Bonus tiles. When drawn, immediately set aside face-up and draw
a replacement tile from the tail. They don't form melds.
Setup
Game Start 開局 Kāi Jú
The player physically sitting at the East side
of the table is the first dealer.
The Wall 牌牆 Pái Qiáng
Tiles are shuffled face-down and arranged into a square wall,
each side 18 tiles long and 2 tiles high. Each player's wall
segment connects on the right end to the next player's wall;
the left end stays open.
The dealer rolls 3 dice. The total determines
which player's wall to break, counting counter-clockwise from
the dealer. That player counts that many stacks from the right
end of their wall and splits it there. The side you counted
from becomes the tail, represented by moving 2
stacked tiles on top. The other side is the
draw wall. Each player is dealt
16 tiles in batches of 4, starting with the
dealer. If you start with any flowers, draw the replacement
tiles in order from the dealer.
Gameplay
Turn Flow 出牌 Chū Pái
On your turn: 摸牌 Mō Pái (draw 1 tile from the
wall), then 打牌 Dǎ Pái (discard 1 tile
face-up). Play proceeds counter-clockwise until someone wins or
the wall is exhausted (流局 Liú Jú, a draw
game).
Melds 面子 Miàn Zi
吃 Chī: sequence of 3 consecutive tiles in one
suit. Can only claim from the player to your left.
二
三
四
碰 Pèng: triplet of 3 identical tiles. Can
claim from any player's discard.
七
七
七
槓 Gàng: quad of 4 identical tiles. Declared
openly or concealed; draw a replacement tile from the tail
after.
中
中
中
中
Claiming Priority
搶牌 Qiǎng Pái
胡 Hú (Win) > 槓 Gàng /
碰 Pèng > 吃 Chī. If multiple
players want the same discard, higher priority wins. A win claim
always takes precedence.
Dealer Rotation
過莊 Guò Zhuāng
You stay as dealer if you win or the hand ends in a draw.
Otherwise, the next player counter-clockwise becomes the new
dealer.
Winning
Winning Hand 胡牌 Hú Pái
Complete a legal hand of 5 melds + 1 pair (17
tiles total). Win by claiming a discard or drawing the tile
yourself. Declare 胡! Hú to win.
一
二
三
五
六
七
九
九
九
東
東
東
四
五
六
三
三
Scoring
Tai 台 Tái
Tai is the point unit in Taiwan Mahjong. You
earn Tai from your hand pattern, flowers, wind bonuses, and how
you win. Your total Tai determines how much you get paid. See
hand patterns
here.
Wind Rounds
Wind Rounds 圈風 Quān Fēng
A full game has 4 rounds. A round ends when all 4 players have
been dealer at least once. Within a round, the dealer is always
assigned the Round Wind; this can be tracked
with the wind die. When a round ends, the Round Wind advances. A
full game is at least 16 hands (4 rounds × 4
players).
Payout
Payout Formula
The payout per round is calculated using this formula:
Total = Base + (Total Tai × Tai Value)
Automatically calculate payout
here.
Win by Discard 放槍 Fàng Qiāng
The player who discards your winning tile pays the
full total alone. The other two players owe
nothing.
Win by Self-Draw 自摸 Zì Mō
You draw the winning tile yourself.
All three opponents each pay you the full total, tripling your earnings compared to a discard win.
Dealer Rules
Dealer Advantage
莊家 Zhuāng Jiā
If you're the dealer, you always add
+1 Tai to every hand. If a
non-dealer wins, the dealer pays that extra Tai on top of the
normal amount.
Dealer Streaks 拉莊 Lā Zhuāng
Every consecutive hand the dealer wins or draws, a streak bonus
of
2n + 1 Tai applies (where n = streak number).
Seat winds follow the Asian cardinal order
used in counter-clockwise play, not standard map compass
seating.
Seat
Wind
Proper Flower
Proper Season
1
東
Dōng (East)
梅 Méi (Plum)
春 Chūn (Spring)
2
南
Nán (South)
蘭 Lán (Orchid)
夏 Xià (Summer)
3
西 Xī
(West)
菊 Jú (Chrysanthemum)
秋 Qiū (Autumn)
4
北
Běi (North)
竹 Zhú (Bamboo)
冬 Dōng (Winter)
Wind Triplet Scoring
A triplet of your Seat Wind scores
+1 Tai. A triplet of the
current Round Wind also scores
+1 Tai. If your Seat Wind
equals the Round Wind, they stack as a
Double Wind+2 Tai.
