<p>I found a basic answer on my question <a href="http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/mjfaq08.htm" rel="nofollow">over here</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Try to go out waiting for multiple
  tiles (not just one). Imagine that you
  have three complete sets and two
  pairs. Imagine that one pair is 2
  Bams, and you draw a 3 Bam from the
  wall -- which tile do you discard now?
  In this situation, many experienced
  players will discard a 2 Bam, keeping
  2-3. A two-way incomplete chow call is
  better than a two-pair call.</p>
  
  <p>Learn to
  shape the hand into calling patterns
  that give you multiple chances to win,
  such as the following:</p>

<pre><code>Tiles in hand     Call for 

2223              134 
2224              34 
2223344           2345 
2223334           2345 
2223456           14736 
22234 RR          25 R 
23456             147** 
34567             258** 
45678             369**
</code></pre>
  
  <p>Highly skilled players of
  un-American mah-jongg (since American
  style alone does not use "chows") know
  these patterns by heart. More complex
  call shapes are mostly extensions of
  these. Although the American game does
  not use chows, the strategy of having
  a multiple-tile call still applies to
  that game as well.</p>
  
  <p>Of special interest
  is the complexity of the pure hand. If
  you're working on a pure hand, it can
  often be difficult to tell what all
  the tiles are that can complete the
  hand. For instance:
  1-2-3-4-5-5-5-6-6-6-7-8-9 (5 chances);
  1-2-3-4-5-5-5-5-6-6--7-8-9 (5
  chances); 2-3-4-4-4-5-5-5-6-6-6-7-8 (7
  chances); and of course
  1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 (9 chances).</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Edit: Additional links with a lot more waits</strong></p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Mahjong_waits" rel="nofollow">http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Mahjong_waits</a></li>
<li><a href="http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Complex_waits" rel="nofollow">http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Complex_waits</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.reachmahjong.com/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&amp;t=52599" rel="nofollow">http://www.reachmahjong.com/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&amp;t=52599</a></li>
</ul>

<p>Especially the latter is, from my beginner eyes, insanely exhaustive.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2010-11-18T10:46:44.257Z
2012-07-05T11:01:57.513Z
2012-07-05T11:01:57.513Z
mafu
<p><strong>Update January 2023:</strong></p>
<p>There is a Mahjong Waits Infographic which shows common patterns:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OLfXL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OLfXL.png" alt="Common and Useful Mahjong Wait Patterns" /></a></p>
<p>Links: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K4NuE2UZgeqhSR-WsYWyQlRiEERh5VQo/view?usp=share_link" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PNG</a> | <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MXvEAwT31RnTJzCqYTpfaL7bd7cmONjT/view?usp=share_link" rel="nofollow noreferrer">PDF</a> | <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Mahjong/comments/100qw6y/mahjong_waits_infographic/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x&amp;context=3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Author's post (Reddit)</a></p>
<p><strong>Original answer</strong></p>
<p>As an additional resource, I created a tool for finding the waits needed to complete a hand: <a href="https://mahjong-trainer.netlify.app" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://mahjong-trainer.netlify.app</a></p>
<p>It generates random tenpai hands, so you indicate the waits and the site will tell you the correct answer. And after some tries you'll start to spot some wait patterns.</p>
<p>Screenshot:</p>
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/EPeRA.png" width="350" title="Mahjong Waits Trainer screenshot" >

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-14T00:54:25.453Z
2023-01-05T13:12:34.957Z
2023-01-05T13:12:34.957Z
dusan
<p>In endgame, you typically have a hand in tenpai that is waiting for 1 more tile to be complete. Usually, it is better if you are able to wait for multiple tiles so your chance to finish are increased. From the rules, some typical wait patterns are derived. For instance, if you got 3 sets and a pair and an incomplete 23, you're waiting for either 1 or 4 to complete a chii (street).</p>

<p>Experienced players know that certain patterns lead to especially high chances to finish. What are the most common patterns to know and strive for?</p>

<mahjong><riichi-mahjong>
Common Mahjong wait patterns
mafu
# Common Mahjong wait patterns

(Asked by: username_0 on 2010-11-07)

In endgame, you typically have a hand in tenpai that is waiting for 1 more tile to be complete. Usually, it is better if you are able to wait for multiple tiles so your chance to finish are increased. From the rules, some typical wait patterns are derived. For instance, if you got 3 sets and a pair and an incomplete 23, you're waiting for either 1 or 4 to complete a chii (street).

Experienced players know that certain patterns lead to especially high chances to finish. What are the most common patterns to know and strive for?

**Tags:** mahjong, riichi-mahjong


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2010-11-18. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

I found a basic answer on my question [over here](http://www.sloperama.com/mjfaq/mjfaq08.htm):

> Try to go out waiting for multiple
> tiles (not just one). Imagine that you
> have three complete sets and two
> pairs. Imagine that one pair is 2
> Bams, and you draw a 3 Bam from the
> wall -- which tile do you discard now?
> In this situation, many experienced
> players will discard a 2 Bam, keeping
> 2-3. A two-way incomplete chow call is
> better than a two-pair call.
>
> Learn to
> shape the hand into calling patterns
> that give you multiple chances to win,
> such as the following:
>
> ```
> Tiles in hand     Call for 
>
> 2223              134 
> 2224              34 
> 2223344           2345 
> 2223334           2345 
> 2223456           14736 
> 22234 RR          25 R 
> 23456             147** 
> 34567             258** 
> 45678             369**
>
> ```
>
> Highly skilled players of
> un-American mah-jongg (since American
> style alone does not use "chows") know
> these patterns by heart. More complex
> call shapes are mostly extensions of
> these. Although the American game does
> not use chows, the strategy of having
> a multiple-tile call still applies to
> that game as well.
>
> Of special interest
> is the complexity of the pure hand. If
> you're working on a pure hand, it can
> often be difficult to tell what all
> the tiles are that can complete the
> hand. For instance:
> 1-2-3-4-5-5-5-6-6-6-7-8-9 (5 chances);
> 1-2-3-4-5-5-5-5-6-6--7-8-9 (5
> chances); 2-3-4-4-4-5-5-5-6-6-6-7-8 (7
> chances); and of course
> 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 (9 chances).

**Edit: Additional links with a lot more waits**

* <http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Mahjong_waits>
* <http://saki.wikia.com/wiki/Complex_waits>
* <http://www.reachmahjong.com/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=52599>

Especially the latter is, from my beginner eyes, insanely exhaustive.


---

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-11-14. Score: 1

**Update January 2023:**

There is a Mahjong Waits Infographic which shows common patterns:
[![Common and Useful Mahjong Wait Patterns](https://i.sstatic.net/OLfXL.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/OLfXL.png)

Links: [PNG](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K4NuE2UZgeqhSR-WsYWyQlRiEERh5VQo/view?usp=share_link) | [PDF](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MXvEAwT31RnTJzCqYTpfaL7bd7cmONjT/view?usp=share_link) | [Author's post (Reddit)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Mahjong/comments/100qw6y/mahjong_waits_infographic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)

**Original answer**

As an additional resource, I created a tool for finding the waits needed to complete a hand: <https://mahjong-trainer.netlify.app>

It generates random tenpai hands, so you indicate the waits and the site will tell you the correct answer. And after some tries you'll start to spot some wait patterns.

Screenshot:

![](https://i.sstatic.net/EPeRA.png "Mahjong Waits Trainer screenshot")


---

