Sashikomi (Intentional Deal-In) - Strategic Point Feeding

What is Sashikomi?

Sashikomi (intentional deal-in) is an advanced tactic where you deliberately deal into a specific opponent for strategic reasons. Usually done to manipulate rankings, especially in the final hand.

“Sashikomi” literally means “inserting” points - strategically feeding points to a chosen player for your benefit.

Purposes of Sashikomi

Purpose	Situation	Effect
Rank control	Oorasu	Secure your position
Help leader	Cooperation	Assist top’s escape
Avoid last	4th place danger	Secure 3rd+
Stop dealer	Block renchan	End the hand

Conditions for Success

Score awareness
- Know all point totals
- Track rank changes
- Calculate needed points
Confirm opponent tenpai
- Riichi or melds
- Certain deal-in
Proper timing
- Late game execution
- Don’t alert others

Types of Sashikomi

Rank Securing

Situation: Oorasu, you're 2nd by narrow margin
Goal: Lock in 2nd place
Method: Deal to 3rd or 4th
Result: Widen gap, secure rank

Feeding the Leader

Situation	Your Rank	Action	Goal
Top runaway	2nd-3rd	Deal to top	Support escape
Close race	3rd-4th	Deal to top	Create gap with 2nd

Last Place Avoidance

Situation: You're 4th, close to 3rd
Action: Deal to 1st or 2nd
Effect: Narrow gap with 3rd
Result: Create comeback chance

Making It Natural

Avoiding Detection

Act normal
- Pretend to think
- Natural tempo
- Keep composure
Have excuses
- “Couldn’t fold”
- “Misread”
- “Thought it was safe”
Timing tricks
- Look like ippatsu cancel
- Near exhaustion
- Natural flow

Tile Selection

Opponent State	Easy Tiles	Notes
Riichi	Danger tiles	Non-genbutsu
Flush hand	Same suit	Middle tiles
Toitoi	Pair halves	2 visible
Yakuhai call	Related tiles	Same type

Risks of Sashikomi

Downsides

Reputation damage
- Too obvious = disliked
- Future game impacts
- Lost cooperation
Calculation errors
- Point mistakes
- Rank unchanged
- Backfires
Game integrity
- Not skill-based
- Less fun
- Fairness issues

Appropriate Use

Keep minimal
Make it natural
Don’t ruin the game
Consider others

Common Mistakes

Too early
- Mid-game execution
- Still reversible
- Wasted points
Too obvious
- Clearly unnatural
- Others notice
- Creates resentment
Miscalculation
- Wrong points
- Rank unchanged
- Counter-productive
Ethical issues
- Excessive cooperation
- Unfair play
- Manner violation

Houjuu: Deal-in (general)
Oorasu: Final hand
Juni-ten: Placement bonus
Top-me: First place
Betaori: Full defense

Summary

Sashikomi is intentionally dealing into someone to control rankings - an advanced endgame tactic. Used appropriately in close oorasu situations, it can be effective, but being too obvious is poor manners. Beginners should first enjoy normal mahjong and learn scoring, then consider this technique. Sashikomi should be a “last resort” used sparingly and naturally.