Takame and yasume

Takame 「高目」 and yasume 「安目」 are terms used whenever a hand can score differently with different winning tiles. Takame are the more valuable winning tiles, and yasume are the less valuable tiles.

Conditions

In order to be subject to takame and yasume:

• A hand must be in tenpai, waiting on multiple different tiles.
• At least one of its waiting tiles would be more valuable than the others. This happens when:
  • Some of the winning tiles would produce a yaku.
  • Some of the winning tiles are the dora.

A hand that is mangan or higher may end up "nullifying" takame and yasume. If a hand can score 7 han on its takeme, or 6 han on its yasume, it is worth the same amount (a haneman) either way. Despite having different han values, the hand scores the same.

Atozuke is a special case where the hand would have no yaku with its yasume, so it can only win if it gets a takame (unless it gains a conditional yaku, like haitei or houtei).

Examples

• Atozuke

Takame: Yasume:

Under normal circumstances, only one tile can produce a valid win. The hand would have no yaku with the 1s, so it can only win with the chun.

• Dora-based

Waiting for:

This is just a regular pinfu hand waiting on one of two tile types. If one of those tiles is the dora, the hand would be more valuable if it got the dora.

• Pinfu and tanyao potential

Takame: Yasume:

In this case, the hand is waiting on three tiles. Two waits will result in pinfu (1m and 4m). Two waits will result in tanyao (3m and 4m). Winning with 4m maximizes hand value.

• Sanshoku

Takame: Yasume:

The hand waits on 2 tiles, but only one of them (the 4m) will result in sanshoku.

Yakuman involved

• Suuankou

Takame: Yasume:

This produces a wide takame and yasume situation. Tsumo with the takame tiles produces yakuman, while winning on the yasume produces 1-han hands.

• Daisangen

Takame: Yasume:

Tenpai hand waiting to produce either daisangen (takame) or shousangen (yasume).

• Chuuren poutou - Example

Takame: Yasume:

Only one tile can produce the yakuman, chuuren poutou, while the other waits produce only chinitsu.

Other scoring conditions

These conditions can cause a hand to score differently based on how it's won, not on which type of tile is received:

• A hand may score a conditional yaku (menzen tsumo, chankan, rinshan, haitei, and houtei) if it wins in a certain way.
• If akadora are in play, and the hand waits on such tiles. The hand scores more if it receives the akadora rather than a normal tile.
• Sanankou and suuankou rely on closed triplets. If a triplet is completed by ron, it is not considered closed. Therefore, a hand with two closed triplets already can score sanankou if a third triplet is completed by tsumo, but not if a third triplet is completed by ron.

These scoring aspects may additionally be combined with each other and with yasume and takame:

Waiting for:

In this case, if the hand wins with a 5-pin or with 6-man, it will score tanyao, but not if it wins with 9m. The winning 5-pin could be red, giving an additional dora tile. If won with 5-pin by tsumo, or 6-man/9-man by any method, it qualifies for sanankou. If the winning tile is 6m or 9m, then then 666m ankou existed in the hand already, and if a 5p is drawn for a tsumo, then the 555p ankou can be used instead, but a 5p ron would not create an ankou. Thus the values of winning by ron in order are: 6-man > 9-man > red 5-pin > 5-pin; the values of winning by tsumo in order are: red 5-pin > 5-pin = 6-man > 9-man.

Strategy

Takume and yasume can occasionally be important when deciding whether to riichi or stay damaten, due to the differences in furiten rules:

• If a damaten hand rejects a ron, it only enters furiten until your next turn.
• If a riichi hand rejects a ron, it enters furiten permanently.

Thus, a dama hand may reject an opponent's discarded yasume and wait for a more valuable tile. However, because riichi is worth ~1.5 han on average, you should not dama just because you can decline a yasume. For example:

Takame: Yasume:

This hand has 1 han from yakuhai and possibly 2 han from sanshoku.

• Dama, 7m: (skipped for more valuable tile)
• Dama, 4m: 3 han
• Riichi, 7m: 2.5 han on average
• Riichi, 4m: 4.5 han on average

Riichi has an expected value of 3-3.5 han, and winning with the yasume scores an average of 2.5 han. Dama can accept half as many tiles, and only scores 3 han. Therefore, riichi is better. The difference between the takume/yasume needs to be 3+ han to be net positive, and even then, you might want to riichi.

Takume and yasume can be especially relevant in all last (where only the takume could let you rise a rank).