Mahjong Strategy
Keep flexible shapes
Two nearby suited tiles, such as 4-5 or 4-6, are more flexible than isolated terminals or single honors. Keep shapes that can become multiple chows.
Discard isolated tiles early
Lone honors, ones, and nines often have fewer ways to improve. If they are not paired or connected to your plan, they are common early discards.
Read the river
The discard rivers show what players no longer need and what might be safer later. If many copies of a tile are already visible, it is harder to complete a pair or pong with that tile.
Claim with purpose
Claiming opens part of your hand and commits you to a direction. Claim when it speeds up a real hand, completes a key meld, or wins immediately.