
Q50 ....................................................................................................................................... 103
A50........................................................................................................................................ 104
 CHAPTER 1: HAND PLANNING
This is where it starts. I use hand planning as an umbrella term for tile efficiency, flexibility and
speed/value trade-offs.

Are you ready?

Q1

RATING:
 A1

You want to open this hand with Chun. Your hand has six blocks:

uii fgh fg kl vb 77
You should maximize efficiency and discard the weakest block. In this case it is the penchan, since all
other blocks are ryanmen. That’s the easy part.

Which tile should you discard first? It’s very important to start with 9p because drawing 8p gives you
a chance for Tanyao-Pinfu.

Discard: l
Key point
Pay attention to the discard order when breaking unnecessary blocks.
 Q2

Rating:
 A2

You can divide the hand into blocks like this:

tty yui oo fhk bnm

This suggests non-red 5m discard. However! You can also divide the blocks like this:

ty tyui oo fhk bnm

Discarding 8m gives you a chance for Iipeiko!

Discard: i
Key point
Always make sure you see all possible block interpretations.
 Q3

RATING:
 A3

The hand has only four blocks:

e ty i sd jkkk zzx n
You need at least one more block so you should compare the floating tiles: 38m and 6s. Both 3 & 8m
are redundant, but there’s a difference between them. 3m allows you to accept dora 1m.

6s can connect 57s to create ryanmen. 8m is next to ryanmen so it doesn’t add relevant ukeire.

Floating tile value in this case goes like this: 3m > 6s > 8m.

Discard: i
KEY POINT
Pay attention to dora connectors.
 Q4

RATING:
 A4

First off, make sure to count 5m as one block:

t aas ghj xxcvvvb

You want to have one block in manzu, two in pinzu and two in souzu. The block in souzu is quite flexible:

xxc vvvb
xx vv cvb
xxcv vvb
The most efficient discard is 4s because it only loses the ukeire of 1x4s. However, that one tile makes
a huge difference. By keeping the whole block in souzu, you maintain iishanten and a chance for Iipeiko.

Discard: s
Key point
Pure efficiency isn’t the answer when Yaku are involved.
 Q5

RATING:
 A5

Your hand has only four blocks so you need to compare the floating tiles:

w t tyu ii asd j vb ,
5m and 7p are the most versatile. The choice boils down to 2m/8s. They are in the same position so
they have the same ukeire. Which one should you pick?

Consider making ryanmen with either tile. If you draw 3m, you’ll have 14m ryanmen. If y ou draw 7s,
the shape in souzu will have overlapping ukeire:

vbm,
6s overlaps making these ryanmen weaker.

Discard: ,
Key point
Watch out for overlapping ukeire when comparing floating tiles or block upgrades.
 Q6

RATING:
 A6

The hand has four pairs so you should consider Chiitoitsu as one of the targets. You’re choosing
between 4m and 8m. Keeping 4m gives you decent indirect ukeire (6-block method) but since you
already have a pretty good shape (3 ryanmen), it’s better to prioritize the direct ukeire of 7m.

Discard: r
Key point
Be aware of direct and indirect ukeire. When playing for the fastest tenpai, the 5-block method’s
usually the answer.
 Q7

RATING:
 A7

There are two options: 9m and 9s. The latter seems easier to connect and Ittsu may appear tempting.
The problem is that to get Ittsu you need three specific tiles: 148s – this plan may easily backfire.
Keeping 9m allows you to get the same value boost with a larger number of tiles (the tiles around 59m).

Discard: .
Key point
Don’t overfocus on Yaku when going after value. Keep efficiency on your mind.
 Q8

RATING:
 A8

There are six blocks:

yu aas gg kl zxc n,
The weakest block is the penchan. Keeping 15p shanpon should be the priority. Why?

Doing so enables you to create ryanmen with 5p. Kanchan 68s is stronger than 89p because it can
upgrade to ryanmen. You also don’t actually lose the ukeire of 7p thanks to 5p.

Your initial answer may have been 2p but you’d edge away from Pinfu by discarding it.

Discard: kl
Key point
Remember that shanpon made of tiles 2-8 can turn into ryanmen.
 Q9

RATING:
 A9

Six blocks yet again:

ww ui df hjk bnm bn
One of the blocks has to go. Consider the possible Yaku – Pinfu is guaranteed with this shape.

What else should you consider?

You say Iipeiko? Sure, there’s a good chance for that but Tanyao should be considered first as it’s not
luck dependent.

