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Guide to Count Faan for MahJong at Yahoo Games

Greetings, Yahoo MahJong enthusiasts! My name is Kevin Hutchins, and my favorite game is MahJong in the Lion's Lair. Of all the styles feasible on the Yahoo system, i believe the varieties involving Faan~counting are the most complex and interesting.

Click this picture of Honours, Terminals, and Bonus tiles to browse all galleries of best winnings among tables with my friends:
Yahoo Tiles

Click this picture of Yahoo dragon tiles to browse the Yahoo 360 Blog of updates for the most recent winnings i've seen in the Lion's Lair, arranged chronologically:
Yahoo dragons - most recent screenshots

These are the methods for calculating and verifying Faan in the winning hands for Mah Jong at Yahoo Games. When you play a Faan~counting game on the Advanced tables, you are only able to be Going Out if you earn at least a minimum amount of Faan as determined by the host. For example, if a host invites you to a "5F" table, you must have at least 5 or more Faans in order to click the 'MahJong' button. There are many popular styles hosted on the Yahoo tables; some use Flowers & Seasons such as 5F, 6F, and 7F; some use no flowers nor seasons, such as 2F, basic~3F, and basic~1F; and some versions can be played either way, depending how you prefer 3F, 2F, and "KFC". Many people refer to "KFC" (Kentucky Fried Chicken) as the style with no Faan~counting used. When you play Mah Jong you accomplish the goal of Going Out by forming a complete arrangement of tiles and possibly combining various elements from five categories: 1=Winning~Tile, 2=Flowers&Seasons, 3=Dragons, 4=Winds, 5=Arrangements. Several Yahoo players might earn Tile Points during each Hand, but Faan can only be achieved by the winner who is Going Out. Scoring high Tile Points is a primary objective when playing any variety of Yahoo MahJong, but the game can develop many interesting and exciting challenges when following Faan~counting guidelines.

In the Lion's Lair you will find tables where people accept different styles of Faan~counting. For example:
See a detailed page with excerpts of example snapshots which illustrate players' Faan~Counting:
Click this picture of Yahoo MahJong tiles to browse > > pictures of EXAMPLES < <
detailed snapshots
Tile Points are delineated for each example, explaining how the mathematics are performed on the Yahoo tables.

DEFINITIONS and Terminology: Everyone uses different vocabulary in their own language to discuss the tiles and aspects of the game, and you might not recognize terms mentioned by players from around the world. For convenience, i try to consistently use the same vocabulary which Yahoo uses in its MahJong game windows and on its Help pages. Explanations of my terminology are given below in the Definitions.

EARNING Faan can be accomplished with five different categories of Winning Elements: 1=Winning~Tile, 2=Flowers&Seasons, 3=Dragons, 4=Winds, 5=Arrangements. You can learn how to verify Winning Elements, and see details about their permutations and combinations in the section on Earning Faan.

SCORING Tile Points on the Yahoo system is slightly different from the way many players calculate Tile Points in real life when playing Mah Jongg at home. The Yahoo method of determining Tile Points and Yahoo's winning screen CODES are detailed below with a chart for Scoring. When you play in a virtual environment with imaginary stakes, you might enjoy styles which are quite different from the way people would play with actual money. This abstract system has many possible variations which can be enjoyed free of any worry about the consequences of wins or losses, so the players often make bold and risky moves unlike anything you'd ever see in a casino!

STRATEGIES and tactical considerations constantly change during the course of each hand, each round, and throughout the entire game. Some basic ideas are described below in the notes regarding Strategies. These apply to almost any MahJong situation regardless of the level of Faan~counting.



If you learn this list, you will be able to play any Faan~counting game on Yahoo:

-*-*- Winning Elements -*-*-


-*-*- Winning Hand Formations -*-*-

To calculate the total Faan in your complete hand, begin by looking at your Arrangement and determining which Winning Hand Formation it fits best; these formations earn between zero to thirteen Faan (zero is the cheapest "KFC"; a "Limit" is thirteen and beyond). Next, depending on which type of Formation you have arranged, determine whether any varieties of additional elements are applicable from the five categories. Each of these elements might add +1F, +2F, +3F, or +6F. The final total will be found by combining as many of the best elements as possible.

Many of these additional elements are mutually exclusive; for example: a Pure~Suit has no Honours, a hand of All~Chows has no pongs, and so forth. A player could have two pongs/kongs of dragons which each earn +1F (total of +2F), or they could have two pongs/kongs of dragons plus pair of third dragons which earns a total of +3F (this Minor~Dragons arrangement already includes all Faan from dragons). They could have their OwnFlower (+1F), or a FlowerKong instead (+2F total, Own already included). If they have all~Four~Winds earning +6F then this would supercede any Faan normally given for OwnWind or PrevailingWind; and it would automatically earn more Faan by being arranged with a clean suit or a hand of all honours. There are situations where the possibilities are ambiguous because the arrangements might simultaneously satisfy the conditions for multiple descriptions, but as you examine the calculations your hand will reach the same grand total no matter which route you follow. Details of each arrangement are explained in the Calculation Charts below, and further notes are discussed in the section about Earning Faan.

