How to get better at Jansou Mode

I've been playing Jansou Mode a little, lately. It is the newest addition to Tenhou. But it is probably the first time for many playing in this mode. Today, the explanation is on how to better understand the way to make profit in Jansou Mode. (Warning, it's a bit loooong. Twss. w)

As you may know, Tenhou has released Jansou Mode (Beta).

Osamu's explanation to Jansou mode:

Jansou:

G: Every ID starts with one million G. Acts as a currency.
Shuugi: A form of "Tip" awarded by getting ippatsu/aka dora/ura dora and yakuman. You get either 0, 200 or 500G for every shuugi 'point' you have depending on game type. For example, in the 喰赤祝２ lobby, +5 points would be an extra 1000G while -5 would be -1000G.

Red Dora and Shuugi

・You get an ippatsu.
・You get ura dora.
・You use red dora.

Everytime you get a shuugi, you are awarded a chip.
The last two items of the list, are awarded for every tile you have. For example:

Dora: Ura:

Let's suppose you declare riichi with this hand and you get ippatsu tsumo with , and you got one ura dora.
You get one shuugi for ippatsu, one for uradora, and two for the two red dora for a total of 4 shuugi.
In the case of tsumo, you get this amount from all players. This means, you get a total of 12 chips.

How much one chip is worth depends on the jansou.
Generally, one chip is between 2000 and 5000 points in many places.

If one chip was worth 5000 points: １２×５０００＝６００００（points）
On top of the haneman, you get this profit.

It is a completely absurd rule, isn't it. lol
When you play Free, Shuugi are not just a bonus, they are a necessity directly related to profit.
Ippatsu and ura dora are just luck, but you can increase your shuugi income by learning to use red dora.

Today let's try to think about shuugi and red dora.

1. Instead of Dora, Red Dora

Ex1:
(chii) Dora: Tsumo:

Obviously, you should discard the dora to keep the red five.
There is a chance someone might pon the dora, but I sincerely believe the difference with keeping the red five is larger.
In the case of chii, the dora is no such a big loss as the red dora.

2. With red dora, play the numbers

Ex2:
Tsumo: Dora:

For example, it should be easier to get a win with the shanpon (dual pon) wait, but making a riichi with a ryanmen (double wait) is basic.
Because your shuugi get tripled if you tsumo, doubling your winning tiles gets you more profit.
For example, if every shuugi was worth 2000 points:

Ron: ２６００ points 　→　＋４６００
Tsumo: １０００//２０００ points　→　＋１００００

This is the difference in winnings. If you get ippatsu and uradora the difference is even wider.

Ex3:

Tsumo: Dora:

This is a hand ready for san an kou tsumo, however if it has red fives the practical move is discard .
Between waiting on 4 tiles and waiting on 7 tiles, there certainly is a difference in the chances to win.

Theory: In Shuugi Maajan, let's aim for tsumo.

3. Pushing to connect with Red Fives

Ex4:

Dora:

For example, with this hand let's assume the player to our left discarded .
Even if it was still early game, we certainly have to chii.
It looks like it will get completed even if we don't call tiles, but at worst there is a chance we might not be able to connect the red five and be left with a "riichi only" hand.

Instead of that, with Tan Yao and Red Dora let's certainly take 2000 points and a shuugi chip.
Looking at a hand where we can't add any other yaku, calling closed waits on 4s and 6s to complete a set of red dora is a good move.

So, we managed to get to a tenpai with a shape like example 5.

Ex5:

(chii)

Here, the player to our left declared riichi discarding .
Yes, let's call this too.
In a Free Jansou, there are a lot of places where a safe tile Kui Kae (for example, making a pon on chun and discarding the fourth chun, or calling a 1 from a 234 shape and discarding the 4, and so on) is not allowed, but under many universal rulesets you should be able to call this red tile.

Making a chii with the kanchan (closed wait) and discarding is a famous move.

(chii) (chii)

Because you are eliminating the ippatsu and you are greatly increasing the profit from your hand, it's good to consider that abandoning your turn to draw is worth of it. After this, ignore the riichi! yeah. In shuugi maajan, there is no abandoning a tenpai with two red dora.

4. Red Fives? Even with bad shape, insta-riichi!

Tsumo: Dora:

Not declaring riichi with this hand is a weak and shy move.
Even with a bad shape, let's impose a preemptive riichi.

Discarding looks like a good choice, but it's actually a terribly unskilled move.
There aren't many chances for a valuable improvement in the hand, and even if we got a ryanmen there is no assurance we'll win with that.

There is no need for presenting a neat hand in shuugi maajan. The one to better collect shuugi is the winner.

--

Some of these things would look like a bit too much in normal mahjong, but remember that the purpose is shuugi maajan, and the heavy weight shuugi have. Many times I end up losing Gs despite coming on second place! The point here is to increase your shuugi innings and thusly increasing your profit. The article is oriented towards real Jansou, not Tenhou's Jansou Mode, but I think it largely applies. To understand shuugi maajan is important in order to get a profit out of every game.