Furiten: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:25, 20 November 2024

Baiman tenpai, in furiten due to 9-sou in discard. Ron cannot be called here.

While a player's hand is in furiten 「振聴」, they cannot declare a win on another player's discard (i.e., they cannot ron). They are still allowed to win with their own draw (tsumo), assuming the hand is valid.

The most common way to enter furiten is from discards: if a player had previously discarded a tile that their hand could now win with, their hand is considered furiten. Furiten is also caused when a player skips a win.

This rule is often used for defense: any tile a player discards is 100% safe against that player.

Rule overview

While the hand is in furiten, the player is unable to call ron off any tile, but they can win by tsumo if the hand has valid yaku.

A hand in tenpai is in furiten in any of the following scenarios:

When at least one of the hand's current winning tiles have been discarded by you before, the hand enters furiten.
- A tile does not have to be physically in your discard pile to invoke furiten. If an opponent called on your discarded tile, said tile will still trigger furiten.
After declaring riichi, if the first winning tile is skipped, the hand permanently enters furiten.
When not in riichi, when a winning tile is skipped, the hand enters temporary furiten. This furiten lasts until the player's next discard.

A "winning tile" is any tile that could complete a "4 groups + 1 pair" winning shape (or chiitoitsu / kokushi musou), even if the hand could not actually win because it would lack yaku.

Note that, when in furiten, the hand is unable to win off any discard; the tile that "caused" furiten is irrelevant. For example, if your hand is waiting to win with 2p and 5p, and you had discarded 2p before, you are unable to win off an opponent's 5p.

Discard furiten

Discard furiten, the most common form of furiten, occurs when a player's own winning tile has been discarded before. A hand can escape this type of furiten by changing its waits.

Because discard furiten exists, any tile a player has discarded is 100% safe against that player. Even if the player is waiting on that tile, they cannot ron (as they'd be in furiten).

It is important to bear furiten in mind when developing a hand. If a hand gets to tenpai and is furiten, it may have been inefficiently developed. This is not always the case, however, as a player can make a correct decision but still be in furiten.

A hand with no guaranteed yaku - a state known as atozuke - is particularly susceptible to furiten. When a hand is in atozuke, only some winning tiles would result in having a yaku. If a non-yaku winning tile is obtained, the hand is unable to win, and forced to enter discard furiten. Atozuke often occurs with:

A shanpon wait, with one tile completing a yakuhai triplet, and the other having no yaku.
A ryanmen wait on 14 or 69 on a hand that would otherwise complete tanyao.

Temporary furiten

Calling a win is optional. If a non-riichi player does not ron a "winning tile" (even if said tile can't win due to lack of yaku), they enter temporary furiten until their next discard. Since it lasts for 1 turn, it is called temporary furiten.

Sometimes, a player may misinterpret their waits, entering furiten in the process. Alternatively, a player may be in atozuke and a non-yaku giving tile is discarded. Otherwise, a player may intentionally skip a win, entering temporary furiten in the process. This is mainly done after point standing analysis, such as:

When a player is close to bankrupting, a player in 1st may want to target them in order to end the game faster.
When close to all last, a player may need to ron a specific player to rise up in rank.

In a few rulesets, any tile call will cancel other players' temporary furiten.

Permanent furiten during riichi

Main article: Riichi

When a player has declared riichi, the state of temporary furiten does not expire. Therefore, if a riichi hand skips a win, it is no longer able to call ron. This is known as permanent furiten, or riichi furiten.

Since riichi is a yaku, there is no need to worry about a lack of yaku, unless under ryanhan shibari.

Reasoning

Furiten exists for two main reasons:

1. It helps players defend against other player's hands:

Discard furiten: Any tile a player has discarded before is 100% safe against that player.
Temporary furiten: The tile the player on your left discards is 100% against all players that turn. The tile the player across from you discards is 100% safe against the rightmost player.
Permanent furiten: After a player declares riichi, any tile anyone discards is safe against that riichi player.

2. It makes it much harder to target other players.

Because discard furiten exists, players cannot skip a tsumo win in order to ron another player.
Because temporary and permanent furiten exist, players must take the first ron or enter some form of furiten. Since a non-riichi hand could change its waits every turn, temporary furiten only lasts 1 turn. Because a riichi hand cannot change its waits, permanent furiten lasts until the end of the hand.