Always find the highest scoring basis for your hand from the list of Winning Formations (0F+, 1F+, 3F+, 6F+, 12F+, 13F+); then choose all the best applicable additional Winning Elements which you can possibly combine to maximize your tally (+1F, +2F, +3F, +6F). Although you choose only one Formation for your winning hand, it could usually have one or more additional Winning Elements, or sometimes no additional Elements. Find the calculation charts below for specific combinations allowed, and you will see the logic in their permutations.

The "magic number" is 13. Any winning hand which scores a total of 13 Faan or beyond is generally referred to as "Maximum Faan", regardless of how many in excess of 13 are awarded. If you examine the charts and consider the MahJongg tiles carefully, you will see that each category of winning Formations could somehow earn 13F. Any special "Limit" hand is automatically considered to have 13F+.

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-*-*-Yahoo indications of Winning Elements-*-*-

The screen which shows the winning hand will have the picture of the tiles and the description written below. Here are the ways to verify the winning elements:

+1F Robbing a Kong : this will be witnessed on the table before the player is Going Out. An opponent has a melded pong and draws a tile from the wall which matches, then they try to promote the set to an exposed kong; the text on the table next to their name reads: "melds a kong" and the tile is offered to the other three players (the blue arrow indicates their option) so opponents may "Pass" or "MahJong". If an opponent can win by snatching this exposed tile to form a chow, and their completed hand would have enough Faan (including this extra +1F for the Robbing), then they can click "MahJong". The winning screen will show the losing pong exposed in an opponents' hand which did not successfully become promoted to a kong, and the winning tile (always highlighted with a blue rectangular border) will be the tile which was Robbed. This is why the Yahoo table always asks the opponents to "Pass" (or "MahJong") when somebody tries to promote an exposed pong to become a melded kong.

+1F Self Pick : this is written "45 winning tile drawn from wall". Most players on Yahoo habitually mention "sp" when they self~pick their winning tile. However, you don't actually need to type "sp" because the table will already show the text "draws from wall", and the winning screen has "winning tile drawn from wall" written under the rack with the blue highlighted border.

+1F Last Tile : this is written "122 going out with last tile of wall", and the table would have indicated "Tiles Left: 14" as those are the 14 unused tiles in the Dead Wall. Every wall begins with 144 tiles before the hands are dealt, and 14 are always pushed aside as a "Dead Wall" which never gets used on Yahoo. The table indicates "Tiles Left" including those unused 14; so when it says "Tiles Left=14", it would actually be on the Last~Tile in play at that point.

+1F No Flowers And No Seasons : there will be no flowers and no seasons to the right of the player's tiles, and there will be no code for additional points from "flowers and seasons".

+1F Own Flower or Own Season : this is written "122 flower of own wind" or "122 season of own wind". Indices in English show 1=East=PlumBlossom=Spring, 2=South=Orchid=Summer, 3=West=Chrysanthemum=Autumn, 4=North=BambooShoots=Winter.

+1F pong/kong any dragons : the winning hand tiles will show a pong/kong of any dragons (red, green, white). If they are concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of dragons"; if they are exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus double.

+1F pong/kong Own Wind : the winning hand tiles will show a pong/kong of wind which corresponds to the player's chair. If they are concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of own wind"; if they are exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus double.

+1F pong/kong Prevailing Wind : the winning hand tiles will show a pong/kong of wind which corresponds to the Wind Of The Round indicated in the upper left quadrant of the game table screen (so you need to remember which round you are playing when you go to the winning screen). If they are concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of prevailing wind"; if they are exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus double.

+1F All Hidden : the player will reveal no tiles during the game (except optional flowers and seasons). All four of the pongs/kongs/chows will be to the left of the pair ("eyes"). There will be no tiles after the wider space to the right of the pair, except optional flowers and seasons. Many beginners do not realize the value of a fully concealed arrangement, but you will find expert players acknowledge an All~Hidden hand as extra special.

+1F All Chows: this could be written "122 all chows and a worthless pair", unless the pair is Dragons or Own Wind or Prevailing Wind; obviously it will always have four chows.

+2F Self~Pick on Last~Tile : this is written "45 winning tile drawn from wall" with "122 going out with last tile of wall". The table will show "Tiles Left= 14" while the player "draws from wall" and if they self~pick their winning tile (thus avoiding a stalemate) they are awarded these Faan.

