Chapter 1: Mahjong Basics
Section Guide
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What Is Mahjong? : What kind of game is mahjong, really? This opening page serves as an introduction and also outlines the author’s basic view of mahjong.
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Mahjong and Probability : An introduction to the most basic way of thinking about probability in mahjong.
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Tenpai and Shanten : Before aiming to win, you need to understand two unavoidable ideas: tenpai and shanten.
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Sets and Taatsu : A review of the basic idea of sets, including comparisons such as edge waits versus closed waits.
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Number Tiles and Honor Tiles : What do the numbered tiles from 1 to 9 actually imply, and what kinds of yaku are tied to honor tiles?
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Pairs (1) : The basic way to think about pairs, two-tile groups that can become your head or develop into complete sets.
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Pairs (2) : Even among pairs, some are stronger than others. This page introduces an important part of hand-building judgment.
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Basic Shapes and Composite Shapes : Mahjong ends with four sets and one pair, but there is more than one route to get there. This page begins explaining how a hand moves toward completion.
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Composite Shapes (1) : An introduction to the way three-tile composite shapes work, including the basic idea behind double closed waits.
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Composite Shapes (2) : An introduction to four-tile composite shapes, a crucial foundation for understanding more complicated multi-sided waits.
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Basic Waits (1) : An introduction to the representative wait types in mahjong, including open waits, pair waits, and closed waits.
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Basic Waits (2) : A further look at irregular composite forms in which several kinds of waits are entangled together.
Original Japanese page: http://beginners.biz/kihon/