Use one decision sequence

  1. Preserve distance: reject discards that worsen shanten without a deliberate reason.
  2. Compare the near term: Tingpai Lab evaluates wins within two draws at tenpai and within three draws at one-shanten.
  3. Inspect quality: more immediate draws can still leave a narrow wait or damage later shape.
  4. Organize the hand: identify the head, excess blocks, and duplicated acceptance.
  5. Trim floaters: when leading candidates are effectively tied, discard the isolated tile with less development.

Four questions behind the 12 concepts

What if raw acceptance conflicts with quality?

Counterintuitive choice, wait quality, and shape preservation explain why the largest immediate count is not always Tingpai Lab’s answer. A cleaner wait or independent blocks can produce a better short-horizon result.

Which pair should become the head?

Third head tile, two-pair axis, and fixed head assign roles. A standard hand needs one head; an extra pair or third copy must justify the space it occupies.

Which isolated tile should leave first?

Edge-tile trimming and isolated-tile priority break close ties. Honors and terminals usually have fewer ways to develop than central suited tiles, although visible tiles and game context can change that order.

Which block is genuinely redundant?

Block overload, weak-block trimming, pair collision, and overlapping acceptance identify shapes that look productive but compete for the same limited slots or draws.

Scope

This is Tingpai Lab’s explanation framework for standard hands and near-term self-draw outcomes. It does not model the full value of scoring, defense, yaku, table position, or opponent information.

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