+2F Supplementary Tile with Self Pick : this is written "122 going out with a supplementary tile" with "45 winning tile drawn from wall". Players at the table would witness the situation: a player "melds a kong" (either exposed or concealed) then they are Going Out with the replacement tile upon Self~Pick ("draws from wall"). The Yahoo tables mention neither FlowerPick nor SeasonPick, so the KongPick is the only way to claim a Supplementary Tile in this system.

+2F Own Flower And Own Season : this is written "122 flower of own wind. 122 season of own wind". The player will have both the flower and the season with red and blue indices corresponding to their chair: 1=East, 2=South, 3=West, 4=North.

+2F Flower Kong or Season Kong : this is written "128 all flowers" or "128 all seasons". FlowerKong is all four flowers with red English numbers (PlumBlossom, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, BambooShoots); SeasonKong is all four seasons with blue English numbers (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).

+2F two pongs/kongs dragons : the winning hand tiles will show two pongs/kongs of any dragons (red, green, white). If either or both pongs/kongs are concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of dragons" for those which are hidden; if any are exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus double for those which are melded and revealed.

+2F pong/kong Double Wind : the winning hand tiles will show a pong/kong of wind which corresponds simultaneously to the Wind Of The Round indicated in the upper left quadrant of the game table screen AND to the player's chair. Thus, during every hand there will always be only one player who happens to be sitting at DoubleWind position. If a pong/kong of DoubleWind is concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of prevailing wind. 122 pung of own wind"; if it's exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus doubles.

+3F Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick@Last~Tile of wall : this is written "45 winning tile drawn from wall" with "122 going out with last tile of wall" with "122 going out with a supplementary tile". In this very lucky situation the table would show "Tiles Left= 15" while a player "melds a kong" then they draw their replacement tile so the table shows "Tiles Left= 14" and if this tile which they self~pick is their winning~tile then they are awarded these excellent Faan.

+3F OwnFlower~plus~SeasonKong, or FlowerKong~plus~OwnSeason : this is either written as "122 flower of own wind" with "122 season of own wind" with "128 all seasons"; or as "122 flower of own wind" with "122 season of own wind" with "128 all flowers". The incredibly lucky winner will have a garden with at least five important bonus tiles: they could have their own flower with its red English number next to the complete set of all four seasons with blue English numbers; or they could have their own season with its blue English number next to the complete set of all four flowers with red English numbers. The 2Faan from the FlowerKong are added to the 1Faan from OwnSeason to make 3F total; or the 2Faan from the SeasonKong are added to the 1Faan from OwnFlower to make 3F total.

+3F two pongs/kongs Dragons and pair of third Dragons : this will show "45 pair of dragons" with winning tiles obviously containing pair of dragons plus two pongs/kongs of the other dragons (combination of all three red/green/white will be obvious). If either or both pongs/kongs are concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of dragons" for those which are hidden; if any are exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus double for those which are melded and revealed.

+3F All Pongs/kongs (no chows) : this is written "122 four pungs". Of course, the Yahoo text always refers to "pungs", even though some of them could perhaps be Kongs.

+3F Semi~Pure : this is written "122 one suit with honours". It is plain to see that it is not mixing suits; it only contains one kind of suit tiles, with any winds and/or dragons. Many people call this a "clean hand".

+6F three pongs/kongs Dragons : the winning hand tiles will obviously show all three superior pongs/kongs of dragons (red, green, white). If any of the dragons pongs/kongs are concealed, Yahoo says "122 pung of dragons" for those which are hidden; if any are exposed, Yahoo does not award bonus double for those which are melded and revealed.

+6F pongs/kongs of three winds with pair of fourth winds : the winning hand tiles will obviously show three pongs/kongs of winds and a pair of the fourth winds. The other pong/kong/chow could be suit tiles. This would result in "122 one suit with honours" on the Yahoo system, automatically creating a hand which is Semi~Pure (with a chow in the remaining suit tiles) or Semi~Pure~All~Pongs (with a pong/kong in the remaining suit tiles).

+6F pongs/kongs of all four winds : the winning hand tiles will obviously show four pongs/kongs of all winds. If the remainder is a worthless pair of suit tiles then this results in "122 four pungs" with "122 one suit with honours" on the Yahoo system. As discussed in the charts above, this would automatically create a combination of Four~Winds with All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure, so 6F+6F would effectively give you a basis of 12F+ in this superior~four~winds arrangement.

+6F All~Terminals~and~Honours~Pongs : this is written "122 four pungs" with "122 all terminals or honours", and clearly will not contain any Simples. If it is not mixing suits, it would indicate "one suit with honours", and would be considered Semi~Pure~All~Pongs instead, as described below.

