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When You Have Two or More Dora

When your hand already contains two or more dora, it is a chance hand.
You should aim for the shortest path to winning.

Do Not Get Greedy

Example 1 一万牌图一万牌图三筒牌图四筒牌图四筒牌图白牌图白牌图白牌图 Pon 八万牌图八万牌图八万牌图 Pon 中牌图中牌图中牌图 Dora 一万牌图

In Example 1, if you discard 三筒牌图,
you can make Toitoi, Haku, Chun, and Dora 2 for a guaranteed haneman.

But that is too greedy.
Even if you discard 四筒牌图, the hand is still mangan, and the number of waiting tiles doubles.

Turning a mangan ryanmen wait into a haneman shanpon or kanchan is a loss.


Example 2 一索牌图三索牌图四索牌图五索牌图六索牌图八索牌图八索牌图八索牌图九索牌图九索牌图北牌图北牌图北牌图 Dora 北牌图

This is a Menhon Dora 3 hand that is already guaranteed to be haneman.
If you draw 七索牌图 here,

一索牌图三索牌图四索牌图五索牌图六索牌图八索牌图八索牌图八索牌图九索牌图九索牌图北牌图北牌图北牌图 Tsumo 七索牌图

rather than discarding 九索牌图 and making baiman (Menhon Ittsuu Dora 3),

discard 一索牌图 and take the 二索牌图五索牌图八索牌图九索牌图 wait instead. The bigger the hand, the more you should pursue winning ease.

Also, if someone discards 九索牌图 from the original Example 2, just pon it and discard 一索牌图.

三索牌图四索牌图五索牌图六索牌图八索牌图八索牌图八索牌图北牌图北牌图北牌图 Pon 九索牌图九索牌图九索牌图

Your precious menzen honitsu drops to mangan,

but the hand now waits on 三索牌图六索牌图七索牌图. When the dora are in a concealed triplet, it is better to take the wider wait even if the value drops a little.


Example 3 二万牌图三万牌图四万牌图四万牌图二筒牌图三筒牌图四筒牌图五筒牌图二索牌图四索牌图四索牌图发牌图发牌图发牌图 Dora 发牌图

If the dora were not 发牌图,
discarding 四万牌图 to aim for 234 Sanshoku would not be a bad idea.

But when the dora form a concealed triplet,
discard 二索牌图 and aim straight for tenpai.

If your upper player discards a callable tile, take chi-ten immediately.
If the hand is still mangan after calling, there is no reason to pass.

二万牌图三万牌图四万牌图二筒牌图三筒牌图四索牌图四索牌图发牌图发牌图发牌图 Chi 六筒牌图四筒牌图五筒牌图

Build the Hand with Calling in Mind

When you have Dora 2 or Dora 3, even an open hand is still worth plenty, so it is important to play with the attitude that calling is the natural thing to do.

Example 4 三万牌图四万牌图四筒牌图五筒牌图八筒牌图八筒牌图九筒牌图一索牌图二索牌图二索牌图南牌图白牌图中牌图 Tsumo 六万牌图 Dora 八筒牌图

Suppose you are dealt this starting hand in the South round.

The only tile you should cut is 九筒牌图.

Lock in the two dora and aim for Tanyao Dora 2, or a 3900 hand by pairing a value tile.
This is exactly the kind of hand where the value-tile “express ticket” matters a lot.


Example 5 三万牌图四万牌图五万牌图七万牌图一筒牌图一筒牌图六筒牌图二索牌图四索牌图四索牌图五索牌图八索牌图八索牌图 Tsumo 二索牌图 Dora 八索牌图

With Dora 2, you should break the 一筒牌图 pair and head for open Tanyao.

Rather than discarding 七万牌图 or 六筒牌图 and dragging the hand out as a closed hand,

an openable Tanyao is simply faster.

Theory Summary

When your hand contains two or more dora, prioritize speed and winning ease.
You should build the hand on the assumption that you are willing to call.


Original Japanese page: http://beginners.biz/dora/dora03.html