a question for everyone to think about - a good player ?

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InterestedPlayer
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a question for everyone to think about - a good player ?

Post by InterestedPlayer » Sat May 28, 2011 5:45 pm

first of all, im sorry if anyone of you think this is a stupid question.
anyway i was wondering what exactly defines a good/strong player ? we know that luck is an extremely big factor in the game of mahjong and i believe a newcomer might just beat the world champion if he/she is having super good luck on that day. looking forward to the replies from you guys!!

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Shirluban
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Re: a question for everyone to think about - a good player ?

Post by Shirluban » Sat May 28, 2011 8:03 pm

A good player is someone who wins most of the time.
Of course, since luck is involved, we can't expect someone to win every single hand.

If you beat the "world champion" one time and lose every other times, you're NOT strong.
If you beat the "world champion" more often than he/she beasts you, you ARE strong.

I put "world champion" into quotations marks because winning a tournament labeled "World Championship" or something like that doesn't mean you're the best player in the world.
It means you was stronger or/and luckier than the other participants this time.
So the "world champion" would most probably be a very good player, but maybe not the best.
(And there is no official Riichi world champion, but that's a detail.)


"luck is an extremely big factor in the game"
But luck alone doesn't make someone win on the long run.
And if you're skilled enough, you can "improve" your luck (for a very basic example: going for ryanmen instead of single waits).
Cats don't do タンヤオ (tan-yao) but タニャーオ (ta-nya-o).
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Re: a question for everyone to think about - a good player ?

Post by xKime » Sun May 29, 2011 12:53 am

InterestedPlayer wrote:first of all, im sorry if anyone of you think this is a stupid question.
anyway i was wondering what exactly defines a good/strong player ? we know that luck is an extremely big factor in the game of mahjong and i believe a newcomer might just beat the world champion if he/she is having super good luck on that day. looking forward to the replies from you guys!!
Good stats, titles and detailed knowledge of the game and its theory (especially its deep places). Three things that newcomers do not have.

Luck is not something that matters in the long run.

Pretty much like Shirluban says. There's not much to it.

If you say you're good at mahjong, you need to have -something- to back it up with.

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