+6F Semi~Pure~All~Pongs : this is written "122 four pungs" with "122 one suit with honours". This is also the same text which Yahoo would use to indicate All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure(+6F).

+6F only one pure suit : this is written "128 only one suit", and is obviously a pure hand which has neither winds nor dragons. It can be Pure Bamboo, or Pure Circles, or Pure Myriads.

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== DEFINITIONS ==

Going Out = player has four chows/pongs/kongs and a pair. When a player successfully combines five such items, they are able to click the "MahJong" button to win. Yahoo indicates the winning~tile with a blue highlighted border. When you play on tables with Faan~counting, the host will not permit you to click the "MahJong" button unless you have at least the minimum Faan requirement (such as 5F, 3F, 7F, or whatever style they dictate). If you do not have the minimum amount when you are Going Out, this is considered an illegal violation, and hosts might boot you out of the chair. Also keep in mind that many beginner players do not recognize all the possible ways to count and verify Faan, so you might need to explain your situation before you click the button to win. A table with expert players will generally acknowledge every possible scenario using advanced factors such as total Concealment, Robbing an exposed kong, picking a Supplementary tile, and arranging anything from KFC all the way up to Classic Limits. When playing with beginners it's considered polite to ask the host if they recognize your situation and acknowledge the ways to verify the Faan in case you expect to win by any unusual move. Encourage your friends to attempt the amazing Special Limits and all sorts of Faan elements!

Honours Tiles = Dragons and Winds. These are the tiles which are not part of any suits.
Dragons = RedDragons (chung), GreenDragons (fa), WhiteDragons (pai).
Winds = EastWinds, SouthWinds, WestWinds, NorthWinds; they can potentially be PrevailingWinds, or OwnWinds, or DoubleWinds (when Prevailing Wind equals Own Wind).

Suits Tiles = Bamboos (sticks/bams/boos/birds), Circles (cookies/dots/pizzas/balls), Myriads (wan/man/characters/kraks/millions).
Terminals Tiles = 1 and 9 from suits tiles.
Simples Tiles = 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 from suits tiles.

Self Pick = Going Out with winning tile drawn from wall.
Supplementary Tile = make a kong, then replacement tile drawn from back of wall completes your hand so you are Going Out. [unlike tiles in real life, the Yahoo virtual system only recognizes KongPick, and doesn't mention FlowerPick or SeasonPick]
Last Tile = wall indicates "Tiles Left: 14" (this refers to the 14 unused tiles in the Dead Wall) while winner is Going Out.
Robbing a Kong = opponent melds an exposed kong with tile which you rob to complete a chow so you are Going Out.
All Hidden = player does not reveal any tiles until they are Going Out. Yahoo shows all concealed tiles to the left of the pair ("eyes"). No tiles are revealed to the right of the wider space after the pair, near any optional flowers and seasons. This is winning without any exposed pongs/kongs/chows.

Own Flower = PlumBlossom/East/1, Orchid/South/2, Chrysanthemum/West/3, BambooShoots/North/4. Yahoo uses RED English numbers and Blue Chinese ideographs.
Own Season = Spring/East/1, Summer/South/2, Autumn/West/3, Winter/North/4. Yahoo uses BLUE English numbers and Red Chinese ideographs.
Flower Kong = all four flowers. Yahoo uses RED English numbers and Blue Chinese ideographs (PlumBlossom, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, BambooShoots).
Season Kong = all four seasons. Yahoo uses BLUE English numbers and Red Chinese ideographs (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).

Worthless pair = pair of suit tiles; or pair of honours tiles which are: NOT dragon, NOT prevailing wind, NOT own wind.
One Chance tile = Yahoo awards this when the winning tile forms a pair (the "eyes") OR when the winning tile is the ONLY possible tile to complete the middle of a chow (such as the "4" in a "3-4-5", or the "6" in a "5-6-7") OR when the winning tile is the ONLY possible tile to fill the inner end of a chow containing a terminal (such as the "3" in a "1-2-3", or the "7" in a "7-8-9") OR when the winning tile is the ONLY possible remaining tile which could complete a pair or chow for the hand to be Going Out. This adds to your Tile Points, but does not affect your Faan.

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== EARNING Faan with Five categories of elements ==
  1. WINNING TILE
  2. FLOWERS & SEASONS
  3. DRAGONS
  4. WINDS
  5. ARRANGEMENTS
On the Yahoo system of MahJong all Faan elements have values of either 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, or Limit (13 and beyond), and there are numerous permutations which might take advantage of multiple categories simultaneously.

Many elements can be combined easily. For example, any arrangement of tiles might also have some useful Flowers and Seasons. You can have All~Pongs which might contain some pongs of dragons and useful winds. You could have any arrangement in which you Self~Pick the winning tile from the wall. By combining various elements, you must earn enough to qualify for the table requirements, such as a 5F game expecting a minimum level of 5 or more Faan to be Going Out. A goal of 13F+ is the best possible "magic number" (Maximum Faan).

