HK mahjong scores on faan (番) — pattern points. Your hand is worth whatever patterns it contains, stacked together. Most tables set a 3-faan minimum: any hand below the floor cannot win.
01Common hands— Learn these by shape
The hands you'll build and encounter most sessions. Learn these by shape first.
Common hand
平糊
1 faan
All chows with a non-honor pair. The baseline shape. Stacks with self-draw, concealed bonus, or a seat wind pair to clear the 3-faan floor.
All pungs
對對糊
3 faan
Four pungs (or kongs) and a pair — no chows. Already at the minimum. Every honor pung stacks on top.
Mixed one-suit
混一色
3 faan
One numbered suit plus winds or dragons. Clears the floor on its own — the first hand worth deliberately building toward.
Seven pairs
七對子
4 faan
Seven distinct pairs. No calls allowed — every tile must come from the wall. Fully concealed by definition.
Pure one-suit
清一色
7 faan
Every tile from a single suit — no winds, no dragons. Difficult to build but starts at 7 faan. A realistic stretch goal once your suit discipline improves.
02Rare hands— Limit hands pay 13 faan
Hands you won't see often — but worth knowing by shape. A limit hand pays the maximum (13 faan) regardless of anything else.
Mixed orphans
花幺九
4 faan
Pungs and kongs of terminal tiles (1s and 9s) and honor tiles only — no 2–8 tiles at all. All-pung structure means honor bonuses stack freely on top.
Small dragons
小三元
5 faan
Pungs of any two dragons plus a pair of the third. The two dragon pungs add +2 faan on top of the base — total is usually 7+ faan with wind bonuses.
Small winds
小四喜
6 faan
Pungs of any three winds plus a pair of the fourth. Wind bonuses stack on top — a strong hand that can clear 10+ faan when seat and round winds align.
Great dragons
大三元
8 faan
Pungs of all three dragons. Base 8 faan plus three dragon pung bonuses (+3) pushes this to 11+ before wind bonuses — near the cap without trying.
Self triplets
四暗刻
base
10
|
max
13
Four concealed pungs and a pair — never calling a single discard. All pungs drawn from the wall or won by self-draw. Stacks with win method and seat wind bonuses.
Orphans
么九
base
10
|
max
13
Pungs and kongs of terminal tiles only — 1s and 9s from any suit. No honors, no 2–8 tiles. Only 6 different terminals exist (1 and 9 in each of three suits), so every copy matters.
All honors
字一色
base
10
|
max
13
Only winds and dragons — no suited tiles at all. Every meld must be a pung (no chows for honors). Dragon and wind bonuses stack on top of the base 10.
Nine gates
九蓮寶燈
base
10
|
max
13
1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 all in one suit, plus any one tile of that same suit. Fully concealed and pure one-suit. One of the hardest and most beautiful hands in the game.
Great winds
大四喜
base
13
|
max
13
Pungs of all four winds — East, South, West, North — plus any pair. A limit hand. Wind bonuses no longer count separately; the hand itself already pays the cap.
All kongs
四槓子
base
13
|
max
13
Four kongs and a pair. Each kong exposes your hand completely — opponents see every tile you hold except the pair. Exceptionally difficult to conceal and survive to win.
Thirteen orphans
十三么
base
13
|
max
13
One each of every terminal and honor tile (1, 9 in all three suits + all four winds + all three dragons) plus any duplicate of one of those tiles. Fully concealed — cannot be built through calls.
03Stacking bonuses— All stack, none replace
These add faan on top of any hand pattern above. None replace a pattern — they all stack.
Seat wind pung+1 faan
A pung of whichever wind matches your current seat — East, South, West, or North. Your seat rotates each round, so the qualifying wind changes. Not one specific tile.
Round wind pung+1 faan
A pung of the current round wind. If your seat wind and the round wind are the same, both bonuses apply: +2 faan total from a single pung.
Dragon pung+1 faan
or
or
+1 faan per dragon pung, regardless of which dragon. Three dragon pungs = +3 faan. Each is scored independently.
Flower tiles+1 faan
Four flower tiles (梅蘭菊竹), numbered 1–4. Each scores +1 faan and triggers a free replacement draw from the back of the wall. You can't build toward them — they arrive randomly.
Season tiles+1 faan
Four season tiles (春夏秋冬), numbered 1–4. Same rule as flowers: +1 faan each, replacement draw from the back wall. Drawing your own seat's number (e.g. East draws flower or season 1) is sometimes called a 'correct flower' — some house rules award an extra +1 for it.
04Win method bonuses— How you win matters
How you win adds faan on top of what your hand is worth. These stack with each other and with all pattern bonuses above.
+1faan
Self-draw自摸
You draw the winning tile yourself. All three opponents each pay you the full amount. The most important method bonus — it changes who pays, not just how much.
+1faan
Concealed hand門前清
You win without having claimed any discard for a meld. No exposed sets. Stacks with self-draw: a concealed self-draw common hand is already 3 faan.
+1faan
Last tile from wall海底撈月
The very last playable tile drawn from the wall completes your hand. One of the most dramatic moments in the game.
+1faan
Last discard河底撈魚
The final discard of the round completes your hand. If no one has drawn the last tile and the final discard is your winning tile, you can still claim it.
+1faan
Win on replacement槓上開花
You declare a kong, draw the replacement tile from the back of the wall, and that replacement completes your hand.
+1faan
Robbing a kong搶槓
An opponent upgrades a pung to a kong — and that tile completes your hand. You can claim it before it becomes their kong.
13faan
Heavenly hand天糊
East wins with their starting 14-tile hand without discarding. Dealt in, already complete. A limit hand — the rarest win in mahjong.
13faan
Earthly hand地糊
A non-East player wins on East's very first discard, before taking their own turn. Also a limit hand.
05Who pays what— Discard vs. self-draw
Win by discard食糊
The discarder pays the full amount alone.
The other two players pay nothing.
Win by self-draw自摸
All three opponents each pay the full amount.
Three separate payments — self-draw always pays more overall.
Dealer bonus莊家
East pays and receives double.
The biggest single payout at the table.
The dealer (East) pays and receives double. Winning as East is the biggest single payout at the table — but staying East requires winning the hand.
06The faan scale— 3 faan = 1 unit
Faan totals convert to units on an exponential curve. Below 3 faan, you can't win. Above 11, all hands pay the same cap.
Faan
Scale
Units
1
¼
2
½
3
1
4
2
5
4
6
8
7
16
8
24
9
32
10
48
11
64cap
House rules vary — some tables double at each faan step, others use a fixed schedule like this.
House rules vary. Some tables double at every step; others use a fixed schedule. The key number to internalize: 3 faan = 1 unit — that's the baseline everything else is measured against.