Going from 5th to 6th Dan in Tenhou (Mahjong): Strategies from the initial hand, based on a real game record.

I'm currently a 6th dan player on the online mahjong platform Tenhou, and I'm aiming to reach 7th dan.

I've been promoted back up from 5th dan to 6th dan, so I think my playing style is effective up to 5th dan.
This time, I'd like to write about how to formulate a strategy based on the score situation and the initial hand, using a record of a real game.

We will focus on the starting score and the initial hand dealt.

Basic concept

Basically, I aim to get to a state where I'm either in tenpai (ready to win) or one step away from tenpai (ready to win) by around the tenth turn.

Even if you only have 1000 points, if you complete the hand, you can prevent other players from scoring.
Therefore, if you have 7700 points and a good shape plus a bad shape or worse, and are one step away from a winning hand after about 10 turns, you will also need to call Chi or Pon to complete the hand.

I almost always call a tile when I have a pair of honor tiles.
While it has the disadvantage of lowering your score, it's important because it can make other players anxious and reduce the overall cost of the game.
If you can get multiple Dora tiles, it can become a hand that can counter a Riichi.
However, if the hand looks obviously cheap, the opponent might try to win by declaring "reach."
In such cases, even with limited resources, let's do our best to fold.
It's tough when you have three open hands...

When faced with a riichi, if you are not in a ready hand, the basic response is to fold.
However, I sometimes push for 19 tiles that are in play or have a clear sequence.
Even if I manage to sneak in and place a bet, if the score is likely to be low or the shape is unfavorable, I'll fold from the start.
In terms of points alone, the criteria for pressing the button against a dealer's reach is 3900 points or more for good hands and 5200 to 8000 points or more for bad hands.
For a child player's reach, a good hand is worth 2000 points or more, and a bad hand is worth 5200 points or more.

However, when there is a significant point difference, the decision is often made not to push against a lower-ranked player who has reached the goal.

However, there aren't many situations where you have to decide whether to push or fold just as another player declares a reach.
In most cases, people end up dropping out.

From actual game records

East 1st station

Hoping for a double of Dora South, I'll discard 1p, White, 1s, and 8s.
I'll play with the hope of getting something like a riichi with one red tile.
Quitundora 1 is also an option.

Tenpai, Riichi, Dora 1, Kanchan, Riichi.
Five Kan is not the ideal way to get a ready hand, but a Riichi with one Dora on the ninth turn is a passing grade.
If I draw the winning tile and get one bonus tile, I'll get 7900 points, so I'm going for it.
While it's harder to draw a tile with an awkward shape, you can expect your opponent to win by discarding one, so go for it.
After that, another player declared a counter-reach, but I drew a red 5 and got a bonus 1, making it exactly a mangan (pure luck).

East 2nd station

Despite being the parent player, his Chanta hand looked heavy.
With West, North, and 8m cut off, we're hoping for Chanta, Sanshoku, and Double East.
If I can make a Chi in the form of 789, I'll go for it.

I was close to getting a hand like Double East + Chanta + Sanshoku, but another player declared Riichi, so I folded.

I'm up 34,000 points, and I can't push with a hand that's one step away from a complete hand (one shanten) and has a bad shape remaining.
If I can call East before my hand gets broken, I'll go for the win by discarding the 9p.

East 3rd station

If you can call "Hatsu" and then get East and Middle, you might as well go for a Manzu Honitsu (all of one suit).

In the end, I got to the point where I was one step away from a winning hand with Toitoi + Hatsu + Dora Dora, but the dealer declared Riichi.
I could have fought if I had reached the point of having a winning hand, but I couldn't get that far.
I persevered until the game ended in a draw.

East 3rd Round, 1st Honba

It's a pretty good hand, and I'd be happy if I could get something like a Riichi Pinfu Dora 1.

With a perfect 3s draw, I hit 5m.

The most possible winning hand is with 9s, which has 10 different types and 33 tiles, but only 5 of those types and 14 tiles will result in a Pinfu hand.