Many elements obviously can NOT be combined. For instance, if you have All~Chows then you won't have any pongs/kongs honours. If you have Pure~Suit then you won't have any honours. If you are Robbing a Kong, it won't happen on the Last~Tile; and it would complete a chow, so you wouldn't have All~Pongs. As you can see, when you achieve some elements, you might exclude the possibility of certain others.

Some elements MUST be combined automatically. For example, if a hand is All~Hidden then it will be combined with any other arrangement. You would combine All~Chows with hands which are Pure or Semi~Pure or KFC~Chicken. Consider this: if you have Minor~Four~Winds, then your remaining tiles could either form a chow in a suit (resulting in Semi~Pure hand), or they could form a pong/kong in a suit (resulting in Semi~Pure~All~Pongs), or they could be a pong/kong of dragon (resulting in Limit~All~Honours). If you have Major~Four~Winds with any worthless pair, it is automatically combining Four~Winds(+6F) with All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure(+6F) and thus would always earn 12F+; if the superior Four~Winds were accompanied by a pair of dragon, you'd achieve Limit~All~Honours(13F+). You can see that some circumstances inevitably result in specific combinations.

Some elements are ALREADY combined implicitly. As you know, going out with a Supplementary Tile would occur with Self~Pick. Any FlowerKong would already contain OwnFlower, and any SeasonKong would already contain OwnSeason, so those Faan are already incorporated into the superior element. When a player has Semi~Pure~All~Pongs, they are already combining the Semi~Pure quality with the All~Pongs quality simultaneously. When a player has All~Terminals&Honours on Yahoo, it is already assumed that their arrangement begins with all~pongs. In many circumstances, you will find that certain superior elements are awarded with Faan which supercede the more basic elements.

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----- Calculation Charts for Winning Hand Formations -----

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* KFC~Chicken Hand: 0F+
It has a mixture of two or three suits, with or without honours; it has any pair, and at least one chow with any three other chows/pongs/kongs. "KFC" refers to "Kentucky Fried Chicken", implying a big bucket of stuff thrown together, mixed up, without any consistency. This is the most basic MahJong formation, and its lack of consistency causes it to earn 0F+ (Zero Faan until you add other elements).

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: any combination of two or three suits, and at least one chow.]

0F+ ~ KFC~Chicken, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong any dragon
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden
+1F ~ All Chows (no pongs/kongs)

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ two pongs/kongs dragons
+2F ~ pongs/kongs both OwnWind & PrevailingWind; or pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons plus pair of third Dragons

+6F ~ all three pongs/kongs Dragons

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* All~Chows Hand: 1F+
It has all four chows, and any Pair; so it has no pongs/kongs. All~Chows Hand will combine with Pure~Suit(+6F), or Semi~Pure~Suit(+3F), or KFC~chicken~mixed~suits(+0F). It earns 1Faan+ for having all four chows and any pair; note that Yahoo will award Bonus Double Tile Points if it's also "non-scoring". In order to be considered "non-scoring" on Yahoo, the pair must be "worthless", so the pair could be any suits tiles or any winds which are not Prevailing and not Own Wind to achieve this bonus. [In this formation Yahoo is strict about the Worthless Pair not being good honours, but does not restrict against Self Pick nor against One Chance Winning Tile; don't be misled by their term "non-scoring". This concerns the Tile Points, but is not relevant to the Faan.]

[The Yahoo winning screen might show: "122 all chows and a worthless pair", unless the pair is Dragon or Own Wind or Prevailing Wind; obviously this hand will always have four chows.]

1F+ ~ All~Chows, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong

+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ Semi-Pure (one suit with any pair of honours)

+6F ~ only one Pure Suit

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* Semi~Pure~Suit Hand: 3F+
It has same suit tiles with honours tiles, with any four pongs/kongs/chows and a pair. Some players call this arrangement "half-suit", some refer to it as a "clean hand", while Yahoo calls this "one suit with honours". It simply is not mixing suits together, although it has various winds and/or dragons. If a clean hand is void of honours, then it would become a Pure hand instead, which is a more expensive arrangement (that category is described further below). This Semi~Pure style is one of the most basic hands which earns 3F+.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 one suit with honours".]