How can you secure Tanyao?

Discard: ui
Key point
Securing Tanyao (and/or Pinfu) is often superior to chasing fickle Yaku (Iipeiko, Ittsu, Sanshoku).
Q10

RATING:
 A10

Looks complicated? It is. Kind of. Beginners tend to get lost in shapes like this. Let’s break it down:

ty tyu dfgh bnm bn

This doesn’t help much, does it? You need to look for a potential pair. Which block is best for making
a pair and a set?

Manzu and souzu! You can divide them like this:

tt yyu bb nnm
You may be familiar with these combinations. They’re called aryanmen - very flexible when your hand
doesn’t have a fixed pair.

Pinzu become an obvious choice. Which one to cut – 3 or 6? Is there any difference?

Of course there is! With some luck you can get 567 Sanshoku.

Discard: d
Key point
It’s crucial that you follow the hand shape discard by discard. Choosing wrongly in similar scenarios
will cost you a huge number of effective tiles!
 CHAPTER 2: CALL JUDGMENT
Calling is another major element of Mahjong. It appears deceptively simple to beginners – call
whatever you can to get to tenpai, right? Pre-intermediate players should know that just like every
other element of the game, calling is much more nuanced than that.

Q11

Rating:
 A11

You are in the lead and you want to push the round forward. However, you should consider speed and
safety before you call. As much as you want the game to end, you don’t want to give away points for
free after someone declares Riichi.

The shape is too weak to open. You have only four blocks and two of them are penchan waits. There
is no pair after calling. This hand may easily get stuck. Someone will declare riichi and you will be in a
pickle.

You should aim for a closed hand or at least wait for the shape to improve and then maybe call the last
Pei.

Verdict: pass

Key point
Do not open slow and cheap hands.
Q12

RATING:
 A12

Before you open, check the shape of the hand. It has 4 pairs and 3 of them are considered easy pon
tiles, that is: Sha, Hatsu, 8s. They should be easy to get because it is likely that people will not need
them. This is very important!

Other than that, you have a ryanmen and a combined kanchan. Not bad.

All in all, it seems like a fairly quick hand with decent value (3900). Definitely worth going for!

Since you have five decent blocks, it’s a good idea to drop 5s after calling. Keep 9s for safety. You may
also consider Toitoi if you draw another 9s.

Verdict: call and discard b

Q13

RATING:
 A13

Everyone who plays Mahjong has been in situations like this. You’re in last place, the game’s nearing
its end. You may get hotheaded and eager to win so your situation assessment may go out the window.

Calling gives tenpai but…

Before you make the call think what winning 2000 does for you. Sure, it makes the gap between you
and 3rd a tiny bit smaller but you still have to push for a relatively big hand in oorasu.

How about winning big here and now?

Be patient, breathe and pass the call. This hand may easily become Mangan If you riichi. Winning
Mangan instantly shoots you to 3rd place before oorasu.

Verdict: pass

Curious student’s question : 1

“But Sensei, it’s 7th turn already. The shape’s not fast enough to aim for a closed hand. If I don’t
attack someone will declare riichi and win first!”

Answer: You have to adjust your speed/value judgment to the situation at hand. Whether you win or
not, doesn’t matter. What matters is your thought process when deciding how to proceed. Settling for
only 2000 in this point context is a mistake.

1 True story.
Q14

Rating:
 A14

Opening hands like this seems to be a common strategy among beginners. However, going for Toitoi
should always be carefully thought out.

Toitoi do’s:2

- consider Toitoi when you have at least 4 pairs and 3 of them are easy to pon (terminals, honors,
2’s and 8’s)
- go for Toitoi when you can get at least one additional Fan (Tanyao, Yakuhai or dora)
- if possible, start calling from the weakest pon tile, that is 3-7 tile

Toitoi don’t’s:

- don’t go for Toitoi if it is your only Yaku (cheap hand)

- don’t go for Toitoi if one of your pairs is dead
- don’t force Toitoi if your hand shape is good (your pairs are connected, e.g. 233 or 455)
- don’t open with Toitoi after 10th turn (bad shape 3-shanten)

Take some time to process all the information. Now, what should you do in this situation?

You do have 4 pairs and 3 of them are easy to pon but Toitoi is the only Yaku. You’re very likely to lose
the dora on your way to tenpai. You shouldn’t go for Toitoi. It’s better to aim for Chiitoitsu.