Example

Example discard pile
2-pin in this discard applies furiten to the example hand

Waiting for:

This hand waits on three different tiles. If the player has a 2-pin in their discard pile, then the hand is in furiten and may not win by ron on any tile. Even if a 5-pin or 8-pin gets discarded by an opponent, ron may not be called.

Strategy

Defense

Main article: Defense

The furiten rule is essential for defensive play. As mentioned in the Reasoning section, any tile that would invoke furiten to a player is 100% safe against that player:

Discard furiten: Any tile that an opponent discarded is 100% against them.
Permanent furiten: After an opponent declares riichi, any tile anyone discards is 100% safe against that riichi player.
Temporary furiten: Any tile that the player to your left has discarded this turn is 100% safe against every player for this turn only.

Suji is a technique that is related to furiten. When a tile is suji, a hand cannot have a ryanmen wait (2-sided wait; the most common type of wait) for that tile without being in furiten.

Working with furiten

Sometimes, it may be necessary to enter tenpai when it would be furiten. Often, this is the result of developing the hand and defending simultaneously.

An important thing to realize is that you only enter furiten when in tenpai. Therefore, it is not the worst thing to keep a wait that could cause furiten later. So long as you complete the wait before tenpai, there is no punishment.

Even if you do enter furiten, a 3-sided wait in furiten is still strong, and a 2-sided wait in furiten remains reasonable (around the level of a 1-sided wait).

Rarely, a hand in damaten can intentionally enter furiten. In this case, the hand is in tenpai, but after a winning tile is drawn, the player declares riichi instead of a win - immediately entering furiten. This may be done to score a yaku like pinfu or sanshoku.

Exiting furiten

To exit discard furiten, you can change the hand's wait so that it can no longer win off any of the discarded tiles. For example:

Draw:

Waiting for:

(furiten)

If the hand had discarded previously, it would be in furiten. By drawing and discarding , it now waits on and . Thus, the hand is no longer waiting on , and is no longer in furiten.

References

↑ Furiten-ron chombo (M.League 24-25, Sep.27 #2, South 2 Round 1 honba, North seat)

External links

振聴

Furiten in Japanese Wikipedia

[1] Furiten-ron chombo (M.League 24-25, Sep.27 #2, South 2 Round 1 honba, North seat)