3F+ ~ Semi~Pure~Suit, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong any Dragon
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden
+1F ~ All Chows (no pongs/kongs, only a pair of honours)

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary Tile&Self Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons
+2F ~ pongs/kongs both OwnWind & PrevailingWind; or pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons plus pair of third Dragons
+3F ~ All Pongs/kongs (no chows)

+6F ~ all three pongs/kongs Dragons
+6F ~ pongs/kongs three winds and pair of fourth winds
+6F ~ pongs/kongs of all four winds

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* Mix~Suits~All~Pongs Hand (with simples): 3F+
It has all four pongs/kongs and a pair, from any mixture of two or three suits, with or without honours, with no chows. (It contains some Simples suit tiles, because if a hand only has Terminals and Honours tiles then it is considered to be All~Terminals~And~Honours~Pongs Hand instead, described below). Many players refer to this basic mixed~pongs arrangement as "simple~mix" pongs, and it is one of the most ordinary arrangements which earns 3F+.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 four pungs".]

3F+ ~ Mix~Suits~All~Pongs, containing simples, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong any Dragon
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons
+2F ~ pongs/kongs both OwnWind & PrevailingWind; or pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons and pair of third Dragons

+6F ~ all three pongs/kongs Dragons

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* Minor~3~Dragons Hand: 3F+
It has two pongs/kongs of dragons and a pair of third dragons, with any two other pongs/kongs/chows.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "45 pair of dragons", and the two pongs/kongs of dragons tiles with pair of third dragon tiles will be obvious.]

3F+ ~ Minor~Dragons, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ All Pongs/kongs (mixed suits, with simples, no chows)
+3F ~ Semi-Pure suit hand

+6F ~ All~terminals~&~Honours~pongs/kongs (mixed suits, no simples; thus two pongs terminals in different suits)
+6F ~ Semi~Pure~All~pongs/kongs (one suit with honours, no chows; thus a pong of suit tiles plus another pong in the same suit or a wind pong)

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* Major~3~Dragons Hand: 6F+
It has pongs/kongs of all three dragons, with any other pong/kong/chow, and any pair.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: the obvious three pongs/kongs of all dragons-- red, green, white.]

6F+ ~ Major~Dragons all three pongs/kongs, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ All Pongs/kongs (mixed suits, with simples, no chows)
+3F ~ Semi-Pure suit hand

+6F ~ All~terminals~&~Honours~pongs/kongs (mixed suits, no simples; thus a pong and a pair of terminals in different suits)
+6F ~ Semi~Pure~All~pongs/kongs (one suit with honours, no chows; thus a pong of suit tiles plus a pair in the same suit or a pair of wind)
+6F ~ All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure (the three dragons pongs plus any wind pong plus a worthless pair of suit tiles)

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* All~Terminals~&~Honours~Pongs Hand: 6F+
It has all four pongs/kongs and a pair, mixing any two or three suits, using only terminals tiles with honours tiles, no simples, no chows. If it is not mixing suits, then it is considered to be Semi~Pure~All~Pongs instead (described below); either way, these arrangements earn 6F+. This formation already contains Faan for having All~Pongs with No~Simples, so don't confuse it with simple~mix pongs (a cheaper arrangement of 3F+ described above).

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 four pungs" and "122 all terminals or honours".]

6F+ ~ All~Terminals~&~Honours~Pongs, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong any Dragon
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons
+2F ~ pongs/kongs both OwnWind & PrevailingWind; or pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons and pair of third Dragons (with two pongs terminals in different suits)

+6F ~ all three pongs/kongs Dragons (with a pong of terminals and a pair of terminals in different suits)

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* Semi~Pure~All~Pongs Hand: 6F+
It has same suit tiles with honours tiles, and must have all four pongs/kongs and a pair, with no chows. This hand is created by combining Semi~Pure(3F+) with All~Pongs(+3F) to achieve 6F+.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 four pungs" and "122 one suit with honours".]

6F+ ~ Semi~Pure~All~Pongs, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong any Dragon
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons
+2F ~ pongs/kongs both OwnWind & PrevailingWind; or pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons and pair of third Dragons

+6F ~ all three pongs/kongs Dragons
+6F ~ pongs/kongs three winds and pair of fourth winds (with only a pong of suit tiles)
+6F ~ pongs/kongs of all four winds (with only a worthless pair of suit tiles)

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* All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure~Suit Hand: 6F+ [always yielding more than 6F]
It has all four pongs/kongs of honours, with any worthless pair of suit tiles. Some players refer to this arrangement as "honour~mix" or "mixed~honour" pongs. These magnificent hands earn 6F+ (the same as Semi~Pure~All~Pongs) and they'll also always earn some Faan from the lovely honours pongs contained within, so they guarantee more than 6F.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 four pungs", and "122 one suit with honours", and all four of the pongs/kongs will obviously be winds and/or dragons.]

