Tegawari (Hand Transformation) - Improving Waits and Value

What is Tegawari?

Tegawari (hand transformation) means drawing a tile that changes your wait or transforms your hand to better shape/higher value. A technique for improving tenpai hands by waiting for key tiles.

Types of Tegawari

Type	Explanation	Benefit
Wait change	Wait tiles shift	More acceptance
Yaku addition	New yaku appears	Higher value
Multi-wait	More winning tiles	Better win rate
Safety improve	Defensive gain	More flexibility

Basic Principle

Tenpai structure:
1. Fixed parts (complete melds/pair)
2. Changeable parts (wait area)

Larger changeable area
= More transformation potential

Tegawari Examples

Wait Transformation

Tenpai: 123m 456p 34567s WW
Wait: 2/5/8s (3-way)

Draw 6s → "345667s"
New wait: 5/8s (ryanmen)

*Wait reduced but shape changed

Adding Yaku

Tenpai: 234567m 123p 789s
Wait: 1/4/7m (sanshoku only)

Draw 8m → Wait becomes 9m
New wait: 9m (sanshoku + ittsu)

Multi-Wait Transformation

Tenpai: 123m 234p 22344s EE
Wait: 2/5s (ryanmen)

Draw 1s → "122344s"
New wait: 1/4s (shanpon)

Tegawari Strategy

When to Aim for It

Situation	Decision
Point lead	Prioritize sure win
Need points	Aim tegawari
Early game	Focus tegawari
Late game	Prioritize certainty

Good Tegawari Shapes

Connected forms
```
3456 shape
→ Many tiles transform
```
Complex forms
```
2334 shape
→ Flexible changes
```
Bulging middle
```
4556 shape
→ Rich wait changes
```

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

Benefit	Detail
More acceptance	Multi-wait changes
Value increase	Higher yaku
Flexibility	Situational response
Psychological	Harder to read

Drawbacks

Drawback	Detail
Win delay	Can’t riichi
Uncertainty	Needed tile may not come
Misjudgment	Bad transformation choice
Time running out	Late game risk

Practical Cases

Case 1: Value Addition

Situation: Tanyao only 1,000 pts
Tegawari can add pinfu or sanshoku

Decision: Damaten and wait

Case 2: Multi-Wait

Kanchan wait to
3+ way potential

Decision: Stay dama

Case 3: Defensive Tegawari

Opponent riichi
Tegawari increases safe tiles

Decision: Defense + transformation

Avoiding Bad Tegawari

Oorasu tegawari
- No time
- Prioritize certainty
Just reduces wait
- No benefit
- Riichi is better
Value decrease
- Pointless
- Win immediately

Common Mistakes

Missing tegawari
- Check tenpai flexibility
- Know which tiles transform
Riichi too fast
- If tegawari exists, consider dama
- Especially high value changes
Bad transformation
- Wait-only reduction
- Value decrease
Waiting too long
- Miss sure wins
- Situation judgment key

Tenpai: One from win
Tamenchan: Multiple waits
Uke-ire: Acceptance count
Damaten: Silent tenpai
Yaku Fukugou: Combined yaku

Summary

Tegawari transforms tenpai hands into better shapes or higher values. Beginners should develop awareness of “which tiles change my hand” when in tenpai. Good tegawari mastery elevates your mahjong significantly and broadens your tactical options.