Special Hands
Most wins follow the standard four-sets-and-a-pair shape. Special hands break that mould — and pay accordingly. These are the rare ones to chase if your initial deal hands you the right tiles.
Eight Flowers · 八仙过海 · 12 tai
Collect all eight bonus tiles — both the four flowers and the four seasons — and you win immediately, regardless of what's in the rest of your hand. No four-sets-and-a-pair shape needed.
The strategy: when you draw a flower or season, you reveal it and draw a replacement. If you keep drawing replacements that turn out to be more bonus tiles, you can stack them quickly. The flip side — the chance of seeing all eight in 18 draws is low; this hand is a bonus, not a plan.
Seven Flowers · 七星伴月 · 10 tai
Hold seven of the eight bonus tiles and complete the rest of the hand on a self-draw. The "moon" is the missing flower or season, and the "stars" are the seven you already have. Standard four-sets-plus-pair shape required for the rest.
Thirteen Wonders · 十三幺 · 8 tai
One copy of every terminal and every honor tile, plus a pair of any one of them. 13 unique tiles + the pair makes 14.
This is a wholly concealed hand — no claims, no exposed melds. You build it from your own draws and the discards you can claim for the win itself.
Big Three Dragons · 大三元 · +7 tai
Pong (or kong) of all three dragon types, in addition to the rest of a standard hand.
+ one more set + a pair = winning hand. Note: this stacks with All Pong (+2), Half Color (+2 if all dragon-suited), per-dragon-pong bonuses (+1 × 3 = +3) and any other applicable tai. Easily hits the 5-tai cap.
Pay-all (bao): if an opponent discards the third dragon you needed to complete the hand and you'd already exposed the other two, that opponent owes the entire payout for all three losers.
Big Four Winds · 大四喜 · +12 tai
Four wind sets — pong or kong of East, South, West, AND North — plus a pair of anything.
The rarest and most lucrative special. With pay-all rules and per-wind bonuses (+1 each for prevailing/seat-wind matches), this hand effectively tops out the table.
Small Three Dragons · 小三元 · +1 tai
Two dragon pongs plus the third dragon as your pair (the "eye"). Stacks with the per-dragon pong bonuses (+1 × 2 = +2).