6F+ ~ All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ pong/kong any Dragon
+1F ~ pong/kong Own Wind or Prevailing Wind
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong
+2F ~ two pongs/kongs Dragons
+2F ~ pongs/kongs both OwnWind & PrevailingWind; or pong/kong DoubleWind

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason

+6F ~ pongs/kongs of all four winds (with a worthless pair of suit tiles)
+6F ~ all three pongs/kongs Dragons (with a pong of wind and a worthless pair of suit tiles)

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* Pure~Suit Hand: 6F+
It has any four pongs/kongs/chows and a pair of all same suit tiles, with no winds and no dragons. It will either be exclusively Bamboo, or Circles, or Myriads, using no other kind of tiles.

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "128 only one suit".]

6F+ ~ Pure~Suit, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ All Hidden
+1F ~ All Chows (no pongs/kongs)

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ All Pongs/kongs (no chows)

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* Minor~4~Winds Hand: 6F+ [always yielding more than 6F]
It has three pongs/kongs winds with pair of the fourth winds, and any other pong/kong/chow of suit tiles. As a result, it will *always* earn additional Faan beyond the 6F+ from four~winds. If the suit tiles form a chow, then it will automatically earn +3F for Semi~Pure, yielding 9F+. If the suit tiles form a pong/kong instead, then it will automatically earn +6F for Semi~Pure~All~Pongs, yielding 12F+. Note that if the Minor~4~Winds are combined with a pong/kong of dragon instead of suit tiles, it would become a magnificent Limit hand of All~Honours instead, which is a more expensive category (described further below).

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: the obvious three pongs/kongs of winds and the pair of fourth winds, and "122 one suit with honours".]

6F+ ~ Minor~Four~Winds, to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Robbing a Kong
+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason
+3F ~ Semi~Pure as remaining suit tiles form a chow

+6F ~ Semi~Pure~All~Pongs as remaining suit tiles form a pong/kong

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* Major~4~Winds Hand: 12F+ [always adding 6F+6F to guarantee 12F+]
It has all four pongs/kongs of winds with any worthless pair of suit tiles. As a result, it will automatically combine an arrangement of All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure(6F+) with superior Four~Winds(+6F), thus effectively earning 12Faan+. Note that if the Major~4~Winds are combined with a pair of dragon instead of a pair of suit tiles, it would become a stupendous Limit hand of All~Honours instead, which is a more expensive category (described further below).

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 four pungs" and "122 one suit with honours", and they will obviously be pongs/kongs of all winds.]

12F+ ~ Major~Four~Winds, combining All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure(6F+) and Four~Winds(+6F), to which you may add these:

+1F ~ Self Pick
+1F ~ Last Tile discarded
+1F ~ No Flowers And No Seasons
+1F ~ Own Flower or Own Season
+1F ~ All Hidden

+2F ~ Self~Pick on Last~Tile
+2F ~ Supplementary~Tile&Self~Pick
+2F ~ Own Flower And Own Season
+2F ~ Flower Kong or Season Kong

+3F ~ Supplementary&Self~Pick@Last~Tile
+3F ~ OwnFlower plus SeasonKong; or FlowerKong plus OwnSeason

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* Limit All~8~Flowers~&~Seasons Hand: 13F+
It has Flower Kong AND Season Kong, going out with any arrangement of four pongs/kongs/chows and a pair. Many players refer to this hand as having "Lucky 8 bonus tiles" (or "Eight Guardians") as these tiles form the ultimate bouquet! No matter how the hand may be going out with any possible combinations of four pongs/kongs/chows plus a pair (from an arrangement of KFC all the way up to the Limit) the 8 Flowers & Seasons would make it absolutely amazing!

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "75 for flowers and seasons" with "122 flower of own wind. 122 season of own wind. 128 all flowers. 128 all seasons".]

13F+ ~ Limit All~8~Flowers~&~Seasons, to which you may add other factors, but the hand already has Maximum Faan. Elements such as Arrangements, Winds, Dragons, and the Winning Tile are notable but superfluous.

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* Limit All~Kongs 18~melded~tiles Hand: 13F+
It has all four KONGS with any pair. Many players refer to this amazing arrangement (four quadruplets plus a pair) as "18~Monks" or "Lucky 18 Tiles" Melded!

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "122 four pungs", and they will obviously be all KONGS, and the pair containing "45 one chance winning tile".]

13F+ ~ Limit All~Kongs, to which you may add other factors, but the hand already has Maximum Faan. Elements such as All~Hidden, Winds, Dragons, Flowers and Seasons, and the Winning Tile are notable but superfluous.

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* Limit All~Honours Hand: 13F+
It has all four pongs/kongs honours with a pair of honours tiles, no suits. This hand will contain five flavors of tiles, and they will all be Winds and Dragons! The wall contains seven varieties of honours: EastWind, SouthWind, WestWind, NorthWind, RedDragon, GreenDragon, and WhiteDragon. In order to win this Limit hand you will need to exclusively arrange five of these, which is an extremely difficult challenge no matter what style is being played at the table!

