How to become a better mahjong player: The art of defending (for beginners)

Last time, I wrote that the following points are important for becoming a better mahjong player.

① Decision to push or pull
② Ori's technology
③ Techniques for making noises
(④ Tile efficiency)
This time, I'd like to write about the technology behind this ② Ori.
(This is yet another one for beginners.)

What is "Ori"?

First, let's consider what "oriru" means.
"Folding" means giving up on winning for the time being and discarding tiles that will prevent you from dealing into someone's winning hand.
As explained in another article, if the "push-or-pull decision" leads to the conclusion that you cannot push, you will fold in that round.

However, it's important not to misunderstand: they are simply folding in that particular round, not giving up on the game altogether.
Rather, the decision to fold is made precisely because they are aiming to win in the end.

For example, the dealer has declared "reach," but your hand is 3 or 4 steps away from a winning hand.
Even if you manage to get a good hand, it's a bad hand if you only declare "reach".
In this situation, even if there's a chance of getting a winning hand, it's not worth it.
If your hand is not competitive compared to your opponent's, it's more important to avoid dealing into their hand than to keep discarding dangerous tiles.

About Ori's technology

So, how should we descend?
I will explain techniques that are easy for beginners to use in actual gameplay.

Actual item

First of all, the most basic and safest option is to play the actual item you have.
If the opponent has discarded the tile themselves, they will never pay it into your hand.
When folding, discard tiles like these first.
However, even among physical items, there is a priority order for what to discard.
Since there's a possibility of a second player reaching tenpai, try to prioritize discarding safe tiles in the middle of the hand.

letter tiles

Even though the actual item is the best, it's not always convenient to have it on hand.
That's when honor tiles come in handy.
Honor tiles are considered safe tiles.

However, if there are no honor tiles or special tiles visible on the table, your opponents are more likely to be waiting for a pair or a single tile.
Prioritize discarding the actual items first, and then discard the rest.
If two of the same character tile are visible, the safety level is quite high.
If three tiles are visible, the only way to deal into a hand is with Kokushi Musou (Thirteen Orphans), making it as safe as dealing into a physical hand.

Suji tiles (This is a slightly long entry)

However, there are often times when neither the actual tiles nor the character tiles are available.
In such situations, you need to deduce what is safe.
That's where tendons come in handy.
It may not be necessary, but I'll explain the concept of tendons just in case.
This refers to the combinations of number tiles 1-4-7, 2-5-8, and 3-6-9. The theory is that when 4 is passed, 1 and 7 are relatively safe; when 5 is passed, 2 and 8 are relatively safe; and when 6 is passed, 3 and 9 are relatively safe.

The reason it's safe becomes clear when you consider the mechanics of a two-sided wait.
For example, if a 4 has been discarded, that means the waiting tile is not a 4.
The possible hand combinations that result in a waiting tile being 4 are 23, 56, and 35.
(Excluding single bets and shabo bets)
If 4 is safe, it means the opponent's hand is not 2, 3, 5, or 6, which automatically makes 1 and 7 safe as well.

Similarly, if numbers 1 and 7 are present, then number 4, which is also a safe line, is also safe.
Since the 1 is passed, the hand is not 2 or 3.
Since the 7 is present, the hand is not 5 or 6.
Therefore, 4, which is a common waiting number for both, cannot be a waiting number either.

However, even if it makes sense, you need to be careful with numbers 3 and 7.
The reason why 7 is a waiting tile is because there are also patterns where 6 and 8 are waiting for a middle tile, and 8 and 9 are waiting for a penchan tile.
Similarly, in the case of 2 and 8, which also have a sequence, there are kanchan waits for 13 and 79 respectively.

And now, let's consider the middle tile when both lines are connected.
Case 4 where 1 and 7 are present,
5 when 2 and 8 are passed,
6 when 3 and 9 are present,
For these three items, we estimate the safety level to be around 1.9 or less, and 2.8 or more.
There are two reasons.
- The middle tiles are useful and less likely to be discarded, so players tend to avoid hands where these are the tiles they are waiting for.
- The tiles in the middle tend to stick together and easily form two-sided sequences, so they rarely remain as kanchan (middle tile sequences) until the end of the game.

There are other minor reasons, but for these reasons, it's important to remember that it's relatively safe.

