Mahjong Soul How to Defend

This tutorial will focus on the following concept: Basic defense, and how to defend using suji. Lets get started! Why is defense important? Defense is an important part of Riichi Mahjong, more so than some other variants of mah- jong. This is due to two main reasons:

This tutorial will focus on the following concept: Basic defense, and how to defend using suji. Let’s get started!

Basic Defense and Defending Using Suji

Why is defense important?

Defense is an important part of Riichi Mahjong, more so than some other variants of mah- jong. This is due to two main reasons:

  • The payout structure of Riichi Mahjong. In Riichi Mahjong, if you deal in, you pay the full amount of the hand’s value, but you only pay a fraction of that value if your opponent wins with a Tsumo. For example, you pay 8000 points if you deal into a mangan hand, but if that player won with a Tsumo instead, you would only need to pay 2000 points (4000 if you are the dealer).
  • Riichi Mahjong’s emphasis on position. In some variants of Mahjong, players are only concerned with their own profits during the match, and they don’t care if other players win or lose. However, in Riichi Mahjong, placement bonuses and penalties are awarded based on players’ positions at the end of the match. If you deal into a mangan hand worth 8000 points, you not only have a 16000 point gap with the player you dealt into, but you will also be 8000 points away from the other 2 players.

    • Therefore, given that defending is so important in Riichi Mahjong, here are some techniques you can use for defense in your own games:

    Introduction to suji

    Suji is used as a technique to determine which tiles are safer to discard, typically after an opponent has declared Riichi.

    Suji logic can be applied to number tiles (i.e. 1-9) and a suji is a set of tiles that will form part of a 2-sided wait (also known as ryanmen wait, open wait).

    For instance, with this wait: [3p] & [4p], [2p] and [5p] would be considered suji because they would both be the winning tiles for this ryanmen wait. If the [5p] is proven to be safe, then [2p] will never deal into this wait, be- cause he would have been in furiten from the [5p] discarded earlier.

    An easy way to think of suji: a suji of a tile is that tile ± 3.

    In each suit, there are 6 sets of suji tiles (and therefore 18 total suji sets across all 3 suits):

    If an opponent has discarded a [3p], it rules out the [36p] ryanmen wait, but it does not rule out the [69p] ryanmen wait.

    However, if an opponent has discarded a [5p], that rules out both the [25p] ryanmen wait and the [58p] ryanmen wait by suji logic.

    Therefore, suji tiles are likely to be safer than non-suji tiles, when defend- ing against an opponent’s tenpai. However, do take note that there is still a chance of dealing in when playing a suji tile, because it is possible for your opponent to be on a non-ryanmen wait.

    Using the previous example, let’s say your opponent discarded [6p]. Although [3p] will never deal into a [4p] & [5p] wait, it is possible for his wait to be:

    • [1p 2p] → Edge Wait/penchan wait
    • [2p 4p] → Middle Wait/kanchan wait
    • [3p 3p] → Triplet Wait/shanpon wait → Pair Wait/tanki wait
    • [3p]

    In fact, some players will take advantage of this and purposely wait on a suji of a tile they discarded before.

    This is called a suji trap. Here’s an example from one of my games:

    Knowing about suji is the basis of many wait-reading theories!

    Don’t over-rely on suji

    Although suji can be used as a defensive technique, do note that you should not over-rely on suji to defend!

    Generally, if one opponent has declared riichi, you should:

    Fold if your hand is 2-shanten or worse (2 tiles away from tenpai). Only counter-attack and declare riichi if:

    • You are in tenpai.
    • Your hand has at least 2 han, if that opponent is not the dealer.
    • Your hand has at least 3 han, if that opponent is the dealer.
    • Your hand has a good wait (ryanmen wait).

    Generally, if two opponents have declared riichi, you should:

    Fold if you have to push any non-suji tiles into either opponent (it’s better to be a spectator and watch one opponent deal into the other)

    If one of the opponents is the dealer, and you do not have safe tiles against both opponents, prioritize discarding the dealer’s safe tiles.

    Only counter-attack and declare riichi if:

    • You are in tenpai.
    • Your hand has at least 3 han.
    • Your hand has a good wait (ryanmen wait).
    • The tile you push when declaring riichi is a safe tile/the suji of a safe tile against both players.

    More Guides:

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