Verdict: pass

2 Source: https://mahjong.guide/2017/11/08/toitoi-dash/
Q15

rating:
 A15

Beginners and upper-beginners (players stuck in 3-5d loop) seem to love kan. They call away, ignoring
their hand shape and game context. That’s not the way to go about it.

Kan is a lot different from the rest of the calls. It may directly affect people’s hands by inflating their
value with extra doras.

Caution is advised before saying the magical word.

The criteria for calling open/closed kan are different. In this case it’s an open kan so this is what we’re
going to analyze.

When your hand is open, you can’t riichi so the benefits of kan are diminished - you don’t have access
to extra ura dora. You also get fewer fu. That’s why you should be most careful with open kan.

The actual theory behind open kan is that in order to call, your hand should be in tenpai with a good
shape and a minimum value of 20003.

The above hand doesn’t meet these criteria – it’s a bad iishanten. In this particular case, kan is even
worse because once you call, you’ll most likely use 6p as the pair which in turn will make using the
dora difficult.

Verdict: pass

3 See Riichi Book 1

Q16

RATING:
 A16

Calling gives iishanten. The shape’s not particularly good but winning this hand means winning the
game. Go for it!

Call everything afterwards.

Verdict: Call and discard z

Q17

rating:
 a17

Another example of kan judgment. This is vastly different from question 15. Your tenpai shape is far
from good. However, you’re deep in last which is always in favor of calling.

Kan gives you a boost of 16 fu meaning it guarantees 3 Han 50 fu on ron. That’s 6400 vs 3900 (ron on
6s without kan) and 5200 (ron on 1p without kan).

You’ll score Mangan if you get another dora.

Your opponents may hesitate to push hard against you unless they have really good hands.

Verdict: Call
Q18

rating:
 a18

Kan revisited. Call or not? You’re iishanten with a great shape. You should absolutely kan away.

Verdict: Call
Q19

Rating:
 A19

Calling Nan not only doesn’t change the shanten. It leaves you without a pair. This is a big no-no with
open hands. The fewer tiles in your hand, the harder it is to make the pair. Nan isn’t a Yakuhai or dora
so it doesn’t directly increase your value, either. By calling, you also lose two safe tiles.

There are no benefits to calling Nan.

Verdict: pass

Key point
Refrain from calling every tile you can. Take a moment to decide if you actually benefit from calling.
Make sure to do that before you get an opportunity to call.
Q20

Rating:
 A20

You’re in South round so the scores are vital for making correct judgment. You’re currently in a close-
quarters combat against kamicha and toimen. Toimen already called once. You should try to match
their speed by calling Chun.

Calling reduces your shanten to 2. You have one pair which isn’t fixed but looks like a likely final pair.
568m may connect via 7m giving you yonrenkei for two potential blocks. 7p is a decent lone tile despite
9p in the discards.

That’s enough to hope for a fairly quick tenpai.

Verdict: Call and discard 5

 Chapter 3: Riichi judgment
As the name of the game suggests, riichi plays a major role in tile battles. It’s a powerful offensive tool
which everyone should aim to master.

Q21

Rating:
 A21

This is a non-standard situation because of the score distribution. Oya’s far ahead. Toimen’s in the dark
pits of hell. Shimocha and you are in the middle. Riichi nomi at this stage of a hanchan is always risky
business. However, it’s difficult to improve this tenpai. If you’re a dreamer, you may definitely see
Pinfu on the horizon (drawing 5 or 7s), but your current tenpai is decent enough.

I know that some players say shanpon’s no good but that’s a flat-tiler’s approach to Mahjong. Your
shanpon includes an honor tile so it’s a decent wait.

Verdict: riichi – discard n

Q22

Rating:
 A22

You’re in a head-to-head battle against shimocha. Your wait’s good. Fire away!

Verdict: riichi
Q23

Rating:
 A23

There are two questions: riichi or dama and which Yaku to choose?

It’s early and your lead in the game isn’t solid so you should declare riichi. Riichi Chiitoi is worth slightly
more than Riiichi Iipeiko so you should choose the former. 9p is an OK wait, especially if 7p becomes
kabe later on.

Verdict: riichi – discard v

Q24

Rating:
 A24

You’re choosing between two nobetan waits. Both of them have the same number of outs. How to tell
which one is better?

58m nobetan allows you to win on a red 5m.

It’s better to discard 6s because it’s safe against kamicha.

