Tile efficiency
Understand shanten, improving tiles, and the five-block approach.
Efficiency is about useful draws
Tile efficiency is the practice of choosing discards that bring a hand closer to completion as quickly as possible. Count useful draws instead of relying only on how a shape looks.
Shanten: distance from ready
- A complete hand is −1 shanten.
- A ready hand is 0 shanten: one winning tile completes it.
- A one-shanten hand needs one improvement to become ready, then a winning tile.
- A standard hand contains four sets and one pair. Seven Pairs and Thirteen Orphans are special shapes.
Compare wait shapes
The counts below are maximum available copies before subtracting other tiles visible in your hand, discards, or open sets.
| Shape | Example | Completing tiles | Maximum copies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two-sided (ryanmen) | 3–4 | 2 or 5 | 8 |
| Closed wait (kanchan) | 3–5 | 4 | 4 |
| Edge wait (penchan) | 1–2 | 3 | 4 |
| Pair wait (tanki) | One 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Double-pair wait (shanpon) | 55 and 88 | 5 or 8 | 4 |
Think in five blocks
A standard winning hand needs four sets and a pair. Identify five promising blocks: completed sets, pairs, or incomplete sequences. If you have six, compare which block is weakest before dismantling a strong one. Two-sided shapes usually offer more useful draws than closed or edge shapes.
Do not make the five-block approach an absolute rule. Keeping a sixth block can be useful when shapes are similar or valuable improvements remain.
Isolated tiles
Middle suit tiles tend to connect in more ways than terminals. Isolated non-value honors are often expendable early, while value honors may be useful for a yaku. Compare nearby groups too: an isolated tile can extend a sequence or create a wide wait.
After choosing a discard, ask which next draws would make you regret it. This helps you preserve flexibility.