Review Skills

29.1 Why Review Matters

The fastest path to improvement in riichi mahjong is systematic review of your own games. Playing many games without review develops habits—but some of those habits may be bad ones. Review identifies specific decision errors, reinforces correct reasoning, and builds pattern recognition. Top players and coaches emphasize that the time spent reviewing is at least as valuable as the time spent playing.

29.2 What to Review

Deal-ins: Every time you deal into an opponent's hand, ask: Was the push justified? Could I have identified the danger earlier? Was there a safer discard available? Was the decision process correct even if the outcome was bad?

Missed wins: When you fail to win a hand, review the discard sequence. Were there more efficient discards available? Did you miss a faster path to tenpai? Did you make a riichi/dama decision that was suboptimal?

All-last decisions: The final hand has the highest strategic stakes. Review whether your all-last play was correctly adjusted for placement.

Unusual situations: Any hand involving unusual rules (kan decisions, special draws, complex wait interactions) should be reviewed to solidify understanding.

29.3 How to Review

Use replay systems: Most online platforms (Tenhou, Mahjong Soul) provide replay functionality. Use it to step through your games turn by turn. Check each discard against what you know about tile efficiency, defense, and push/fold.

Focus on decisions, not outcomes: A correct decision that led to a bad outcome is still correct. A bad decision that led to a good outcome is still bad. Review with a focus on the decision-making process.

Keep a log: Track common mistakes in a personal log. If you notice patterns (e.g., consistently pushing too far at 2-shanten), you can target those specific weaknesses.

29.4 Review Frequency

Review at least one full game for every five games played. More review is always better, but even minimal review dramatically outperforms no review. Focus on your worst-performing games—these contain the most learning value.

29.5 External Analysis Tools

Tenhou logs can be exported and analyzed with third-party tools. Mahjong Soul has a built-in replay viewer with some analytical features. For more advanced analysis, tools like the Tenhou replay analyzer can flag statistically suboptimal discards, comparing your choices against computed optimal plays. These tools are valuable supplements to manual review but should not replace the habit of thinking through each decision yourself.

29.6 Review Tools and Methodology

Tenhou provides game logs in a specific format that can be analyzed with several tools. The most well-known is the Tenhou replay viewer (天鳳牌譜ビューア), accessible through the Tenhou website, which allows step-by-step replay of any logged game. Third-party analysis tools, developed by the Japanese mahjong programming community, can compute optimal discards for each turn and flag deviations from the highest-ukeire choice.

Mahjong Soul offers a built-in replay system with a cleaner interface. While it lacks the depth of Tenhou's third-party analysis ecosystem, it provides accessible review functionality for most players. The Mahjong Soul replay viewer allows you to see all four hands simultaneously, which is valuable for understanding opponents' perspectives.

For structured review, Kawada Jiro (川田浩之) recommends a specific methodology: (1) Replay the game at normal speed first for overall impression. (2) Identify 3-5 critical decision points per game. (3) For each decision point, calculate the alternatives and determine whether your choice was correct. (4) Record mistakes in a log with the specific situation and the correct play. (5) Review the log periodically to identify recurring error patterns. This methodology is more time-consuming than casual review but produces much faster improvement.