東
東
東
Seat Wind = East →+1 Tai
南
南
南
Round Wind = South →+1 Tai
東
東
東
Seat + Round Wind both East →+2 Tai
Flower & Season Scoring
Flowers and seasons are not part of your hand. They sit
separately and add bonus Tai.
梅
Matching seat flower/season →+1 Taieach
Collecting all 8 flowers can trigger a winning hand. See the
Hands
page for details.
Violations & Penalties
Minimum Tai Rule
Most tables require a minimum Tai count to win (commonly 1 or 3
Tai). Winning below the minimum counts as a Fake Win, even if
the hand structure is correct. Set your table's minimum in the
Payout Calculator.
Fake Win 詐胡 Zhà Hú
Any of these counts as a Fake Win:
Hand doesn't meet the minimum Tai
Hand structure is illegal
You declared a kong from a discard, then won off the
replacement tile
You declared win while under 過水 (see below)
Penalty
Round ends immediately. You pay all three opponents, each
receives Base + a pre-agreed penalty Tai (typically 5, 10, or
the table ceiling). Dealer forfeits the deal.
Short / Long Hand
相公 Xiāng Gōng
Holding fewer or more than 16 tiles before winning.
Penalty
Hand declared dead. You cannot win or call tiles this round,
but must keep discarding. You still owe payment if someone
else wins.
Passing 過水 Guò Shuǐ
If you see a tile that would complete your hand but choose not
to claim it, you are "in 過水" and temporarily locked out of
winning.
How to clear it: draw a tile that does
not complete your hand, then discard. After that,
you can win again normally.
Edge case: if you keep drawing tiles that
complete your hand and discarding them, 過水 stays active
until you finally draw one that doesn't.
Penalty
Declaring win while in 過水 is a Fake Win (詐胡).
Self-Draw Etiquette
Keep the winning tile visibly separate from your hand until
verified. If it touches your tiles, falls on exposed melds, or
hits the floor before verification, the self-draw is invalidated
and in strict circles, treated as a Fake Win.
Hand Rankings
Scoring Patterns
All ways to earn Tai. Values stack unless noted otherwise.
Situational · 1–2 Tai
Dealer
莊家 · Zhuāng Jiā
2N+1 Tai
The dealer scores an extra Tai whether winning or dealing in.
Consecutive deals: 2N+1 Tai (1 consecutive = 3, 2 = 5, etc.).
Self-Draw
自摸 · Zì Mō
1 Tai
Winning by drawing the winning tile yourself.
Concealed Hand
門清 · Mén Qīng
1 Tai
No claimed chows, no claimed pongs, no exposed kongs.
Single Wait
獨聽 · Dú Tīng
1 Tai
Only one specific tile completes your hand (edge wait, middle wait,
or pair wait).
Examples
四
五
六
一
二
三
三
三
Fully Exposed Hand
全求人 · Quán Qiú Rén
2 Tai
Entire hand claimed through chows and pongs, and the win is not
self-drawn.
Win on Last Discard
河底撈魚 · Hé Dǐ Lāo Yú
1 Tai
Winning off the very last discarded tile of the game.
Win on Last Draw
海底撈月 · Hǎi Dǐ Lāo Yuè
1 Tai
Self-drawing the very last tile from the wall.
Robbing the Kong
搶槓 · Qiǎng Gàng
1 Tai
Winning when an opponent adds to an exposed kong and that tile
completes your hand.
Kong Bloom
槓上開花 · Gàng Shàng Kāi Huā
1 Tai
Win on the replacement tile drawn after declaring a kong or flower.
Self-Draw (自摸) is counted separately.
Exception: if you formed the kong from an
opponent's discard, you cannot win off the replacement tile — doing
so is a Fake Win.
Concealed Self-Draw
門清自摸 · Mén Qīng Zì Mō
3 Tai
Concealed hand + self-drawn win. Includes 門清 (1) + 自摸 (1) +
不求人 (1) = 3 Tai total.
Patterns · 2–5 Tai
All Sequences
平胡 · Píng Hú
2 Tai
No honor tiles anywhere (not even as the pair), no flower tiles, no
triplets, not a single-wait, not self-drawn, must be waiting on both
ends.
Example
一
二
三
四
五
六
三
四
五
六
七
八
四
五
六
八
八
Three Concealed Triplets
三暗刻 · Sān Àn Kè
2 Tai
Three self-drawn triplets (or concealed kongs).
Example (dashed = concealed)
二
二
二
七
七
七
九
九
九
All Triplets
碰碰胡 · Pèng Pèng Hú
4 Tai
Entire hand consists of triplets (or kongs) + pair.
