Introduction and review of the mahjong strategy book "Mahjong: A Strong Player's Choice That Changes Depending on the Score Situation" (Author: Genki Hirasawa)

Preface

I bought and read Genki Hirasawa's mahjong strategy book, "Mahjong: The Choices of a Strong Player That Change Depending on the Score Situation."
I was interested in this book because, although it's not about tile efficiency or push-or-fold decisions, it teaches "how to respond according to the score situation," which clearly affects your performance.

Up until now, Mr. Miinin'sMahjong strategy book "Statistics"I was aware, as a matter of knowledge, that the value of a winning hand can change considerably depending on the points you have, as seen in games like "[game title]".
However, regarding its implementation, I hadn't yet decided on the correct approach, and my decisions were somewhat inconsistent.

I purchased this hoping to learn some tips on how to reduce such fluctuations and manage things properly.
As of January 2024, there are likely very few strategy books that focus on this topic, so this might be an opportunity to gain an advantage over other players.

However, this book is more useful for intermediate or advanced players who already have a good understanding of tile efficiency and when to push or fold (Mahjong Master level 1 or higher), rather than for beginners.

A brief overview of the content

I cannot go into the specific contents of this book here, but roughly speaking, it covers the following topics.

Chapter 1 begins by explaining why the score situation is important, which helps raise awareness of the score difference.
In the early rounds, when the game is far from over, playing according to the score for each round is often the correct approach. However, as the game approaches the final round, the decision-making process changes depending on the score situation.
Therefore, this book as a whole mainly focuses on playing techniques in the endgame, such as the last round and the third round of the South wind.

In the final round, the way you play and the overall gameplay change significantly depending on your score, so I think it's important to focus on learning this first.
Also, in the South 3rd and South 2nd rounds, the decision-making is somewhat more normal than in the final round, but even so, the things to be mindful of are completely different compared to normal times.

Chapter 5 then expands the story to include events prior to the South 2nd round.
Once you've mastered everything written here, you'll be able to apply it to other situations, such as how to play in the South 1 round or how to play in the East 4 round.
This will improve the overall precision of your pushing and pulling, which should help improve your performance.

Afterword

When playing Mahjong Soul, you sometimes see players who are in the lead in the final round deliberately placing a reach stick.
This action, despite having a 10,500-point lead over second place—a lead that wouldn't be reversed even if the opponent drew a full house—inadvertently helps the opponent's position by adding a 1,000-point riichi stick.
A move that is correct in the East round may become a clear mistake in the final round.
By reading this book, you should be able to become more aware of the mistakes that stem from these kinds of scoring situations.

In the third round of the South game, even though I was in fourth place and far behind, I found meaning in aiming for a 1000-point win to ease the conditions for avoiding last place in the final round, and it was a good opportunity to reaffirm that you can't just keep pushing indefinitely just because you're in last place.

Amazon link for this book

A side note (regarding the current status of Mahjong Soul)

By the way, in the last 500 or so matches, I've lost an absurd amount of points, and I've plummeted from Mahjong Saint 3 to Mahjong Saint 1 in no time at all.
Perhaps my performance up until now had been on a lucky streak, but I can't deny that I was playing somewhat recklessly.

I feel like I've hit rock bottom, so lately, instead of trying to hold onto my points, I've shifted my focus to seeing what rank I end up at as a result of playing in a way that I think is good.
While it's natural to be afraid of Russ, I hope this book can help clarify, even just a little, the line between what's appropriate and how much fear is acceptable.