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:Furiten.png|right|thumb|250px|[http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2012110112gm-0009-7447-14ec5c8d&tw=0&ts=4 Baiman tenpai], in furiten due to 9-sou in discard.  Ron cannot be called here.]]
-'''Furiten''' {{kana|振聴}}, meaning '''sacred discard''', is a particular rule associated with the tile discards. Basically, the player in [[Tenpai|tenpai]] is furiten if winning tiles are present in one's own discard pile or, in certain conditions, another player's discard pile or [[shouminkan]].  Players in furiten may still win by [[tsumo]], but not by [[ron]].  A call of ron while furiten is penalized by [[chombo]].
+While a player's hand is in '''furiten''' {{kana|振聴}}, they cannot declare a win on another player's [[ron|discard]] (i.e., they cannot [[ron]]). They are still allowed to win with their own draw ([[tsumo]]), assuming the hand is valid.
-In all cases, the furiten rule requires a player to be aware of all of their [[machi|tile waits]]. If a player is [[tenpai]] but does not realize all of their possible waits, they may not be aware that they are furiten and, as a result, call an illegal win. This is especially true of a player who has called [[riichi]], because they can be furiten off of anyone's discard.
+The most common way to enter furiten is from discards: if a player had previously discarded a tile that their hand could now win with, their hand is considered furiten. Furiten is also caused when a player skips a win.
-Unlike many other mahjong variations, the [[discard pile]] for Japanese mahjong is specifically arranged in front of players.  The orderly discards help enforce the '''furiten rule''', by keeping track of discarded tiles.  [[naki|Tile calls]] have specific arrangements to point the source of these discarded tiles, so that they do not allow a loophole to furiten.  For every discard, the '''furiten rule''' applies when appropriate.
+This rule is often used for [[defense]]: any tile a player discards is [[genbutsu|100% safe]] against that player.
-== The rule ==
+== Rule overview ==
-Furiten imposes the following conditions:
+[[Image:Furiten ron MLeague.png|right|250px|thumb|Furiten ron with a 5-sided wait in [[M.League]] invoking [[chombo]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ102K4Kl8w&t=260 Furiten-ron chombo] (M.League 24-25, Sep.27 #2, South 2 Round 1 honba, North seat)</ref>]]
-* '''Players in furiten may not win by ron''', under any circumstances.
-* Declaring ron while in furiten is penalized with a [[Chombo|chombo payment]].
-* Players in furiten may still win by tsumo.
-== Causes ==
+While the hand is in furiten, the player is unable to call ron off any tile, but they can win by [[tsumo]] ''if'' the hand has valid [[yaku]].
-When a player has called a win, via the call for ron, their hand should be checked for furiten.  If the player is found to be furiten, then the win is invalid and the penalty for chombo is enforced.  For games played via the computer, players are usually denied the ability to declare ron in the first place.
+A hand in [[tenpai]] is in furiten in any of the following scenarios:
+* When at least one of the hand's current winning tiles have been discarded by you before, the hand enters furiten.
+** A tile does not have to be physically in your discard pile to invoke furiten. If an opponent [[naki|called]] on your discarded tile, said tile will still trigger furiten.
+* After declaring [[riichi]], if the first winning tile is skipped, the hand permanently enters furiten.
+* When not in riichi, when a winning tile is skipped, the hand enters temporary furiten. This furiten lasts until the player's next discard.
-=== Discard-based furiten ===
+A "winning tile" is any tile that could complete a "4 groups + 1 pair" winning shape (or [[chiitoitsu]] / [[kokushi musou]]), ''even if the hand could not actually win because it would lack yaku''.
-{{Discard pile
+Note that, when in furiten, the hand is unable to win off ''any'' discard; the tile that "caused" furiten is irrelevant. For example, if your hand is waiting to win with 2p and 5p, and you had discarded 2p before, you are unable to win off an opponent's 5p.
-|align    = right
-|title    = Example discard pile
+=== Discard furiten ===
-|tilerow1 = 1s6527z7s
+Discard furiten, the most common form of furiten, occurs when a player's own winning tile has been discarded before. A hand can escape this type of furiten by changing its waits.
-|tilerow2 = 23p3s6z4s1m
-|tilerow3 = 4z
+Because discard furiten exists, any tile a player has discarded is 100% safe against that player. Even if the player is waiting on that tile, they cannot ron (as they'd be in furiten).
-|source   = 2-pin in this discard applies furiten to the example hand
-}}
+It is important to bear furiten in mind when developing a hand. If a hand gets to tenpai and is furiten, it may have been inefficiently developed. This is not always the case, however, as a player can make a correct decision but still be in furiten.
