Suji: Difference between revisions

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(Added information on using suji)
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Defending using suji essentially presumes a player to be utilizing either the wait pattern of [[ryanmen]], [[ryanmenten]], [[nobetan]], [[sanmentan]], or some other variation.  Under the rule of [[furiten]], if a player discarded a waiting tile, then the player's ability to call "ron" is disabled.  Therefore, certain tile discards may rule out certain mahjong intervals.
Defending using suji essentially presumes a player to be utilizing either the wait pattern of [[ryanmen]], [[ryanmenten]], [[nobetan]], [[sanmentan]], or some other variation.  Under the rule of [[furiten]], if a player discarded a waiting tile, then the player's ability to call "ron" is disabled.  Therefore, certain tile discards may rule out certain mahjong intervals.


Of course, one should not be necessarily dependent on these intervals alone, as some waiting patterns are immune to suji.
For example, take the 1-4-7 interval. If a 4 is discarded, this makes 1 and 7 safer, since if the opponent has a 23 or 56 as their final shape, they would be furiten on the 4. Note that a 7 being present does not necessarily make a 4 safe, as they could still have a 23. Therefore, both a 1 and 7 need to be present in order for 4 to be safer. The same applies to the other intervals.
 
Of course, one should not be necessarily dependent on these intervals alone, as some waiting patterns are immune to suji, such as a [[kanchan]] or [[shanpon]].


===Checklist===
===Checklist===
For defense, eighteen different suji are in consideration as listed above.  Six basic suji multiplied by the three suits produces the count of eighteen suji.  After all, hand shapes frequently depend on ryanmen to win, as they are the most efficient and have the widest range of waiting tiles involving just two tiles in the hand.
For defense, eighteen different suji are in consideration as listed above.  Six basic suji multiplied by the three suits produces the count of eighteen suji.  After all, hand shapes frequently depend on ryanmen to win, as they are the most efficient and have the widest range of waiting tiles involving just two tiles in the hand.  By counting the number of visible suji, players can determine roughly how risky it is to discard a dangerous tile.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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[[Image:Suji Trap.png|right|thumb|5-pin discarded to indicate 2-pin or 8-pin as potentially safe, when [http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014081307gm-0089-0000-edd77642&tw=0&ts=12 the 8 is not].]]
[[Image:Suji Trap.png|right|thumb|5-pin discarded to indicate 2-pin or 8-pin as potentially safe, when [http://tenhou.net/0/?log=2014081307gm-0089-0000-edd77642&tw=0&ts=12 the 8 is not].]]
The strategy of suji may be used offensively.  By utilizing suji in reverse, a player may use a tile within an interval to lure out a winning tile along the same interval.  A defending player may presume a certain tile to be safe by suji, when it is actually not.  This is commonly known as the "suji trap".
The strategy of suji may be used offensively.  By utilizing suji in reverse, a player may use a tile within an interval to lure out a winning tile along the same interval.  A defending player may presume a certain tile to be safe by suji, when it is actually not.  This is commonly known as the "suji trap".
A common way for this to occur is when a player has a ryankan shape, such as 468. They can discard the 4 to wait on 7, which is suji of the 4. This is part of the reason why the suji of the riichi tile is considered dangerous.


== External links ==
== External links ==

Revision as of 16:24, 5 June 2019

Read the numbers across.

Suji 「筋」 is the principle of utilizing the "mahjong intervals". This applies to the numbered suits: souzu, pinzu, and manzu. While these three suits are numbered 1 through 9, the numbers may be arranged in a square fashion to determine the "intervals". The purpose is to deduce and/or determine tiles waiting via open waits. The intervals themselves are based on the three-tile sequential groupings. Tiles along the intervals mark needed tiles to complete particular sequences. Reading the numbers to the right across, the three main intervals are 1-4-7, 2-5-8, and 3-6-9. Naturally, numbers within each interval can be paired such as 1-4 and 2-5.

Intervals

The intervals for suji apply to any of the numbered suits. Nine types of intervals are available. For these examples, each of the three suits are used; but they apply to all of them. Four tile patterns particularly utilize these intervals: ryanmen, ryanmenten, nobetan, and sanmentan. In the following table, only the first two are examined.

Middle tiles Waiting for Interval name Completion
Two-sided, or Ryanmen
1-4, or Iisuu 「イースー」 or
2-5, or Ryanuu 「リャンウー」 or
3-6, or Saburou 「サブロー」 or
4-7, or Suuchii 「スーチー」 or
5-8, or Uuppaa 「ウッパー」 or
6-9, or Roukyuu 「ローキュー」 or
Three-sided, or Ryanmenten
1-4-7, or Iisuuchii 「イースーチー」 and
OR
and
OR
and
2-5-8, or Ryanuuppaa 「リャンウッパー」 and
OR
and
OR
and
3-6-9, or Saburoukyuu 「サブローキュー」 and
OR
and
OR
and

The left column shows tiles that may appear in a player's hand, while the middle tiles show the tiles needed in order to complete a needed tile group. The recognition makes it helpful to identify waiting tiles by association. In the case of these waiting patterns, if a hand is waiting for one tile, it is likely waiting for another tile in the interval. Even if these take on Japanese names, they are simply the numbers. Finally, the end result shows the the waiting tiles as the completed tile grouping(s).

Nakasuji

Nakasuji 「中筋」 is literally the "middle suji". In other words, given the three different intervals, they are the middle numbers of 4, 5, and 6.

Defense

Defending using suji essentially presumes a player to be utilizing either the wait pattern of ryanmen, ryanmenten, nobetan, sanmentan, or some other variation. Under the rule of furiten, if a player discarded a waiting tile, then the player's ability to call "ron" is disabled. Therefore, certain tile discards may rule out certain mahjong intervals.

For example, take the 1-4-7 interval. If a 4 is discarded, this makes 1 and 7 safer, since if the opponent has a 23 or 56 as their final shape, they would be furiten on the 4. Note that a 7 being present does not necessarily make a 4 safe, as they could still have a 23. Therefore, both a 1 and 7 need to be present in order for 4 to be safer. The same applies to the other intervals.

Of course, one should not be necessarily dependent on these intervals alone, as some waiting patterns are immune to suji, such as a kanchan or shanpon.

Checklist

For defense, eighteen different suji are in consideration as listed above. Six basic suji multiplied by the three suits produces the count of eighteen suji. After all, hand shapes frequently depend on ryanmen to win, as they are the most efficient and have the widest range of waiting tiles involving just two tiles in the hand. By counting the number of visible suji, players can determine roughly how risky it is to discard a dangerous tile.

Manzu (1 - 4) (4 - 7) Pinzu (1 - 4) (4 - 7) Souzu (1 - 4) (4 - 7)
Manzu (2 - 5) (5 - 8) Pinzu (2 - 5) (5 - 8) Souzu (2 - 5) (5 - 8)
Manzu (3 - 6) (6 - 9) Pinzu (3 - 6) (6 - 9) Souzu (3 - 6) (6 - 9)

Offense

5-pin discarded to indicate 2-pin or 8-pin as potentially safe, when the 8 is not.

The strategy of suji may be used offensively. By utilizing suji in reverse, a player may use a tile within an interval to lure out a winning tile along the same interval. A defending player may presume a certain tile to be safe by suji, when it is actually not. This is commonly known as the "suji trap".

A common way for this to occur is when a player has a ryankan shape, such as 468. They can discard the 4 to wait on 7, which is suji of the 4. This is part of the reason why the suji of the riichi tile is considered dangerous.

External links

Suji in Japanese Wikipedia
Osamuko strategy article on suji