Straits MahjongDa Si Xi 大四喜
Da Si Xi, Big Four Winds, is a hand with a Pong or Kong of all four winds and any Eye. In Singapore Mahjong it pays the limit, 5 tai.
Four wind sets and an Eye. It’s rarer than the three dragons, because you need four sets instead of three, and it pays the same limit at a Singapore table.
Also called: Big Four Winds
What It Is
Da Si Xi (大四喜, “big four joys”, Big Four Winds) is a hand with a Pong or Kong of all four winds, plus any Eye. Four sets of winds leave no room for a Chi, so it’s always an all-Pong hand too, and claiming is fine.
Three wind sets with the fourth wind as the Eye is Xiao Si Xi, Little Four Winds. Close, and worth knowing, but a different price.
What It Pays
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Da Si Xi | the limit, 5 tai |
| Hong Kong | Daai Sei Hei | the limit, 10 faan |
| Malaysian 3 Kaki | Big Winds | the limit, 10 fan |
| Riichi | Daisuushii | double yakuman |
It pays the Singapore limit, 5 tai, in place of every other tai: 128 points on a discard, 192 points on Zi Mo. Xiao Si Xi pays 4 tai on its own, and the valued winds and bonuses can add to that.
Like the three dragons, it’s an automatic win in this game: complete the fourth wind set and the hand is yours, finished Eye or not. Tables vary, so check before the first tile.
How Realistic Is It?
Honestly, not very. You need twelve of the sixteen wind tiles, and other players like Ponging winds too, since their Own Wind and the Round Wind pay them a tai each.
It’s worth a look when the deal gives you three wind pairs, or two Pongs and a pair. Your own wind sets pay along the way (1 tai for your Own Wind, 1 tai for the Round Wind), and a plain Pong Pong Hu is the fallback. Three sets and the fourth wind as the Eye is Xiao Si Xi, which is a fine place to land.
Count what’s gone. Two copies of a wind in the discards kills that set for good.
How Others Spot It, And Bao
Three wind Pongs on the table is as loud as a hand gets. From then on, the fourth wind is dynamite.
At a Singapore table, feeding the fourth wind set is Bao: let them claim it and you pay the whole bill when they win. The same goes if your wind wins them the hand directly, as the fourth set or as the Eye of a Xiao Si Xi. If you hold that wind, keep it unless two copies are already face up.
At Other Tables
Hong Kong pays Daai Sei Hei the limit, the limit, 10 faan, and Little Four Winds is a limit there too, the limit, 10 faan. Feeding a fourth set on the table is 包 there as well.
Malaysian 3 Kaki pays Big Winds the limit, 10 fan; nobody sits North, so North is everyone’s wind. In Riichi, Daisuushii is a double yakuman in this game, against yakuman for the little one, and feeding the fourth wind triplet brings pao.