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playstyles

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:27 am
by xDsoul
Do you believe in the flow of tiles or are a statistical player? What is your perspective and prerogative on the game itself. How do handle yourself against another player how do you react id like to hear your ur deas ^^

Re: playstyles

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:53 am
by Ozball
I sit somewhere in the middle of things. Generally I'm not one for believing in flow etc of games that involve luck (I mean that tile was in that place in the wall from the start regardless of what's happened in the game) but with Mahjong I've had so many times that there is just no other way to explain things. So I think there is some element of flow, but I can't explain it at all.

One thing I'm working on thinking through atm is that: at the core Mahjong is based on luck, the tiles you start with, the tiles you draw, what's in the dead wall etc. But at the same time you have the pros who are very good at playing this game that is "just" luck. So what is the difference between someone who knows the rules and basic strategy and a pro? I.e. what's the difference between an intermediate level player and a pro level player when they in theory have the same basic knowledge? Is it just what is the best discard? Is it knowing when to go for it and when to fold? And why is there an apparently large gap between sho-dan and 9-dan? What part of the game 9am I not seeing that creates this difference?

Re: playstyles

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 2:08 am
by xDsoul
Well simply put from my perspective the game is both luck and skill. Luck there are those who can create it and those who are born with it was the way I learned. And skill is based on perspective. Not just knowledge but the way I see it As taking advantage of this luck. For some its slight of hand for others its knowing how to prevent it. In the end knowledge is power its just the best advantage when used properly.

Re: playstyles

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 8:28 pm
by Kyuu
Luck, or no luck.

At the end of the day, it's your decision making, that determines the game for you. Sure, you are given the tiles that are dealt to you - both in the start hand and your draws. in the end, it's how you handle the situation, that the game offers you.

Re: playstyles

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:43 pm
by xDsoul
Kyuu wrote:Luck, or no luck.

At the end of the day, it's your decision making, that determines the game for you. Sure, you are given the tiles that are dealt to you - both in the start hand and your draws. in the end, it's how you handle the situation, that the game offers you.
Maybe so but im asking for your personal thoughts how do u approach the situations. What decision are you making?

Re: playstyles

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 9:22 am
by zzo38
The primary way is statistical ("digital"), and I am scientifically minded and not superstitious. However, it isn't the only thing; there are also such potentials as bluffing, incomplete mixing, etc, that can all affect the game a lot; and then if someone else is holding a tile (sometimes you just have to guess, though, but you can use other techniques to make an educated guess at least) it is less likely to get another one of that from the wall, and so on. This may be one of the reasons why the "analog" (or "occult") style is also played (it isn't the only reason).

There are a lot of strategies; knowing when to fold or not, knowing when to partially fold, knowing when you should play strictly statistically and when not to, thinking of how the other players would have respond to their situations, etc. The strategy also differs in east and south round.

This game does involve both skills and chance (other such games include poker, and backgammon (although I don't like backgammon as much as the others since it lacks hidden information), and most card games). Therefore, making the best of what you are dealt is important to the game, like in other games mixing skills and chance.

Some things depend on what rule variants are used, such as double yakuman, passing deals after a draw, Washizu mahjong, etc. (I especially like Washizu mahjong; it involves a lot of entirely different strategies than the normal game.)

Re: playstyles

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:30 pm
by xDsoul
I concur

But im superstitious I believe in the flows and such. And even if the tiles are in the wall the way they are and ur dealt your hand and such and stuff like it. That thinking restricts you, because tiles can always be stolen and the "flow" or order of draws are always changed. Idk but ypu but sometimes you know what to keep and discard because logical play may not always be the best way to g poo because thats the single tracked mine that gets trumpes by someone thinking outside of da box lol iunno

Re: playstyles

Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:40 pm
by Kyuu
xDsoul wrote:Maybe so but im asking for your personal thoughts how do u approach the situations. What decision are you making?
Mahjong is constantly about making decisions.

* What tiles do I discard?
* Which yaku to shoot for?
* Do you riichi or not?
* Which rule can I take advantage of?
* Which rule can work against me?
* Is it worth it to continue building my hand, or defend?
* Can I realistically do both? (Build and defend)
* How do I feel about the game right now?

And ultimately:

* What kind of risks am I taking, with every decision I make?

On top of all that, y'gotta factor in the state of the game: your points, what round, how many hands left, tiles available during a hand, etc. Of course, the more you play, the more automatic some of these become. This leaves the critical thinking at critical moments of the game; and that's assuming the game matters at all. For casual games, I tend to be much more relaxed about this stuff.

Re: playstyles

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:52 am
by Gnom
Depends on what you call "believe". If you mean "literally think that something is true", then I don't believe in flow, only in pure randomness and how one can maximize their chances (best players don't win all the time, being a good player is winning more than the average, being a really good player winning a lot more, etc.) If you mean "use a model that you think is not accurate but provides an alternative to one you can't get a grasp on", then yes I do believe in flow and act accordingly. Rephrased: what I call the flow and believe in is my perception of some aspects of the game which are too complicated to analyze rationally, but of which I can still get a feel. If you ask most people what mixing red and yellow does, they won't do physical calculation with light wavelength and such, but they DO KNOW that mixing red and yellow makes orange. They can't explain it rationally, but their instinct is able to process the information based on the numerous trial and errors they encountered before and provide an answer. That's the way I see flow (and other such aspects of mahjong): a nice frontend for the stuff that goes back in my brain and I can't explain. It means also that I can't play only according to flow since it's only partially reliable.