Defense: Difference between revisions

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Defense in [[Japanese mahjong]] means to '''avoiding dealing into other players' hands by not discarding winning tiles'''. Defense is an important skill, especially when other players call [[riichi]] and/or have a high scoring hand. All else equal, a player with a lower "[[ron|deal in rate]]" will have a higher chance of winning the game.
Defense in [[Japanese mahjong]] means to '''avoid dealing into other players' hands by not discarding winning tiles'''. Defense is an important skill, especially when other players call [[riichi]] and/or have a high scoring hand. All else equal, a player with a lower "[[ron|deal in rate]]" will have a higher chance of winning the game.


== General overview ==
== General overview ==
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===Honors===
===Honors===
[[Honor]] tiles, especially those which have been discarded before, are generally safer. This is because the honor tiles cannot form [[shuntsu|sequences]], meaning they are harder to wait off of.
[[Honor]] tiles with multiple copies visible are generally safer. This is because the honor tiles cannot form [[shuntsu|sequences]], meaning they are harder to wait off of.


*Honor tiles you can see all four copies of are safe against everything except [[kokushi musou]]. If kokushi isn't possible (e.g. all four copies of a ''different'' honor/terminal are also visible), then these honors are 100% safe.
*Honor tiles you can see all four copies of are safe against everything except [[kokushi musou]]. If kokushi isn't possible (e.g. all four copies of a ''different'' honor/terminal are also visible), then these honors are 100% safe.
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{{main|Suji}}
{{main|Suji}}


'''Suji''' focuses on taking advantage of the furiten rule, and its application to the "mahjong intervals". Most two-sided or better waits will wait on tiles that are 3 numbers apart. E.g. a {23} wait wins off either a 1 or 4 (4-3=1). Therefore, if a tile is safe, the tiles that are 3 apart from that tile are safer - the intervals of 3 are called "suji intervals". For instance, if a player has discarded 4-pin, the 1-pin and 7-pin become safer against that player. Neither 1 or 7 is perfectly safe, however.
'''Suji''' focuses on taking advantage of the furiten rule and the most common type of wait.


It is ''very'' important to note that the middle tiles (4, 5, 6) require two tiles to be considered true suji. A discarded 1-pin by itself does not make 4-pin much safer, since the hand could contain a 4-7 wait. In order for 4-pin to be "full" suji, both 1-pin and 7-pin must be safe.  
A [[ryanmen]] wait, a two-sided wait to complete a sequence (e.g. {23} waiting for 1 or 4), is the most common wait in the game, appearing in ~50% of all hands. A ryanmen always waits on tiles that are 3 numbers apart, such as 1-4 or 4-7.
 
Therefore, when a tile is safe, the other tiles that are 3 apart become safer. For instance, if a player has discarded 4-pin, the 1-pin and 7-pin become safer against that player. Neither 1 or 7 is perfectly safe, however. These intervals of 3 are called "suji intervals".
 
It is important to note that the middle tiles (4, 5, 6) require two tiles to be considered true suji. The 4 is part of two suji intervals: 1-4 and 4-7. If a 1 is discarded, a player could still have a 4-7 open wait. The 4 is only full suji if ''both'' 1 and 7 are safe.


Some suji are safer than others:
Some suji are safer than others:
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