Verdict: riichi – discard n

Key point
Always be aware of how you can add a red five to the hand.
Q25

Rating:
 A25

You may think that Hatsu is a better wait because it’s sneaky. However, you should rather aim for value
to gain more advantage over shimocha in oorasu.

Note that if the ruleset doesn’t allow bankruptcy, the game ends if you tsumo since kamicha will drop
below zero after you score Mangan.

You get Mangan without riichi. Dama’s better because the wait’s really weak and you don’t want to
get chased by Oya with no ability to defend.

By going dama you also keep a chance to improve this tenpai. You may draw 7s for a sanmenchan,
4679m for Pinfu-Tanyao or 48p for nobetan.

Verdict: dama - discard 6

Key point
Consider a sneaky wait only when points aren’t an issue. If you had toimen’s points, you could go for
Hatsu tanki.
Q26

Rating:
 A26

This is modern Mahjong 101. You may be tempted by Pinfu and Iipeiko and discard 89m.
However, in modern riichi it’s a standard move to simply insta-riichi with one dora. Especially
as the dealer.

Verdict: riichi – discard b

Key point
Don’t shy away from bad wait riichi as long as you have one dora.
Q27

Rating:
 A27

Good tenpai, decent value- riiii- Wait!

There are important factors to consider first:

- south 2 (late game)

- aggressive toimen with a high scoring hand (dora pon) and aggressive Oya
- potentially weak wait

Why is your ryanmen potentially weak? Toimen seems to be collecting pinzu so it’s possible he has
some 47p.

Last place avoidance is not exclusively a ‘Tenhou thing’. Even though 4th place is far away, you shouldn’t
risk dealing into an expensive hand. Go dama and fold if you draw a suspicious tile (for example a
pinzu).

Verdict: dama

Key point
Riichi and push/pull criteria change in south rounds.
Q28

Rating:
 A28

You may hesitate whether to keep 3p or not. Note that discarding the dora locks in Pinfu. You lose a
fan and gain a fan.

Now, riichi or dama? You may want to dama because it’s late and this is Pinfu-Sanshoku-Dora 2,
Mangan tenpai.

Hold on!

You shouldn’t count Sanshoku because it’s not guaranteed. This hand is 3900 on yasume 7p if you
dama and guaranteed 7700 with riichi (Haneman on takame 4p).

Staying dama and winning on 7p would be a huge waste.

Late turn isn’t a problem because you double the value and you may stop people from attacking.

Pinzu seem expensive (no one’s discarding them) and 4p is next to the dora so people may not discard
your winning tiles even if you dama.

Verdict: riichi – discard d

Key points
1. Pay attention to fan trade-offs.
2. Damaten isn’t recommended if your winning tiles aren’t likely to flow out at all.
Q29

Rating:
 a29

There are some tiles that improve the hand: 4p (ryanmen), 5s (sanmenchan) and 7s (ryanmen).
However, it’s not enough. You’d need at least 5 different tiles to make waiting worthwhile.

Declaring insta riichi gives you the upper hand. Remember that your opponents can’t assume you have
riichi nomi! They have to assume that you’re dangerous.

Verdict: riichi

Key point
First-row riichi nomi is powerful in neutral situations.
Q30

Rating:
 A30

Nomi tenpai yet again. Or is it? Your wait is quite wide – there’s nobetan 25m and 147m sanmenchan.
Completing the sanmenchan gives you Pinfu. You should riichi immediately with a wide wait like this.

Verdict: riichi– discard .

 Chapter 4: defense
You can’t always attack in Mahjong and mawashi uchi is often not an option. There are times when
good old betaori is your best friend. Defense may seem straight-forward to beginners – just discard
genbutsu & suji, right? There’s much more to it!

Q31

Rating
 A31

Don’t even try to whip out the cliché “Be aggressive as Oya” argument! You’re in the lead and your
hand’s 2-shanten with a bad shape. You should go for betaori. There are several safe tiles to choose
from so you need to determine their order. It’s good to watch other players’ discards. It seems that
toimen’s folding and kamicha seems to be pushing. Kamicha may have hit tenpai after 2m tedashi. 4m
isn’t 100% safe now.

Verdict: discard w
Key point
Pay attention to people’s discards after someone’s riichi. If any of your opponents is pushing, you
have to be more careful with your discards because they may be going for genbari.

Pro tip
Place safe tiles in the desired order on the right or left-side of your hand to reduce the risk of
mistakes and go easy on your brain. This can be done both in real life and online games.
Q32

Rating:
 A32

The only genbutsu (7s) was already discarded. What now?