+A hand with no guaranteed yaku - a state known as [[atozuke]] - is particularly susceptible to furiten. When a hand is in atozuke, only some winning tiles would result in having a yaku. If a non-yaku winning tile is obtained, the hand is unable to win, and forced to enter discard furiten. Atozuke often occurs with:
+*A [[shanpon]] wait, with one tile completing a [[yakuhai]] triplet, and the other having no yaku.
+*A [[ryanmen]] wait on 14 or 69 on a hand that would otherwise complete [[tanyao]].
+=== Temporary furiten ===
+[[Image:TempFuriten.png|thumb|right|250px|Ron declined, so [http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014022617gm-0089-0000-ee8c6631&tw=2&ts=11 temporary furiten invoked] until the next own's tile draw.]]
+Calling a win is optional. If a non-[[riichi]] player does not ron a "winning tile" (even if said tile can't win due to lack of yaku), they enter temporary furiten until their next discard. Since it lasts for 1 turn, it is called temporary furiten.
-A player is furiten if a winning tile is present in his own's [[discard pile]].  It does not matter whether this tile would have provided a yaku or not. Tiles turned sideways within open groups are considered part of the discarder's discard pile, hence the concern for indicating the tile source for open calls.  As long as the player has not declared [[Riichi|riichi]], furiten can be avoided by altering the hand and changing [[Machi|tile waits]].
+Sometimes, a player may misinterpret their waits, entering furiten in the process. Alternatively, a player may be in atozuke and a non-yaku giving tile is discarded. Otherwise, a player may intentionally skip a win, entering temporary furiten in the process. This is mainly done after [[situational analysis|point standing analysis]], such as:
-'''Example tenpai hand'''
+*When a player is close to [[tobi|bankrupting]], a player in 1st may want to target them in order to end the game faster.
-:{{#mjt:77m 34567p 678s 777z}}, waiting on {{#mjt:2p}}, {{#mjt:5p}}, or {{#mjt:8p}}
+*When close to [[oorasu|all last]], a player may need to ron a specific player to [[gyakuten|rise up in rank]].
-This hand waits on three different tiles. If the player has a 2-pin their discard pile, then the hand is in furiten and may not win by ron on any tile. Even if a 5-pin or 8-pin gets discarded by an opponent, ron may not be called in this instance.
+In a few [[Rule variations#Furiten|rulesets]], any tile call will cancel other players' temporary furiten.
 === Permanent furiten during riichi ===
+[[Image:Furiten riichi.png|250px|thumb|right|[http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2015082022gm-0089-0000-a1177c83&tw=1&ts=11 Furiten riichi] applied upon declaration and discard declining a winning hand.]]
 {{main|Riichi}}
-A riichi declarer may ignore a winning tile and not call ron. The ignored tile may have been a discarded tile or a [[Chankan|tile used to extend a minkou to a shominkan]] (kan called while having an open triplet).  After ignoring a winning tile, the riichi declarer is permanently furiten for the rest of the hand.  Therefore, it is advised for any player declaring riichi to call ron, at the first instance of a winning tile.  Otherwise, a win via [[mentsumo|tsumo]] becomes the only option.
+When a player has declared riichi, the state of temporary furiten does not expire. Therefore, if a riichi hand skips a win, it is no longer able to call ron. This is known as permanent furiten, or riichi furiten.
+Since riichi is a yaku, there is no need to worry about a lack of yaku, unless under [[ryanhan shibari]].
-The furiten rule emphasizes that all tiles discarded by any player after the riichi declaration are deemed [[genbutsu|safe tiles]], along with the player's own discards. For this reason, the tile upon the riichi declaration is turned sideways to indicate the timing of the call.  Riichi declarers may not decline a ron against one player and expect to declare ron against another.  Even if a winning tile different from the ignored one appears, the player may not call ron.
+== Reasoning ==
+Furiten exists for two main reasons:
-=== Temporary furiten ===
+. It helps players [[defense|defend]] against other player's hands:
-[[Image:TempFuriten.png|thumb|right|250px|Ron declined, so [http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014022617gm-0089-0000-ee8c6631&tw=2&ts=11 temporary furiten invoked] until the next own's tile draw.]]
+* Discard furiten: Any tile a player has discarded before is 100% safe against that player.
-Any player in tenpai has the option to ignore winning tiles.  By declining a call for ron, the player then becomes temporarily furiten until the same player's next discard. In some plays, this may be a valid option in order to achieve a higher scoring hand or to target a specific player.
+* Temporary furiten: The tile the player on your left discards is 100% against all players that turn. The tile the player across from you discards is 100% safe against the rightmost player.
+* Permanent furiten: After a player declares riichi, any tile anyone discards is safe against that riichi player.
+. It makes it much harder to target other players.
+* Because discard furiten exists, players cannot skip a tsumo win in order to ron another player.
