Furiten: Difference between revisions

'''Furiten''' {{kana|振聴}} (often translated as '''sacred discard''' though this bears no relation to the Japanese term) is a state where a player cannot declare [[ron]] because of a decision not to use a winning tile. A player in [[Tenpai|tenpai]] is furiten if any of that player's 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]], although computer games will generally forbid the player from declaring a furiten ron.

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 for a long period of time.

The furiten is the reason that in Japanese majnog, unlike many other mahjong variations, the [[discard pile]]is specifically arranged in front of players and [[Naki|tile calls]] have one tile turned to indicate who discarded the tile. These allow players to keep track of who discarded a tile.

== Rule statement ==

* They have discarded, at any point in the hand, one of their winning tiles.

* They are not in [[riichi]; since their last turn, another player either discarded or made a [[shouminkan]] of one of their winning tiles; and they did not call ron on that tile.

* They are in riichi; since they declared riichi, another player either discarded or made a [[shouminkan]] of one of their winning tiles; and they did not call ron on that tile.

 

 

=== Own discard furiten ===

When a player is in furiten because of their own discard, it is sometimes called '''permanent furiten'''. This name is slightly misleading because a player can (unless they have declared riichi) change their waits to avoid this form of furiten.

 

All of a player's discards can be checked at any time during play, by looking at their discard pools and the rotated tiles in other players' tile calls. This leads to the most basic strategy to avoid dealing into a player's hand: tiles they have already discarded are guaranteed safe against a ron call from that player.

 

During hand development, it is important to bear furiten in mind. Most of the time, if a hand gets to tenpai and is furiten at that point, it indicates that the hand was inefficiently developed. This is not always the case, as sometimes a player makes a tactically correct decision and finds themselves in furiten anyway.

 

The most common reason for furiten, however, is when a player is already tenpai with an open hand, and does not have a guaranteed yaku. While they may have a winning tile that provides them with a yaku, if that draw another tile which completes the hand without a yaku, then they will be forced into furiten on the next discard. This most commonly occurs with a [[shanpon]] wait, one pair of which would give [[yakuhai]], or with a [[ryanmen]] wait on 14 or 69 on a hand that would otherwise complete [[tanyao]].

 

Finally, a player considering a [[daburu riichi|double riichi]] should carefully inspect their hand before discarding; if they had a complete hand to begin with, then being in furiten will add insult to the injury of having [[http://osamuko.com/delicious-riichi-button-must-click-it/ passed]] on a [[tenhou and chiihou|tenhou or chiihou tsumo]].

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.

=== 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.]]

 

While this is often a mistake to enter temporary furiten, done by a player who does not know their waits correctly or is not paying attention, it may be done deliberately in order to achieve a higher scoring hand or to target a specific player. This becomes much more common in [[orasu]], where a player may gain little benefit from winning a hand that does not [[gyakuten|let them pass another player]]. Temporary furiten can also be entered by a player who does not have a guaranteed yaku, as described above. This is much less devastating than drawing the [[yasume]] tile, however, because it is only temporary.

Uncommonly, some rulesets [[Rule variations#Furiten|vary the rules]] by allowing a tile call made by another player to cancel temporary furiten. This variation is considered by many to be a poor one.

=== Permanent furiten during riichi ===

{{main|Riichi}}

When a player has declared riichi, the state of temporary furiten does not expire for them. This means that they only have one opportunity to call ron; if they pass on it, then they can thereafter only win by tsumo. This rule is a critical part of defense against riichi, as it means that any tiles discarded since the declaration is safe.

The rule for riichi can be understood as saying that temporary furiten expires the next time the player has an opportunity to change their hand. Because a player in riichi cannot change their hand, their temporary furiten never expires.

A player in riichi never has to worry about [[yasume]] putting them in furiten unless they are playing with [[ryanhan shibari]]. When ryanhan shibari, a riichi without a guaranteed second yaku may be quite dangerous due to furiten.