Straits MahjongYakuhai 役牌
Yakuhai is the quickest yaku in the game: one pon of the right honour and your hand has its yaku, open or closed. Knowing which honours count is half the skill.
What It Is
Yakuhai means “value tiles”. A triplet or kan of any of these is a yaku:
- The three dragons: haku (white), hatsu (green) and chun (red). They count for everyone.
- Your seat wind: East for the dealer, then South, West and North around the table.
- The round wind: East in the East round, South in the South round.
Winds that are neither are guest winds, and a pon of them is worth nothing.
What It’s Worth
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Riichi | Haku | 1 han |
| Riichi | Hatsu | 1 han |
| Riichi | Chun | 1 han |
| Riichi | Seat Wind | 1 han |
| Riichi | Round Wind | 1 han |
Each set counts separately, so two dragon pons are two yakuhai. A wind that is both your seat and the round wind counts twice: the dealer’s East in the East round is a double wind, worth 1 han for the seat and 1 han for the round.
| Table | Called | Worth |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Dragon Set | 1 tai |
| Hong Kong | Dragon Set | 1 faan |
| Malaysian 3 Kaki | Dragon Set | 1 fan |
| Riichi | Haku | 1 han |
The other tables pay dragon sets in much the same spirit; see Dragon and Wind Sets.
Closed Or Open
Full value either way. Pon it straight away if you like: a called dragon is just as good as one you drew. A concealed triplet earns more fu, but the han are the same.
That makes yakuhai the standard way to give an open hand its yaku. One honour pon early, and every later chi or pon is free to chase speed, dora or a flush.
How To Build It
Hold on to a pair of any valued honour early. The moment a third appears in someone’s discard, pon it, and the rest of the hand can be anything at all.
A single dragon is worth keeping for a few turns while it’s still live; once two copies show in the rivers or dora indicators, let it go, since no pon is possible.
Common Mistakes
- Counting a pair. A pair of chun is not yakuhai. It gives fu, but you need three.
- Ponning a guest wind. West when you sit South in the East round gives you no yaku at all.
- Losing track of the round. When the game moves into South, East stops being the round wind.
What It Combines With
Yakuhai goes with almost anything that allows honours: toitoi, honitsu, chanta and riichi when closed. Two dragon sets and a pair of the third is shousangen, 2 han on top of the two yakuhai; all three sets is the yakuman daisangen.