I was promoted to 7th dan in Tenhou (Mahjong) for the first time. I'll share what helped me overcome the hurdle of 6th dan.

I had been fluctuating between 5th and 6th dan in Tenhou for a long time, but this time I finally managed to get promoted to 7th dan.
When I first made it to the top-tier table, to be honest, I was thinking, "How am I supposed to compete against people like this...?"
Everyone around me was quick to call and declare riichi, and even when I made the first riichi, they would stubbornly chase me down.
However, by discarding my initial assumptions, studying books and watching videos written by people who were winning at the top-tier and top-tier tables, and by going through trial and error, I was gradually able to improve my performance.
This time, I'd like to share what I think helped me overcome the challenging six-tiered slope.

Detailed results from the 6-tiered slope challenge

I was able to clear it after 495 matches since reaching the 6th dan rank.
I'm very happy that the rankings turned out to be a nice order: 1st > 2nd > 3rd > 4th.
In the past, we often came in second or third place, so I feel that we are now making better decisions.

ひとつの指標としている＜和了率-放銃率＞も10.8で、目標としている10.0より大きくてよかったです。
Regarding the rate of calling tiles, I initially aimed for around 35%, but since I mainly play East-South games and tend to be a closed-hand riichi type, I think it's pretty good.

The following are the grades of the parents.

I think most people probably had better grades when their parents were in school, and I also had good grades when my parents were in school.
The strategy involves making the opponent wary with a high-scoring preemptive reach or meld, delaying their move, and then winning while they're still off guard.
The advantage of being the parent is that your score is multiplied by 1.5, so even if you call, your score will be higher, which gives you a significant advantage.

Improving your tile efficiency

This is a fundamental skill that underlies everything, like vocabulary in English.
As for this, if you just keep working through the Uzaku books (the blue book of "Masterpiece Selection of What to Discard" and the red book of "Standard Discard Strategies"), you should naturally pick it up.
The important thing is to choose the right option in an actual match, just as you would when solving a problem in a book.
If you can choose the correct move in a book, but can't make the correct move in a real game, then it's not very useful.

While memorizing the shapes is important, understanding why you arrive at that conclusion will make it easier to remember.
Everyone has a different way of memorizing, but for me, it's like memorizing the shapes and then incorporating the checkpoints to consider into my thinking.
You don't need to worry too much about the questions you answered correctly with confidence on the first pass, but you should repeatedly try solving the questions you got wrong.
If you can re-solve the problems after some time has passed and naturally be able to choose the correct answer, then I think you can say that you've at least mastered it.
If you make it a habit to solve 2-3 pages of problems as a mental exercise before launching Tenhou each day, you'll find that you've built a solid foundation before you know it.

Decision to push or pull

That was a part where my form was quite sloppy.
When your opponent has a ready hand (tenpai), it becomes very difficult to push unless you also have a ready hand.
I think I've been pretty careless in this area up until now.

If your opponent declares a reach when you're not in a ready hand, the basic rule is to fold.
When you're one step away from a winning hand, you have good scoring potential, plenty of tiles that can be accepted, and you might even consider pushing one dangerous tile that isn't part of a sequence when you declare a reach, in which case you might want to hold on.
The number of lines that have been played, which round it is, the number of dora tiles that are visible, etc.I only press it when all the conditions are met.
If you don't focus on these points, you'll end up losing a lot of points unnecessarily, and your chances of coming in last will increase.
Deciding whether to push or fold when you're in a ready hand is relatively easy, but when you're one or more steps away from a ready hand, you need to be very careful.

When to be aware of the origami

When there are clear signs of danger, such as another player declaring riichi, calling dora, or tiles of the color you're aiming for appearing, it's a good idea to fold.
However, I've come to realize that it's also important to play cautiously even when there are no warning signs.
It's difficult for me to put this sense of danger into words, so I'll give you a few concrete examples (although I couldn't find many...).

For example, consider the following case.

My parent called a double East and discarded the West.
It seems that the West tile was held as a safe tile, so I think it was at least one step away from a winning hand.
I'm starting to feel like it's getting dangerous, and I'm getting the feeling that maybe I should stop completely abandoning the idea of having no reinforcing.
If there was one more role, the parent's score would be 11,600 points.I think it's important to have the feeling that pushing straight ahead in this situation isn't really worth it.

