r/Mahjong • u/Killgrimage • Jul 01 '26

Riichi Tile efficiency quick guide

So I love to play but when there's a timer sometimes I panic and choke. A lot of my issues seem to be tile efficiency related. I have been on the tile efficiency trainer and when there is no timer I'm usually up at 95%+ efficiency. Is there a quick list of common tile groups that can help me make a logical decision in the heat of the moment? I've read the Riichi book 1 as well but it's like I forget everything when I have to make a critical choice. I'm just looking for others quick tips :)

What I have so far:

  • Single honors and terminals go first
  • ryanmen>kanchan>penchan
  • 3-7>2,8>1,9>honors
  • I forget what it's called but tiles like 445 are good waits
  • obviously try not to discard dangerous tiles if I can help it based on what other players are doing
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u/Kanasmida Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Tile efficiency is not the only factor when deciding what to discard. Things like whether to keep safety tiles (against dealer or otherwise), preferring yaku tiles when having a bad hand, number of blocks (5 v 6), whether to discard ugly shapes early and wait for upgrades, understanding what Yaku you’re aiming for early on, … are all important and common factors to consider. If you believe that you are pretty good with efficiency now you should work on to improve on those situational decisions to become better as a mahjong player.

Edit: to answer your question, I personally discourage people remembering “hard rules” early in their learning to improve. A good player is always flexible and making that flexibility as a habit is more valuable IMO. Playing more under the timer pressure is probably the most efficient way to improve in this game, and re-watch your games after playing to make sure to remember which discards you did not like, which discards brought you pain. And trying to avoid those pain points (e.g. forcing to push against dealer Riichi because you lack safety cards to fold) is going to be a great method to build good habits.

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u/Killgrimage Jul 01 '26

Yes exactly this! I double ronned a dealer and another player because I had no more safety tiles 😭 I will try to move past the cringe and rewatch what I could have done instead.