Straits MahjongShi Ba Luo Han 十八罗汉
Shi Ba Luo Han is a hand of four Kongs and an Eye, claimed or concealed in any mix. In Singapore Mahjong it pays the limit, 5 tai.
Four Kongs and a pair: eighteen tiles in front of you when it’s done, which is where the name comes from.
Also called: Four Kongs
What It Is
Shi Ba Luo Han (十八罗汉, “eighteen arhats”, Four Kongs) is a hand with four Kongs and an Eye. Claimed Kongs, concealed Kongs and Kongs added to a Pong all count, in any mix.
Each Kong takes a replacement tile, so a finished hand shows eighteen tiles instead of fourteen. The last thing you hold in your hand is a single tile, waiting for its pair.
What It Pays
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Shi Ba Luo Han | the limit, 5 tai |
| Hong Kong | Sap Baat Lo Hon | the limit, 10 faan |
| Malaysian 3 Kaki | Four Kongs | the limit, 10 fan |
| Riichi | Suukantsu | yakuman |
At a Singapore table it pays the limit, 5 tai, in place of every other tai: 128 points on a discard, 192 points on Zi Mo. That’s on top of the Kong payments you collect as each claimed or added Kong goes down, which are paid at once and kept even if the hand is drawn.
How Realistic Is It?
Barely. It needs all four copies of four kinds of tile, and the fourth Kong leaves you on a one-tile wait for your Eye, with three copies of that tile at most still out there. Many players go years without one.
Treat it as a bonus, never a plan. Kongs are worth making for their payments anyway, so if you find yourself with three, enjoy the moment and play for the win. Three Kongs is well on the way to Pong Pong Hu anyway.
One thing to weigh: every Kong you show tells the table more about your hand. Our Kong guide covers when to declare and when to sit tight.
How Others Spot It, And Bao
Three Kongs on the table is hard to miss. The only question is your single waiting tile, and the table can’t see it. Honours and terminals with few copies showing are the classic last waits.
Singapore’s Bao has a late-wall Kong case. With seven or fewer live tiles left, throwing a fresh tile (one nobody has discarded) that someone claims for a Kong makes you pay that whole Kong payment. If they then win on its replacement with five or fewer left, you pay the whole bill.
At Other Tables
Hong Kong calls it Sap Baat Lo Hon and pays the limit, the limit, 10 faan; Kongs pay nothing at once there. Malaysian 3 Kaki pays Four Kongs the limit, 10 fan, and a Fei can never be part of a Kong.
In Riichi, Suukantsu is a yakuman. Some tournament rules give it pao; this game doesn’t.