Flushes (2)

The most important part of flush play is really the technique of calling,
but that belongs in Chapter 5.
This page focuses on the hand techniques specific to Honitsu.

1. Transition Play

Example 1

Pon

Example 1 is a discard choice after calling .
The correct play here is to discard .

By keeping the connected souzu shape,
you preserve the option to transition into a souzu Honitsu later.

Tsumo Pon

If it is still early in the hand,
then even if you later pon and and pass on a cheap tenpai,
you can still keep heading for Honitsu.

Example 2

Tsumo Pon

Example 2 is a choice of final tenpai shape.

Even if it means one fewer tile in the current wait,
the theory says you should take the tanki wait instead.
That is because no matter what pinzu or honor tile you draw next, the hand can still turn into Honitsu.

Tsumo Pon

If you draw something like and turn it into a multi-sided wait, that is ideal.

2. Advance Discards

Even if camouflage is an old-fashioned tactic overall,
it can still occasionally be effective in Honitsu.

Example 3

Since the necessary melds are already in place, you should not casually cut .
You should start with instead.
It is only a small adjustment, but it makes the Honitsu much harder to read.

The example image shows a draw of ;
even if you draw , it is still better to cut .

3. Stronger Shape Recognition

When you concentrate tiles of the same suit, the shapes become more complicated.

Every now and then you even see people get lost on closed Chinitsu waits,
trying to split the hand into groups of three and puzzle it out.
This is ultimately just a matter of familiarity.

Example 4

Tsumo Pon