Mahjong Danmark Nyheder

MCR strategy seminar in 2025

Skrevet af Sheila Hansen | Jan 20, 2025 5:37:04 PM

On the weekend of January 18-19, a group of twelve enthusiastic MCR players gathered for a stimulating seminar led by Henrik Leth. The seminar was an incredible opportunity to dive deep into basic and advanced MCR strategies, share insights, and elevate our gameplay. Here’s a recap of the highlights from this enriching two-day event.

Day 1: Laying the foundation

The seminar kicked off with an introduction, setting the tone for two days of learning and discussions. The first half of the day focused on foundational strategies that often distinguish average players from the more advanced players. Themes included:

  1. How to float: We explored the concept of floating (i.e. having one or two single tiles where you can draw tiles next to to get closer to a ready hand). We should not simply discard a tile just because it is all alone, but consider how it can potentially progress our hand.

  2. Keeping options open: Henrik emphasised the importance of keeping as many options open for as long as possible, ensuring we remain versatile regardless of the tiles drawn or discarded by other players.

  3. Do’s and don’ts: This session was particularly illuminating, highlighting common pitfalls and best practices. The key is to always go for the quick win unless you have a very good reason not to (e.g. in a tournament setting where you need the points to overtake an opponent).

  4. 8-Point hands: Apart from the obvious combinations that secure the minimum 8 points that we need to win, we should always check all the tiles we are waiting for and count how many points they would give on discard and self drawn. We should also practice counting to 8 points quickly, and to do this, we should know all the combinations giving 1, 2, 4 and 6 points by heart.

Day 2: Advanced tactics and tournament insights

The second day built upon the foundation of the first, delving into more complex aspects of mahjong strategy. Highlights included:

  1. Your own discards: We discussed about the power of our discards and how the way we discard our tiles can reveal unintentional patterns or hints to opponents. We can also try to mask our intentions and even lead people to help us when they think they are making our goal more difficult. Finally, we should also consider how to make the opponent's plans more difficult with our discards.

  2. Other players: Understanding the playing style and level of opponents became a focal point, and how we can adapt our game accordingly. At a tournament, it can be very helpful to watch how an opponent you are going to meet later play their game.

  3. Improving your hand when ready or almost ready: This session offered a wealth of tips on how to be flexible in changing our original plan to something that is more optimal even though we are already ready or almost ready. Sometimes, it would be necessary to go for a cheaper hand to increase our chances of winning. We need to be able to to think in advance about what can improve our hand so that we do not miss the opportunity when it arises.

  4. Tournament situations: Henrik provided us with a formular on how to calculate how many points we need to overtake an opponent, and in turn, how many points they need to overtake us. This is especially useful in a tournament or league game because it is more important to get the table points rather than the minipoints.

Extra readings:
As there wasn't enough time during the seminar itself, all participants were provided with extra material to read at home.

To Kong or not to Kong: This theme is about the pros and cons of declaring a kong, and how to access when it would make sense to do so as it is a decision that can drastically influence the outcome of a game.

All manner of chow: This theme touches on the flexibility of chow-based hands and the importance of evaluating them all the time if that's what we are going for. They are quicker to build and allow us to keep as many options open as possible, especially when they are concealed.

Play and Discuss Sessions

Throughout the two days, we alternated between theory and practice. During these "play and discuss" sessions, participants could test the new strategies in real-time games, followed by group analysis. This hands-on approach proved invaluable, as it allowed us to see how theoretical principles translate into practice.

Key Takeaways

As the seminar drew to a close, participants left not only with enhanced knowledge and skills but also with a renewed appreciation for the depth and complexity of MCR. The weekend reminded us that no matter how long we’ve been playing, there’s always more to learn and room to grow.

Resources

Download the full seminar slides as a PDF:

Point difference table to determine how many points we need to overtake an opponent, and in turn, how many points they need to overtake us.

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