When there are no safe tiles, look for suji and kabe. You only have kata suji 4s which isn’t safe enough
(14s ryanmen possible). It’s as good as a non-suji terminal.

You may notice that 7s is kabe which makes 89s safer. They can only deal into shanpon and tanki.

Discard 8s first to avoid 9s shanpon.

Why is 9s shanpon more dangerous despite 1x9s already discarded?

If toimen had 788s, they wouldn’t have dropped 7s so early to keep the shanpon. It makes more sense
for them to discard 7s out of 799s.

Verdict: discard ,
Q33

Rating:
 A33

Both 2m and 3s are safe. However, the former is safe against all players. Discard 3s first and keep 2m
and Sha for later, in case there’s a counterattack.

Bear in mind that live Yakuhai become fairly dangerous after 9th turn. Chun may not be as safe as usual
but if you run out of genbutsu and suji, it may be your last resort.

Verdict: discard c
Q34

Rating:
 A34

Your hand’s not good enough to push against two riichi. There are no safe tiles for both attackers. In
such situations it’s best to discard genbutsu for at least one of them. In this case it’s either 4p or 3p.

Any difference? Yes! If 3p passes, you’ll have naka suji 6p for the next turn (it’s already naka suji for
shimocha but kamicha discarded only 9p).

Verdict: discard d
Q35

Rating:
 A35

There are two attackers. One has a guaranteed Mangan and the average value of riichi for ko is below
Mangan so you should prioritize defense against kamicha. Neither 7m (genbutsu against riichi) nor 3s
(suji against riichi) should be discarded. Try 1m – genbutsu against kamicha. With 2m one-chance it’s
fairly safe against riichi as well.

Verdict: discard q
Q36

Rating:
 A36

There are no safe tiles and no useful suji. It’s best to simply discard a terminal and pray. 1s only deals
into ryanmen and tanki. If it passes, you’ll get another safe turn.

Verdict: discard z
Q37

Rating:
 A37

You may be tempted to discard Pei not to give up on your hand but you should proceed with standard
defense and discard genbutsu 4s. The wind’s not been discarded yet so cutting it would be an
unnecessary risk. Your main goal’s to secure 2nd place.

Verdict: discard v
Key point
Watch out for live honor tiles. Discard genbutsu first when folding.
Q38

Rating:
 A38

There are no safe tiles. Kata suji 6m doesn’t matter because it may still deal into a ryanmen. Pei’s not
an option because it’s a live dora. Again, it’s a good idea to try a terminal pair.

Verdict: discard a
Q39

Rating:
 A39

No genbutsu and no usable suji. You need to look for kabe and one-chance tiles. In this case there are
two – 8p (7p one-chance) and 2p (3p one-chance). Which one is better?

Since 4p is dora you should avoid discarding the tiles around it. Even though kamicha played 3p
tsumogiri, they may still have 34p. Avoid a potentially more expensive ron.

Verdict: discard k
Q40

Rating:
 A40

You can’t afford to lose points. There are no genbutsu and no usable suji or kabe. Your last resort is
discarding one of the pairs to fish for two safe turns.

Which pair should go?

You’d normally discard 9m since it’s a terminal but shimocha’s 5m before riichi increases the risk of
69m wait by a few percent4. Keep 9m for now.

3m is sotogawa of 5m. It’s safer than usual and can buy you another safe turn.

Verdict: discard e
Key point
Pay attention to sotogawa tiles in both betaori and push/fold scenarios. They’re sometimes safer
than suji.

4 Supporting data can be found in Japanese strategy books.

 Chapter 5: push/fold
One of the most exciting areas of Mahjong. Push/fold situations require quick thinking based on
strategic knowledge and experience. Master them if you want to maximize your winning percentage.

Q41

RATING:
 A41

Kamicha called twice but their hand isn’t hair-rising. It’s only expensive if it’s Toitoi or Tanyao with 2-3
aka doras. You’re Oya with ryanmen tenpai in a flat point situation. Attack!

Verdict: riichi - discard t

Q42

Rating:
 A42

I know what you may be thinking - you wanna go for a delicious baiman with Chinitsu, eh?

Here’s a thing – pushing is definitely correct but you should push with what you have. Pinfu -Iipeiko-
Dora 2 is good enough. Choosing Chinitsu means going back and having to push dangerous tiles without
tenpai (6s for starters).

Now, riichi or dama?

Dama would be handy if you were waiting on toimen’s genbutsu (increased win rate). In this case
you’re not, so it’s better to attack at full throttle.

