According to some players, winning at Mahjong is all about luck. While this is true to a certain extent, there are also strategies that one can adopt to improve and increase the chances of winning. As a matter of fact, if you have strategies that are good, you can win at Mahjong.

If you want to win at Mahjong, you need the proper strategies in place. Once you have them, then your game will not revolve around luck.

When you start playing Mahjong, the first thing that you do is evaluate your tiles the moment you receive them. This will help you in figuring out how many tiles you are away from winning. This basically means that you should first calculate how many tiles you need to go through in order to win and this passage should use the shortest possible route. For instance, if you need four tiles to win, then you should win in nine turns. So, you should play your game accordingly in order to win in nine turns.

However, if you need five tiles to win, then luck is an element that should not be discounted. If Lady Luck favors you, you will get good draws and win. If she decides to turn away from you, then you just have to give up. If you need six tiles or more to win, your strategy should be all about playing defensively. In this case, the best result for you would be a draw.

Just like any other game, Mahjong too is all about taking chances. In the beginning, if you encounter failure, do not get despondent. Rather you should take it in stride and be bold. Discard any tile that you feel is superfluous. This can involve discarding lucky tiles; so just do it. Basically after playing six to seven tiles, you should be confident enough to Chow or Pung.

Winning in Mahjong is all about discarding your tiles in a particular order. So, you should think about first discarding Winds. These tiles are useful for your opponents. You should discard these tiles before the Pung.

When it comes to discarding Terminals, you need to do a calculation of probabilities. Discard the Terminal with a higher value first and thereafter the others with a lower value. For instance, if you 1, 6 and 9, it is quite possible that you could get a 2 and 3 that could be used with your 1. So, you should be looking to discard the 9 first. If you have 7 and 8, you match it either a 6 or 9. Again, 9 is of a higher value, so it should be discarded first.

Dragons should be discarded before the opposing player calls Pung. If you have pairs, you should keep the Dragons. However, if you lone tile of the Dragon, you should discard it right after you finish with the Wind tiles.

Remember it is not prudent to discard Simple tiles. You should hold on to them as long as possible. Make sure you know what your opponents are collecting as after the 10th turn, tiles like Winds, Terminals and Dragons should be discarded. The same is also true for Simples.

However, no amount of strategies is going to help you if you do not know the rules of Mahjong. It is cardinal that you learn all the rules of the game for the variation you are playing. And, you should be able to recall them at a moment’s notice to make a good decision. This is one of the main strategies when it comes to winning at Mahjong.

Also, you need to have a good memory as you are required to keep track of the tiles being collected by your opponents. You should know what other players are collecting or discarding. This very simple yet complex knowledge will enable to you guess more or less what your opponents are after. And, when it comes to your own tiles, the way you discard should keep the opponents guessing. A player who wants to know how to win at Mahjong has to learn to be flexible. As the game proceeds you should be able to change and act upon your original decisions depending on how the game is progressing.

Another strategy to win at Mahjong is planning your moves well ahead. A novice will only play for the moment, while a skillful player will plan two to three steps ahead. This is very important if you want to win at Mahjong. Besides this, learn to take chances as calculations will not always work in your favor. This means, as mentioned earlier, discarding tiles you do not need.

While there are many strategies that teach you how to win at Mahjong, it is imperative that you devise your own strategies. Keep practicing your strategies until you master them and then you can use them in order to win. You will be able to come up with these strategies as you gain experience in playing Mahjong and observing other skilled players.