Example
二
二
二
五
五
五
九
九
九
東
東
東
中
中
中
三
三
Four Concealed Triplets
四暗刻 · Sì Àn Kè
5 Tai
Four concealed triplets (or concealed kongs).
Example (dashed = concealed)
二
二
二
五
五
五
七
七
七
九
九
九
三
三
Five Concealed Triplets
五暗刻 · Wǔ Àn Kè
8 Tai
Five concealed triplets (or concealed kongs).
Example (all concealed)
二
二
二
四
四
四
七
七
七
九
九
九
一
一
一
五
五
Flush · 4–8 Tai
Half Flush
混一色 · Hùn Yī Sè
4 Tai
One suit + honor tiles only.
Example
一
二
三
五
六
七
七
八
九
東
東
東
中
中
中
九
九
Full Flush
清一色 · Qīng Yī Sè
8 Tai
One suit only, no honors.
Example
一
二
三
三
四
五
五
六
七
七
八
九
九
九
九
二
二
All Honors
字一色 · Zì Yī Sè
8 Tai
Entire hand is honor tiles only (winds + dragons).
Example
東
東
東
南
南
南
北
北
北
中
中
中
發
發
發
白
白
Dragons & Winds · 1–16 Tai
Dragon Triplet
三元牌 · Sān Yuán Pái
1 Tai each
Triplet (or kong) of any Dragon: Red (中), Green (發), or White
(白).
Example
中
中
中
發
發
發
白
白
白
Round Wind
圈風牌 · Quān Fēng Pái
1 Tai
Triplet (or kong) of the current round wind.
Seat Wind
風位牌 · Fēng Wèi Pái
1 Tai
Triplet (or kong) of your seat wind.
Small Three Dragons
小三元 · Xiǎo Sān Yuán
4 Tai
Two triplets of dragons + pair of the third dragon as eyes. Does not
stack with individual Dragon Triplet Tai.
Example
中
中
中
發
發
發
白
白
Big Three Dragons
大三元 · Dà Sān Yuán
8 Tai
Three triplets of all three dragons. Does not stack with individual
Dragon Triplet Tai.
Example
中
中
中
發
發
發
白
白
白
Small Four Winds
小四喜 · Xiǎo Sì Xǐ
8 Tai
Three triplets of winds + pair of the fourth wind as eyes.
Example
東
東
東
南
南
南
西
西
西
北
北
Big Four Winds
大四喜 · Dà Sì Xǐ
16 Tai
Four triplets of all four winds. Does not stack with Round Wind or
Seat Wind Tai.
Example
東
東
東
南
南
南
西
西
西
北
北
北
Flowers · 1–8 Tai
Matching Flower
正花牌 · Zhèng Huā Pái
1 Tai each
Flower or season tile matching your seat wind.
Seat → Flower / Season
東
→
梅
春
南
→
蘭
夏
西
→
菊
秋
北
→
竹
冬
Seven Rob One
七搶一 · Qī Qiǎng Yī
8 Tai
Collecting 7 flower tiles counts as winning against the player
holding the 8th. You must complete your replacement draw first, then
declare win.
Eight Immortals
八仙過海 · Bā Xiān Guò Hǎi
8 Tai
Collecting all 8 flower tiles counts as a self-drawn win. Complete
your replacement draw first, then declare.
All 8 bonus tiles
梅
蘭
菊
竹
春
夏
秋
冬
Legendary · 8–24 Tai
Earth Ready
地聽 · Dì Tīng
8 Tai
Declaring ready within the first 8 discards while your hand is
still closed (no claims made). Cannot change waits or pass on a
winning tile after declaring.
Human Win
人胡 · Rén Hú
8 Tai
Non-dealer wins with a discard in the first round of play before
anyone else chis or pengs.
Earth Win
地胡 · Dì Hú
16 Tai
Non-dealer wins by self-draw before discarding any tile (on the
initial deal).
Heaven Win
天胡 · Tiān Hú
24 Tai
Dealer wins by self-draw on the initial deal before discarding.
Payout Calculator
Count the Money
Set your table values once. Adjust Tai and win type to see exact
amounts owed.
Table Settings
Base Value
Paid on every win regardless of Tai
Value per Tai
Multiplied by total Tai count
Minimum Tai to Win
Below this = Fake Win penalty
Calculate a Win
Dealer involved?
(adds +1 Tai)
—
per payer
—
Base
—
Tai Value
—
Payers
—
Winner Gets
⚠ Below Minimum Tai: Fake Win
This hand doesn't meet the table minimum. Declaring a win triggers
the Fake Win penalty.