Even tiles that appear to be part of a sequence can have varying degrees of safety, so this is something to pay particular attention to.
Here's a summary of the safety levels of tiles in a sequence.
A 1.9, which is logically sound, is considered quite safe.
Next are numbers 4, 5, and 6, which have both tendons running through them.
Next, be careful with the 2 and 8 tiles, as they are in a sequence and may be waiting for a middle tile.
Finally, the 3 and 7, which form a continuous sequence, are the lowest-ranking tiles in terms of sequences because they can lead to both a kanchan and penchan wait.

Wall, one chance

When there are no tiles that form a coherent sequence, these two are your go-to choices.
The technique involves deduction of safe tiles from the four visible tiles.

First, let's talk about the walls.
For example, let's say someone declares a kan (quad) with the number tile 2.
In that case, 1, which is outside of 2, becomes much safer.
Because in order to wait for 1, you need a two-sided wait of 23.
The fact that four of the 2 tiles, which make up the 23, are visible means that the possibility of the 1 being the waiting tile is low.
(Of course, this excludes single-tile and shabo-waiting strategies.)

And when the number 2 is revealed, let's look inside.
The combination 23 is eliminated, making 1 safe, but what about 4?
It's still unclear whether option 4 is safe.
However, if the 7 is cut, it becomes just as safe as if both the 1 and 7 lines were passed through.

Now let's consider the case where four 3s are visible.
In that case, areas 1 and 2, which are outside of that area, would be considered safe.
Similarly, if the 8 is cut, we can consider both the 2 and 8 sequences to have been completed.

Thus, when looking for a safe tile, it becomes much easier to understand if you keep in mind, "Under what circumstances would the tile I'm about to discard be a winning tile?"
Similarly, let's consider the case where four 4s are visible.
In this case, the outer 123 is not necessarily safe.
Because 3 is a penchan wait for 12, and 2 is a kanchan wait for 13.
1 is part of a 2-3 two-sided sequence, but if the player who has a ready hand has already called a kan on 4, it's unlikely they would reduce the number of tiles they are waiting on, so it's relatively safe.
However, the same can be said for 9: if 9 is discarded, then both 3 and 9 sequences can be considered valid, making 6 a safe choice.

Thus, the wall serves to divide the number tiles.
The wall of 5, in particular, divides the number tiles right in the middle.
Therefore, if four 5s are visible, then simply discarding a 1 makes the 4 safe, and simply discarding a 9 makes the 6 safe.

Do you understand what a wall is?

Next, let's talk about one chance.
This one chance follows the same logic as overcoming a wall.
For example, if three 3s are visible due to a "pon" (a type of discard), you need the last remaining 3 to make the 1 and 2 outside of them into a two-sided wait, right?
If you want to wait for 1, you need 23, and if you want to wait for 2, you need 34.

A "one chance" is like a weak wall.
You discard the tiles outside of the one that the player with a ready hand is holding onto, hoping they don't have the last tile left.
This is often used when you've declared a reach early in the game and can't find many safe tiles.

However, one thing to be careful of with a wall-and-one-chance hand is that the player who has a ready hand might try to outsmart you by waiting on a tile outside the wall.
Especially with hands like Chiitoitsu, where you're waiting on a single tile, it's easier to aim for the outside of the wall.
These are the Ori techniques that beginners should learn.
For Ori, the most important thing is to find tiles that are as safe as possible.
Mastering this technique should reduce the chances of unintentionally making extra payments when you decide to withdraw.

The mental strength needed for Ori

Finally, I will write about the mental state needed when dropping out.
Mahjong inherently requires mental fortitude, but folding, in particular, often involves a lot of stress.
It's frustrating when you've put all your effort into getting a winning hand, only to be forced to fold the moment someone declares a reach.
That feeling of "I don't want to give up!" can rob you of your ability to make calm judgments.

In mahjong, you can win a hand at least once every four games.
If you fold, and someone else makes a payment, it will relatively improve your own ranking.

Furthermore, constantly discarding only tiles that are already in play or tiles on the edges of the hand can be seen as an attack on other players.
Other players who don't want to fold will be relieved when you play a new safe tile.
You can attack with no risk.
Being in a situation where you are the only one taking risks is extremely detrimental.
When you're close to winning, it's important to enjoy "folding" as a separate game.

And of course, there will be times when you end up making a payment even when you're in the wrong position.
It's really painful in that situation, but if it's the safest tile you have, then there's nothing you can do about it.
Those kinds of things happen to everyone, so don't worry about it too much.
Even if the results aren't good, if the judgment isn't wrong, the grades will improve.
Mahjong is a game where those who can think from a long-term perspective and not be swayed by immediate results are the ones who excel.