Follow the Rules, Think Differently

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Sometimes, there are some tiles that seem similar, making it hard to decide which to discard for best. But, is it true?

You know, Mahjong is a four-player game, so the other three competitors are all variables in this game. Today, let's discuss how to think differently from your competitors' perspective.

Which tile should discard first to get more efficiency?

Mahjong tiles Character1378, Bamboo2467888, Dot999 Mahjong Drawing Board

In this case, the tiles Mahjong 1 Character Mahjong 3 Character and Mahjong 2 Bam Mahjong 4 Bam are both considered flexible tiles. If you get Mahjong 4 Character , you can improve it to a wait for Mahjong 2 Character and Mahjong 5 Character . Similarly, if you keep Mahjong 2 Bam Mahjong 4 Bam and draw a Mahjong 5 Bam , you can improve it to a wait for Mahjong 3 Bam or Mahjong 6 Bam . They both offer similar improvement options.

However , when it comes to forming pairs, even-numbered pairs are generally not as good as odd-numbered pairs. The common saying is,

Discard the Even, rather than Discard the Odd.

Let’s think about this differently. If you want to win with your hand, it usually doesn’t depend on easy-to-form pairs like Mahjong 7 Character Mahjong 8 Character , but rather on the weaker pairs like. Mahjong 1 Character Mahjong 3 Character or Mahjong 2 Bam Mahjong 4 Bam .

This is similar to the "Liebig's law of the minimum," where the amount of water a barrel can hold is determined by its shortest plank, not the longer ones. Good pairs are efficient and help you form winning hands quickly, instead of the weaker pairs.

For example, if you break up Mahjong 1 Character Mahjong 3 Character , what are you more likely to draw: Mahjong 6 Character Mahjong 9 Character or Mahjong 3 Character ? Clearly, Mahjong 6 Character Mahjong 9 Character is more likely. So, your winning tile will probably be only Mahjong 3 Character . Similarly, if you break up Mahjong 2 Bam Mahjong 4 Bam , drawing a Mahjong 2 Bam or Mahjong 6 Character Mahjong 9 Character will also show that Mahjong 6 Character Mahjong 9 Character is more likely. Thus, your winning tile will likely be only Mahjong 2 Bam .

So, when playing Mahjong, you should follow the patterns and think outside the box. If you draw a Mahjong 2 Bam or Mahjong 3 Character and both are single tiles, would you discard the Mahjong 2 Bam or the Mahjong 3 Character first? Most people would discard the Mahjong 2 Bam because the Mahjong 3 Character is more central and has more chances to form pairs with the tiles on either side. However, it might be better to discard the Mahjong 2 Bam or Mahjong 4 Bam instead. This way, your winning tile is on Mahjong 2 Bam , which has a higher chance than being on Mahjong 3 Character . This is because other players are more likely to discard Mahjong 2 Bam , so based on the tiles in play, you’ll have a clearer idea of your chances of getting a Mahjong 2 Bam .

You can find more Mahjong strategies here. That's it. Hope you like this. See you next time.