Verdict: riichi

Key point
Speed takes priority over value when you’re chasing an opponent’s riichi.
Q43

Rating:
 A43

Riichi is tempting with 4200 in the pot but there are only two outs left. Your discard pond is strong
(few safe tiles) so people are likely to push against you. You can still get a ryanmen with 5p.

Break apart your tenpai starting with 8s. 9s will be safer to discard if you happen to get back to tenpai.

Verdict: discard ,
Q44

Rating:
 A44

Your opponents are busy calling. There’s a dora pon on the left. Your hand is 5200 with a bad wait. A
really bad one because 2x3p were already dropped. It’s better not to run the risk of feeding kamicha.
Try mawashi with west. If you manage to chii 3p, you’ll at least have a better wait.

Verdict: mawashi – discard 3

Q45

Rating:
 A45

This hand’s tempting but you’re in 2nd place and sha’s ultra-dangerous (live dora). You can’t afford to
deal into oya and drop to last with only two rounds remaining. If sha gets called by kamicha, you’ll
probably be forced to fold anyway. Discard hatsu for now and see if you can luck out another sha to
resume attacking.

Verdict: discard 6
Key point
Don’t take unnecessary risks even if you have a good hand.
Q46

Rating:
 A46

You may be scared of Oya which is understandable – they called two Yakuhai already. However, looking
at the scores, its’s very unlikely that you’ll drop to last place. Your wait’s not ideal but there aren’t
many tiles to improve it – only 58m. There’s also 6s for Tanyao but it’s still not enough to make dama
viable.

Aim for the top!

Verdict: riichi

Key point
Don’t play too passively when the risk of last place isn’t particularly high.
Q47

Rating:
 A47

This is the 3rd piece of 4p discarded. It’s your next to last train to a decent tenpai. You’re Oya in last
place and you should aim for a renchan.

What to discard after the call?

If you compare 6s and 7s, you’ll notice that the latter is suji against toimen. Dropping 7s also gives you
58s ryanmen which includes riichi’s genbutsu.

Verdict: call and discard m

Key point
Plan your post-call discards ahead.
Q48

Rating:
 A48

Let’s consider the circumstances. You’re third in S2 with a fairly narrow advantage over Oya. If they
win this riichi, you may have a tough time avoiding last. You’re in a perfect iishanten. Let’s do some
math.

When people attack, our default fear is that of ryanmen waits. That’s why you want to make sure
you’re not at too much risk of dealing into one. In order to check about that, you need to count dead
suji. How does it work?

For each 456 safe against riichi you count two suji; for other number tiles you count one. In this case
there are five dead suji – 139p, 1m, 7s. Deduct this number from the total suji count – 18.
18-5 = 13

There are 13 live suji. You’re about to discard a non-suji 2p. The risk of dealing into ryanmen is 1/13.
That’s below 10%. You can push 2p fairly safely.

Keep track of more dead suji popping up (2p included) and adjust your judgment. When the risk of ron
with ryanmen goes up to 15%, pushing may be too dangerous.

Verdict: push s
Q49

Rating:
 A49

Great wait = full-throttle attack???

Hold your horses!

I know this situation looks similar to Q46, with last place far away, but in this case it’s the last guy
you’re about to wrestle with. Dealing into them is the last thing you want before oorasu. If they tsumo,
no big deal. Plus, one of your rivals – oya – will lose more points than you.

Take a deep breath and go dama like a true Mahjong ninja! If you draw a dangerous musuji tile, fold
like a madman!

Verdict: dama
Q50

Rating:
 A50

This is a complex situation. Standard judgment isn’t enough. You can’t simply look at the shape (which
is good), count the dead suji (low number) and push away.

You’re sandwiched between the leader and 3rd place. Since the leader is far away, your priority should
be to stay in 2nd place. You shouldn’t risk dealing into shimocha and losing your position before S3. It’s
kamicha who has to push and it seems like they’re doing exactly that. If shimocha rons off them, the
game will likely end and you’ll probably keep 2nd.

Start betaori by discarding 5m. It looks safer against kamicha than 1s (possible souzu Honitsu).

Verdict: fold - discard t

Key point
Remember to play with final placement in mind. Especially in south rounds.
I would like to thank my houou buddies: RB10, Toiro, Jiyu-kun and Botan for kindly reviewing my
ideas.

I would also like to thank my club members for their support and some of the pictures.

This book wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for you!