In this case, if I were to go straight, I'd discard the 3s, but if I were to take a slightly longer route, I'd probably discard the pair of 9p.
However, either way, it looks like it will take a little more time, and I don't have a single dora.
Discarding the pair of 9p makes it harder to fold, so I think other discards would be better.
Being the top scorer is one of the motivations for playing defensively.

Reach is justice

After much thought, I still believe that "Reach" is a strong hand.
Not only is it a winning hand in itself, but if you also consider the possibility of an immediate win or hidden bonus tiles, it's worth about 1.3 han.
Another important factor is its effect of preventing other players from hitting the ball straight.
Of course, you might get chased down, but it's effective because it makes it harder for the opponent to hit a straight shot.

If you have a hand close to a mangan (a high-scoring hand) without declaring riichi (a declaration of a ready hand), you might choose not to declare riichi because it would raise suspicion.
However, since it also has the effect of buying time by preventing the opponent from hitting the ball straight, I feel that there are few cases where calling "reach" is incorrect.

For example, in this situation, if a 1s comes out, you'll get 11,600 points, so the thought of keeping it concealed crosses your mind for a moment.
However, since the dealer has declared a reach, they shouldn't push unless there's a very good reason.
Rather than letting the opponent play a straight hand without calling a riichi, taking the initiative yourself will ultimately increase your chances of drawing the winning tile.
I think style and way of thinking also play a role in this,In a normal game, if you have two or more han including a riichi, I feel that riichi is the correct move in most cases.
At the very least, I don't think it's wrong.

Mental aspect

Mental strength is extremely important when it comes to continuing to play Tenhou.
Unfair things are bound to happen, so it's important to find ways to stay calm at all times.

In my case, the pitfall I tended to fall into was,When you keep coming in last, you inevitably start craving first place, creating a vicious cycle.is.
Immediately after falling behind, it's easy to get carried away and try to make up for lost points.
If you didn't come in last because of a mistake, it's important not to worry about it too much.
If I come in last, reviewing the game record to check for any misjudgments helps me calm down a bit.
It's quite common to make the right judgment but still get a bad result, so let's make sure we can make the right move again in the same situation.

Books and videos that I found helpful

・Tile efficiency
G. Uzak, "301 Standard Discard Options"
G. Uzak's masterpiece, "300 Selections of What to Discard"

These two books will definitely improve your fundamental skills with each repetition over several weeks.
It may not have immediate effects, but I feel it's the most important thing.

Push and pull
Makoto Fukuchi's "Modern Mahjong: A Textbook on Pushing and Pulling"
Makoto Fukuchi's "Modern Mahjong: Ironclad Tactics of Hand-Building and Push-Pull"

You can learn the basics of pushing and pulling from this book.
If you simply want to learn about pushing and pulling, then "The Textbook of Pushing and Pulling" is all you need.

・Reference books
Mr. Nemata's "Modern Mahjong Techniques"

This book meticulously covers everything from hand positioning and pushing/pulling to trapping and interpreting calls.
It's extremely difficult to put everything into practice, so I think it's best to read it as a reference book.

• Reference materials
Miinin's "Mahjong Tactics Based on Statistics"
Meenin's "Two Mahjong Choices That Will Make You Stronger Just by Knowing Them"

This book is a valuable resource to read as it provides support for other strategy books, deepening your understanding.
The "two-choice questions in Mahjong" are simple and easy to remember.

·textbook
Announcement: "The Mahjong Mechanism of the Demon-Slaying Tenhou Champion"
Takahiro Yamakoshi's "Mahjong Winning System"

This book comprehensively explains the systematized playing techniques of top players.
Copying everything is one option, but incorporating technologies that you think might be useful is also a good approach.
It was helpful in learning about ways of thinking that I hadn't considered before.

·movie
YouTube "Unimaru Channel"

This video makes it very easy to grasp the feeling of what you should be thinking while you're actually hitting the ball.
The writing style is engaging and easy to get into, so I recommend it to people who find reading books a chore.

In conclusion

I've been playing Tenhou steadily for a long time, and I've finally managed to reach the Phoenix Table.
I'd like to say I have no regrets, but next time I'm thinking of getting beaten badly in the Phoenix Table.
Looking back, I'm deeply moved to think that I've managed to keep going until now, ever since I got completely crushed at the top-tier table for the first time.
I hope to continue improving little by little in the future.