+* Because temporary and permanent furiten exist, players must take the first ron or enter some form of furiten. Since a non-riichi hand ''could'' change its waits every turn, temporary furiten only lasts 1 turn. Because a riichi hand cannot change its waits, permanent furiten lasts until the end of the hand.
-The furiten rule does not consider [[yaku]]. Sometimes, a hand can be completed with several tiles, but only some of them provide a yaku, others would produce a yakuless hand. If a yakuless tile appears, it must be ignored, because a winning hand must contain a yaku. The player must remain temporarily furiten until the next turn, even if a potential winning tile appears.
+== Example ==
+{{Discard pile
+|align    = right
+|title    = Example discard pile
+|tilerow1 = 1s6527z7s
+|tilerow2 = 23p3s6z4s1m
+|tilerow3 = 4z
+|source   = 2-pin in this discard applies furiten to the example hand
+}}
-This rule makes it harder to target a specific player with ron, or to ignore a winning tile of [[yasume|lesser value]] and hope for a more valuable tile.  Sometimes, a player simply needs a specific win condition in order to attain a certain result, like [[Gyakuten|passing another player]].  Win conditions that do not meet certain expectations may end up being ignored.ile giving more value
+:{{machi
+|pattern      = 77m34567p678s777z
+|tilewaits    = 258p
+}}
-Some rulesets may [[Rule variations#Furiten|vary the rules]] on temporary furiten with regards the timing of its cancellation, where a [[naki|tile call]] made by another player cancels the temporary furiten state. This is an uncommon variation, however.
+This hand waits on three different tiles. If the player has a 2-pin in their discard pile, then the hand is in furiten and may not win by ron on any tile. Even if a 5-pin or 8-pin gets discarded by an opponent, ron may not be called.
 == Strategy ==
 === Defense ===
+{{main|Defense}}
-{{main|Defense}}
+The furiten rule is essential for defensive play. As mentioned in the [[#Reasoning|Reasoning]] section, any tile that would invoke furiten to a player is 100% safe against that player:
+*Discard furiten: Any tile that an opponent discarded is 100% against them.
+*Permanent furiten: After an opponent declares [[riichi]], any tile anyone discards is 100% safe against that riichi player.
+*Temporary furiten: Any tile that the player to your left has discarded this turn is 100% safe against every player for this turn only.
-The furiten rule may be applied for defensive play, which focuses on discarding [[safe tiles]]. By discarding tiles that are also visible in an opponent's discard pile, a player can avoid a ron call by that opponent.  Likewise, usage of [[suji]] and [[kabe]] may also help players deduce safe tiles, based on opponent discard.  This is applied when a player does not have any matching tiles in the hand with opponent discard; or a player may rather keep certain tiles, for the sake of developing the hand without [[betaori|tearing it apart]].
+[[Suji]] is a technique that is related to furiten. When a tile is suji, a hand cannot have a [[ryanmen]] wait (2-sided wait; the most common type of wait) for that tile without being in furiten.
 ===Working with furiten===
+Sometimes, it may be necessary to enter tenpai when it would be furiten. Often, this is the result of developing the hand and defending simultaneously.
+An important thing to realize is that you only enter furiten when in tenpai. Therefore, it is not the worst thing to keep a wait that could cause furiten later. So long as you complete the wait before tenpai, there is no punishment.
+Even if you do enter furiten, a 3-sided wait in furiten is still strong, and a 2-sided wait in furiten remains reasonable (around the level of a 1-sided wait).
+Rarely, a hand in [[damaten]] can intentionally enter furiten. In this case, the hand is in tenpai, but after a winning tile is drawn, the player declares riichi instead of a win - immediately entering furiten. This may be done to score a yaku like [[pinfu]] or [[sanshoku]].
+===Exiting furiten===
+To exit discard furiten, you can change the hand's [[wait]] so that it can no longer win off any of the discarded tiles. For example:
-Sometimes, it may be necessary to deliberately place the hand in furiten.  Often, this is the result of developing the hand and defending simultaneously.  To escape the bind applied by furiten, then the hand's [[machi|tile wait(s)]] must simply change by adjusting and changing the tiles in the hand with subsequent tile draws.  Of course, a player may place greater expectation on tsumo to win rather than ron.
+:{{#mjt:22288m23p3456'78s}} Draw: {{#mjt:3p}} Waiting for: {{#mjt:14p}} (furiten)
-=== Furiten tsumo ===
+If the hand had discarded {{#mjt:1p}} previously, it would be in furiten. By drawing {{#mjt:3p}} and discarding {{#mjt:2p}}, it now waits on {{#mjt:3p}} and {{#mjt:8m}}. Thus, the hand is no longer waiting on {{#mjt:1p}}, and is no longer in furiten.
-Hands in furiten can still win, as furiten imposes a limit of tsumo only.  For open hands, the hand requires a valid yaku.  For closed hands, [[mentsumo]] will be acceptable or added.
+== References ==
+<references/>
 == External links ==