Among all the Mahjong waiting patterns, the two-sided wait, also known as Ryanmen in Japanese, is the most efficient and common shape to win with. In Mahjong, waiting on the right tile can make all the difference between winning fast—or missing your chance. If you’re just starting out or still figuring out how winning hands are built, understanding this waiting form will instantly level up your game.
What Is a Two-Sided Wait (Ryanmen)?
A two-sided wait happens when you have two consecutive tiles in a suit, and you’re waiting for a tile on either end to complete the sequence.
✅ Valid Two-Sided Wait Shape Example:
🀈🀉 → waiting for 🀇 or 🀊
This forms a complete sequence: 🀇🀈🀉 or 🀈🀉🀊
❌ Not Two-Sided Wait:
🀇🀈 → only waiting for 🀉
This is called an edge wait, because you only have one possible winning tile.
Cheat Sheet of Two-Sided Wait
The tiles are in the middle of a possible sequence (i.e., 23, 34, 45, 56, 67, 78)
And they are waiting for 14, 25, 36, 47, 58, 69 respectively.
Why Two-Sided Wait Are So Powerful
A two-sided wait (Ryanmen) gives you two possible tiles to win, which dramatically increases your chances of drawing or receiving the winning tile.
Let’s compare the different wait types:
🔍 Statistically, Two-Sided Wait gives you: 2× more winning tiles than edge / closed / Pair waits
More winning tiles = faster wins, more efficient hands, and a better chance to declare Riichi or win before your opponents.
Beginner Mistakes with Two-Sided Wait
Breaking Two-Sided Wait too early
Many new players find Pong satisfying and straightforward, so they often aim to collect triplets early on. This causes them to discard tiles that could have formed a two-sided wait.
- You start with 🀈🀈🀉 🀟🀟🀠 and discard 🀉 & 🀠 keeping 🀈 & 🀟.
- Later in the game, you might end up with a pair wait like 🀈🀈 or 🀟🀟—only 4 winning tiles left instead of 8!
Not recognizing hidden Two-Sided Wait patterns
We’ve shown some of the most basic Ryanmen patterns—like 2-3 waiting on 1 or 4—but real games aren’t always that simple. When your hand starts filling up with multiple and different suits, it gets harder to see the hidden two-sided waits. Beginners often miss these opportunities because they don’t know what to look for.
📌 Example:
You might have a hand like:
When you set aside the 1-2-3 character tiles, you’ll notice your remaining hand includes 2-3 characters — which still gives you a two-sided wait for 1 or 4 characters.
There are actually several other tile combinations that also result in a wait for 1 or 4 characters. It’s a good idea to study — or even memorize — these patterns. That way, you won’t miss a winning opportunity during a fast-paced Mahjong game.
🎯 Tips:
And it’s not just 1 and 4 — the same logic applies to other two-sided waits like 2 & 5, 3 & 6, 4 & 7, 5 & 8, and 6 & 9. Once you understand the pattern, you’ll be able to recognize and apply it on your own during real games! Practice identifying hidden two-sided wait patterns in actual hands. As your pattern recognition improves, so will your win rate.
Practice Hands and Quizzes
Test your understanding of two-sided waits with these quick examples. Try to spot the best waits and avoid common mistakes!
🔹 Quiz 1: Which tile should you discard to get a two-sided wait?
🔹 Quiz 2: Hidden Two-Sided Wait Challenge
✨ Tips for Practicing
- Always ask yourself: “Am I maximizing my winning tiles?”
- Look for patterns like 23, 34, 45, 56, etc. — they usually lead to Two-Sided Wait!
- Avoid breaking potential sequences too early in the game.
- Practice spotting Two-Sided Wait in more complex hands with 10+ tiles.