Three melds are finished
1–2–3 Characters, 6–7–8 Characters, and 2–3–4 Bamboo should stay intact. Breaking one would move the hand away from completion.
Original hand clinic · Challenge #001
What Would You Discard?
Discard the East Wind. The hand already contains three complete melds, a pair of 5 Dots, and a connected 6–7 Bamboo shape. Removing the isolated East leaves a two-sided wait: either 5 Bamboo or 8 Bamboo completes the fourth meld and the hand.
Read the shape
Count complete groups before chasing possibilities.
The useful question is not “Which tile looks lonely?” It is “Which discard preserves the most complete structure and the broadest next draw?”
5 Dots has a clear job
The newly drawn second 5 Dots supplies the pair. Discarding either copy would force the hand to find another pair later.
6–7 Bamboo wants two tiles
Both 5 Bamboo and 8 Bamboo finish the sequence. That two-sided wait is stronger than keeping one isolated honor and hoping to collect two more.
The answer
East out. Two winning doors open.
After discarding East, the thirteen-tile hand is in tenpai: it needs exactly one tile to win.
Discard East
It is isolated, does not complete a group, and is not the seat or prevailing Wind in this example.
Wait on 5 or 8 Bamboo
Either tile joins 6–7 Bamboo to form the fourth sequence. Before visible information, that is up to eight physical winning tiles.
Recheck the table
Count any exposed or discarded 5 and 8 Bamboo. A theoretically wide wait becomes weaker when many copies are already visible.
Candidate comparison
Why the tempting alternatives lose.
Keeping an honor is not automatically wrong, but its opportunity cost matters. Here, the hand can become ready immediately without it.
| Discard | What remains | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| East Wind | Three melds, one pair, and 6–7 Bamboo. | Best: ready on 5 or 8 Bamboo. |
| 5 Dots | Three melds, 6–7 Bamboo, one 5 Dot, and East. | Loses the pair and needs extra repair. |
| 6 or 7 Bamboo | Three melds, a pair, East, and one isolated Bamboo. | Breaks the two-sided wait. |
| A tile from a finished sequence | At least one completed meld becomes incomplete. | Moves the hand farther from winning. |
Sources and scope
Where to verify the rules behind this guide
Product behavior is checked against the current immahjong Beta. Independent references below support the broader game and rules context.
The Strong National Museum of PlayMahjong oral history collection
Independent context for Mahjong's four-player draw, discard, and meld-building structure.
European Mahjong AssociationMahjong Competition Rules (MCR)A named competition-rules reference for readers who want to extend basic shape reading into formal scoring.
Plain answers
Questions behind the discard
Why not keep the East Wind and wait for a Pong?
A single East would need two more copies to become a Pong. Discarding it now leaves the hand ready to win on either 5 Bamboo or 8 Bamboo, which is a much more immediate and flexible route.
Does East Wind have value in this example?
No. The example is in the West round with the player sitting South, so East is neither the prevailing Wind nor the seat Wind. Other rulesets may treat honors differently, but that does not change the ready-hand shape here.
How many winning tiles are available?
Before accounting for visible discards or other players' concealed tiles, four 5 Bamboo and four 8 Bamboo exist in a standard set. The practical number of live tiles depends on what is already visible.
Now make the decision at a live table.
Practice against three bots, or review the beginner guide before trying the next hand clinic.