To Riichi or not to Riichi
The question of “should I riichi?” is hardly a new one in mahjong coaching. However, what has changed is the dynamic between player and medium. Offline, we feel more pressure to think quick. Online, the thinking is assisted. The lure of the Riichi button is too much plus all the promise it brings — being able to sit back and chill, running to the loo or making a cup of tea.
The machine says we can do it so we should do it. The endorphins get going (I’m looking at you SegaMJ with your huge red button).
But try to resist. Make sure you’ve sat down relieved and hydrated when you play online so you can make the smart decisions that change a game.
This time I’m back on the red five games.
Such a fast tempai and a dora! However, no yaku. I would need a riichi for a yaku. Lots of you might be excited to declare riichi because there is nothing that the other players can do to read your wait. However, your wait is shocking — either a 6 bamboo or a 4 character. If you take a closer look, there is also a huge chance to upgrade this hand, not only in weight but also in han value. Let’s say you stay dama (dama = being tempai and not declaring riichi) then you pull the 5 bamboo. You can throw the 9 bamboo and not only have a three sided wait but also a pinfu hand. You’re then looking at pinfu plus dora.
OR in my dreams, I draw an 8 or 7 bamboo, throw the 6 bamboo and potentially have a sanshoku + dora. That’s a hand I would want to riichi and double up my points. I’ve got plenty of draws to improve this so I’m going to sit on this.
This is an interesting draw. It does allow me to improve my wait by throwing the 6 bamboo and waiting for 6 and 9 dots. However, it doesn’t improve my wait and there are other things at play here. That 5 man discard from across has concerned me. Fine, it is an instant discard but it’s in the middle of a suit and this is a red 5 game. There are still three dora I don’t know the locations of but that 9 dot discard makes me concerned he has at least one, if not two. Sure I am tempai but I’m not sure this is a hand I want to push against someone else’s tempai. Throwing the 9 dots does lose me that sweet sanshoku chance but it keeps me in tempai and safe to draw another turn.
My suspicions prove correct! When another opponent declares riichi, it’s always a good time to reassess your strategy. I always like a chasing riichi. The other player’s riichi is unlikely to get someone to throw a tile I’m waiting on (either 6 bamboo or red dragon now). I’m also fairly confident I can dodge this and I have a whole horde of safe tiles with those 9 bamboos. I’m keeping my cool and staying dama and willing to fold if I get something dangerous.
The player in riichi called tsumo. Not much I can do about that but I was right about the chance of double dora in their hand. Always beware of early throw dora-adjacent tiles. It can be a warning they’ve already got dora locked in!
