Straits MahjongXiao San Yuan 小三元
Xiao San Yuan, Little Three Dragons, is a hand with Pongs or Kongs of two dragons and a pair of the third. It is worth 1 tai in Singapore Mahjong.
Two dragons in Pongs and the third as your pair. It’s one tile short of Big Three Dragons, and it pays well in its own right.
Also called: Little Three Dragons
What It Is
Xiao San Yuan (小三元, “little three elders”) is a hand with Pongs or Kongs of two dragons, and the third dragon as the Eye. The other two sets can be anything: Chi, Pongs, any suit.
Kongs count the same as Pongs, and the Eye must be exactly two of the third dragon. Get a Pong of it instead and the hand becomes Da San Yuan, a limit hand.
How The Tai Add Up
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Xiao San Yuan Addition | 1 tai |
| Hong Kong | Siu Saam Yuen | 5 faan |
| Malaysian 3 Kaki | Little Dragons | 3 fan |
| Riichi | Shousangen | 2 han |
At a Singapore table, Xiao San Yuan is an addition: it pays on top of what the dragon sets already earn. Count it in three parts:
- The first dragon Pong: 1 tai.
- The second dragon Pong: 1 tai.
- The Xiao San Yuan addition for the dragon Eye: 1 tai.
Together that’s a solid hand before anything else, and on a discard win it comes to 32 points. The other two sets often add more. With both in one suit it’s a half flush as well, worth 2 tai, which reaches the usual 5 tai.
How To Build It
You want at least two dragons paired early, and ideally a single of the third. Pairs of dragons are worth keeping in any hand, since each Pong is a tai on its own, so this plan costs you little.
Pong dragons from anyone who throws them. The third dragon is the hard part: you need two of it, and other players tend to hold dragons back once they see two dragon sets in front of you.
Keep the other two sets simple. Chi in one suit is fine, and pushing for a half flush on the side is where the real value is.
If the third dragon pair never turns up, don’t panic. Two dragon Pongs still pay 1 tai each, so you can finish with any Eye and still have a decent win.
What Gives It Away
Two dragon Pongs face up is a loud signal. Everyone at the table now knows the third dragon is valuable to you, and a careful player won’t throw it.
If you’re reading someone else: think hard before throwing the third dragon to a player showing two dragon sets. If they Pong it, they’re on to Big Three Dragons, and at this table feeding that third dragon set is Bao.
At Other Tables
Hong Kong’s Siu Saam Yuen is 5 faan, and there the figure includes the dragon sets rather than adding to them. Malaysian 3 Kaki counts it like Singapore, on top of the sets: Little Dragons is 3 fan, and with the two dragon sets it reaches the table’s 5 fan by itself.
In Riichi, Shousangen is 2 han, and the two dragon triplets score their own yakuhai on top, so it’s worth more than it looks.