Straits MahjongEvery Hand, And What It Pays
A win needs at least one tai at a Singapore table, and the biggest hands pay the limit. Here is every hand, set, bonus and special win the table counts, with an example of each. Tap a name for the full guide.
Whole-Hand Patterns
Patterns that shape your whole hand. They are where most of your tai come from, so this is the list worth knowing first.
Ping Hu
4 taiFour Chi and a plain Eye, with no flowers or animals. Also said Peng Hu.
Chow Ping Hu
1 taiFour Chi and a plain Eye, with a flower or animal.
Hun Yi Se
2 taiOne suit with winds or dragons. Also said half colour, Ban Se.
Qing Yi Se
4 taiOne suit and nothing else. Also said full colour.
Pong Pong Hu
2 taiFour Pongs or Kongs and an Eye. Also said Peng Peng Hu, Dui Dui Hu.
Terminals & Honours
2 taiOnly 1s, 9s, winds and dragons, with some of each.
Two dragon sets and the third dragon as the Eye, on top of the sets’ own.
Xiao Si Xi
4 taiThree wind sets, and the fourth wind as the Eye.
Men Qing Zi Mo
1 taiNothing claimed, and you draw the winning tile yourself.
Sets And Bonus Tiles
Single sets and bonus tiles that add tai on top of whatever hand you make.
Dragon Set
1 taiEach Pong or Kong of dragons.
Own Wind Set
1 taiA Pong or Kong of your Own Wind.
Round Wind Set
1 taiA Pong or Kong of the Round Wind.
The flower or season with your seat’s number.
Each Animal
1 taiEach animal you hold.
All four flowers, or all four seasons.
All Four Animals
1 taiAll four animals.
How You Win
Lucky ways of winning that add a tai of their own.
Hua Shang
1 taiWinning on the tile drawn after a flower.
Gang Shang
1 taiWinning on the tile drawn after a Kong.
Hai Di Lao Yue
1 taiWinning on the last tile there is to draw.
Qiang Gang
1 taiWinning on the tile someone adds to their Pong.
Limit Hands
Rare hands that pay the table’s limit straight away, whatever else they hold.
Da San Yuan
Limit · 5 taiA set of each of the three dragons.
Da Si Xi
Limit · 5 taiA set of each of the four winds.
13 Wonders
Limit · 5 taiEvery 1, 9, wind and dragon, and one of them twice.
Eight Flowers
Limit · 5 taiAll eight flowers and seasons win at once.
Zi Yi Se
Limit · 5 taiOnly winds and dragons.
All Terminals
Limit · 5 taiOnly 1s and 9s.
Kam Kam Hu
Limit · 5 taiFour Pongs made in your hand, nothing claimed.
All Green
Limit · 5 taiOnly green tiles: Bamboo 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8, and Fa Cai.
Jiu Lian Bao Deng
Limit · 5 tai1112345678999 of one suit and one more of it, nothing claimed.
Shi Ba Luo Han
Limit · 5 taiFour Kongs.
Tian Hu
Limit · 5 taiThe Banker wins on the dealt tiles.
Di Hu
Limit · 5 taiWinning on the Banker’s first discard.
Gang Shang Gang
Limit · 5 taiA Kong, another Kong on its replacement, then the win.
Common Questions
Which hand pays the most?
Limit hands such as Da San Yuan and Thirteen Wonders pay the table’s limit, 5 tai, straight away, whatever else they hold.
What is the easiest hand to win with?
Most first wins come from a dragon or wind Pong or from bonus tiles, which earn tai whatever the rest of the hand looks like. Pong Pong Hu is the quickest of the bigger hands, because you can claim your way into it.
Why does Ping Hu pay so well?
Because it is fussy: four Chi, a plain Eye, no bonus tiles and a two-sided wait. Ping Hu is worth 4 tai, and a single flower spoils it.
Hong Kong and Malaysian 3 Kaki tables count some of these differently: see their own guides. Each hand’s guide compares the tables too.