By discarding the 5m (or 4m, or perhaps the red 5m, which gives you an advantage), you can create a hand where you can get a Pinfu regardless of which of the 20 tiles of the 6 types you draw.

The result was a reach, and it was a reach, pinfu, tsumo, dora 1 for 5200 points.

East 4th station

Hoping for a westward overlap, I'll discard 9m, 1s, etc., and also consider a three-color combination.
Realistically, though, I'd be happy if I could just get a Riichi with one Dora tile.

Things were starting to take shape, but then the last player declared a dealer's reach, so I folded.

Since we're in the lead, there's no need to deliberately throw the ball around.
As a result, the parent won with a full house (mangan).

East 4th Round, 1st Honba

With a scoring tile and one dora tile, this is a hand you can easily pass on.
Since I have a pair of West tiles, I'll discard the 1s and then the Dragon tiles in that order, and if a West tile comes out, I'll call Pon and continue playing.

As a result, Nishi was unable to call, and went for a closed-hand reach with a three-sided wait.
To my delight, my parent dealt the winning tile on the first draw, and with a reach, an immediate win, and one dora tile, I won for 5500 points in the first round.

South 1 station

The hand started with two dora tiles.
I'll discard white, 1s, 2p, etc., and aim for a Pinfu hand.

Even with a poor hand shape, having two dora tiles is enough.

As a result, the player to my left won 2000 points, and the points were transferred horizontally.

Since I'm in the lead, having the rounds completed is inherently advantageous.

South 2nd station

This is a tricky hand to start with.
If I wasn't in first place, I'd aim for a hand with a scoring tile and one dora, but since I am in first place, I'll prioritize defense and hope for a sideways move while keeping my hand closed.

I had a Dora tile and a Yakuhai tile, and since I was the first to declare Riichi, I went for it.
However, this 2m ball hit the player to my left who had 3900 points, and the play ended.

South 3rd station

It's an exciting hand to start with, but there's no need to aim for a big score in first place.
We'll proceed with the work so that we can quickly move between the south and the north.

As a result, the player to my left declared a reach, so I naturally folded.
I've been drawing safe tiles so far, but I'm folding to avoid any potential problems.
Furthermore, just as the player to my left had declared a reach, the player across from me won a mangan (a high-scoring hand) without declaring a reach.

South 4th station

This is the final round.
While hoping to get a few more honor tiles, I discard West, White, and Red, aiming for a quick win.
Since the point difference between us and the second-place parent isn't that big, we'd like to finish early.

As a result, the game became a stalemate due to the opposing player's skill, and ended in a draw.
Being able to get a win, even if it was just a formal tenpai, is a big deal.

South 4th station 1st place

This is also a strategy to aim for a quick win by sorting out the honor tiles while hoping to get more honor tiles.

However, after reaching tenpai (a ready hand), I couldn't win, and the hand ended in a draw.
The player opposite me is also in a ready hand, so the point difference won't narrow.

South 4th station 2nd place

Things are getting serious; it really needs to start picking up soon.
Since I have a pair of South tiles, I'd like to call them and finish this quickly.

In the end, the player to my left won against the player to my right, and the game ended.
As the point difference narrowed, the player to my left also seemed to want to secure third place.

In situations like this, it's important to encourage the player to your left to work harder by discarding tiles they seem to want and advancing their hand.

summary

In this match, I managed to take first place.

The important thing is that when you're in the lead, you shouldn't play on the same playing field as your opponent.
Your opponents are also struggling, so you shouldn't try to force your way through the attacks of those in second place or lower.

To reiterate, the basic principles are as follows:

- Aim for a ready hand by around the 10th turn, even if it's a low-scoring one.
- I almost never push when I'm one step away from a winning hand.
Consider the score situation and decide when to push or pull.
This time, I gave a rough overview of the strategy to follow based on the initial hand and score situation.
Next time, I'll try writing about it from a different perspective.