5-02 A Knitted Straight needs just 5 more tiles
As discussed in section 5-01, Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles scores 12 points, while Greater Knitted Tiles and Honors scores 24.
Figure 1
Great Honors and Knitted Tiles is shown in the second example in Figure 1: it has all 7 honors + 7 suit tiles. If you complete your hand with 6 honors + 8 suit tiles, you will score for Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles. But what if you have 5 honors + 9 suit tiles, as shown in Figure 2?
Figure 2
In this case, you combine two combinations: first, you score for Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles (12 pts.), and second, since you have 9 suit tiles, you also score for Knitted Straight (12 pts.) for a total of 24 points.
Knitted Straight is composed of suit tiles in different "knitted" series. One suit must be in 1-4-7, another must be in 2-5-8, and the last must be in 3-6-9. Once you've completed these 9 tiles, you have a Knitted Straight. If the remaining 5 tiles are all single honors, you have also completed Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles.
Figure 3
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In the examples shown in Figure 3, the 9 tiles completing the Knitted Straight are counted as 3 chows, and the remainder of the hand can be anything. In the first example, you score for Concealed Hand (2 pts.) + Knitted Straight (12 pts.) + All Chows (2 pts.). The second example counts for Knitted Straight (12 pts.) + No Honors (1 pt.). With 12 points already scored for a Knitted Straight, you need only create a final set and a pair to complete your hand.
However, remember that the Knitted Straight must specifically be completed with 9 suit tiles in groups of 3 belonging to different suits and different knitted series. The combination is not to be confused with Knitted Tiles and Honors (although it can be combined).
Figure 4
For example, in Figure 4, you have a 3-chance Knitted Tiles and Honors hand (Knitted Tiles and Honors is always a 3-chance hand when ready). If you finish with , you will score for Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles. If you finish with , you will score for Knitted Straight as well. In the second example, onlycompletes your hand. This hand also scores for a Single Wait (1 pt.).
You should decide from the very beginning whether to aim for Knitted Straight and/or Honors and Knitted Tiles. But if you are considering a Knitted Straight, you can start with your regular strategy of discarding honors, and go for the Knitted Straight only if you accumulate at least 7 of the needed 9 tiles.