Tanki
Tanki 「単騎」 is a common type of wait pattern. Most mahjong hands form to complete the fourth meld. However, a handful of mahjong hands can be formed with four complete melds, while needing to finish the pair. That makes this pattern referred to as the "pair wait". Unlike the other basic patterns, there are a few types of pair waits to consider.
| Kanji | 単騎 |
|---|---|
| English | Pair wait |
| Fu | 2 fu |
| Tile types waiting | {{{type}}} sided wait |
| Tiles available | 3 tiles |
| Pattern example |
 |
| Tenhou.net example |
Pattern
The wait pattern involves waiting for a single tile.
Hadaka tanki
Hadaka tanki 「裸単騎」 is a special type of pair wait pattern. A hand in this state has called for discarded tiles four times. Upon doing so, only one tile is left closed in the hand.
Harabote
Harabote is a type of pair wait, by which the tile is duplicated and used in a sequence. As such, this gives the wait one less tile to wait for, as two are already in the hand.
Chiitoitsu
Every chiitoitsu tenpai hand uses tanki, as the pattern looks to match up the last pair for completion.
Strategy
Best uses
Tanki, or single tile, is best used when seeking to win off of a player's discard. While the number of waiting tiles is limited to a maximum of three, the pattern has its uses. It's greatest strength stems from its ability to select any tile as a waiting tile. Often enough, this pattern may confuse players; and even traps, like suji traps, may be employed. Waits involving honor tiles, especially when one is discarded, is actually powerful, because players may believe those tiles are actually safe tiles. All-in-all, this pattern is best used to counter or bait players, who are looking to defend.