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "limit - all honours".]

13F+ ~ Limit All~Honours, to which you may add other factors, but the hand already has Maximum Faan. Elements such as All~Hidden, Winds, Dragons, Flowers and Seasons, and the Winning Tile are notable but superfluous.

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* Limit All~Terminals Hand: 13F+
It has all four pongs/kongs terminals with a pair of terminals suits tiles, no simples, no honours. This hand will contain five flavors of tiles, and they will all be 1's and 9's! The wall contains six varieties of terminals: 1~Bamboo~birds, 9~Bamboo~sticks, 1~Circles, 9~Circles, 1~Myriads, and 9~Myriads. In order to win this Limit hand you will need to exclusively arrange five of these, which is an extremely difficult challenge no matter what style is being played at the table!

[The Yahoo winning screen will show: "limit - all terminals".]

13F+ ~ Limit All~Terminals, to which you may add other factors, but the hand already has Maximum Faan. Elements such as All~Hidden, Flowers and Seasons, and the Winning Tile are notable but superfluous.

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* Advanced "Classic" Limit Hands: 13F+ [recognized by expert players]
These are some of the "Classic" Limit Hands which are recognized by many players around the world as automatically earning 13F+, and they can be verified on the Yahoo system:
Additional elements are superfluous in Limit Hands. Any hand calculated beyond 13F is generally referred to as "Maximum Faan", regardless of how much it could earn in excess. Theoretically, certain amazing arrangements could reach a higher sum; but if you have any situation with Maximum Faan, then that is quite an excellent achievement. Winning high amounts of Tile Points is a primary objective of MahJong at Yahoo Games, but accomplishing a hand which reaches the "magic number" of 13F+ is also a goal of advanced players.

There are many other sorts of "Special Hands" which players could create with tiles in real life, but the Yahoo system does not recognize these. Yahoo only permits players to be Going Out with four chows/pongs/kongs and a pair. Nevertheless, if you happen to achieve a beautiful arrangement, you could take a snapshot and save the picture to share with the other players in the Lion's Lair. For example, in real life these would earn 13F+:
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== YAHOO SCORING== Tile Points:

Tile Points calculation: == YAHOO Winning Screen CODES ==

Yahoo shows the scores on the winning screen with special code numbers and descriptive phrases of each scoring item, written below the players' hands. There are three types of codes:
  1. The two-digit codes from 45 to 75 are Tile Points additions offset by 43. The values of +2 through +32 are determined by subtracting 43 from from these two-digit codes.
  2. The three-digit codes are multiplier codes. The bonus of X2 is shown by a "122" code, and the bonus of X8 is shown by a "128" code.
  3. The code word "limit" indicates that the hand has won the Table Limit maximum number of Tile Points because of its exceptional special composition. The other code combinations on these "limit" hands will basically become irrelevant as they are superceded by the maximum award.
These are all the ways Yahoo encodes the awards of Tile Points: Yahoo describes their system as "mixed payment", which means points can theoretically be awarded to any three of the four players, no matter which person is the winner Going Out. The winner will collect payments from the other three non-winner opponents. Then the highest non-winner will collect the difference between their score and the other two cheaper non-winners' scores. Finally, the next (middle) non-winner will collect the difference between their score and the lowest non-winner's cheap score. Unfortunately, the lowest non-winner collects nothing from anybody. Always remember that you might score valuable Tile Points when you have beautiful flowers and seasons, useful concealed honours pongs/kongs, and so forth. This could affect the choices you make and the strategies you apply.

The person in East chair always receives and/or pays DOUBLE points. So if you are in East chair when you are Going Out, all three opponents will pay you double. If you are sitting in East chair when someone else is winning, you will pay them double, and the differences between your score and the other non-winners' will also be doubled. [Unlike real life, Yahoo has East chair deal the tiles on odd Hands#1&#3, then West chair deals the tiles on even Hands#2&#4; this only affects the rotation of chairs, and does not change the fact that East is the person who pays and receives double. This is discussed further in the Strategies section below.]

Yahoo shows all of these calculations in detail on the Score screen, after you finish reviewing the Winning screen. A chart is displayed in which a grid contains the four players' names horizontally and vertically. In each row or column for the winner, you will see the amount they collect from their opponents (doubled in the case of East). In each row or column for the non-winners, you will see the difference between their own points and their cheaper non-winner opponents' points (doubled in the case of East) with higher (expensive) scores collecting from lower (cheaper) scores.

This system is virtually based on the idea of exchanging imaginary chips or token markers. The players begin a fresh game with 2000 points each, so you could imagine there is a total of 8000 points "in the pot". As the game moves along, the aggregate total of all the scores will always remain consistently at this sum of 8000. However, some players might lose so many points that they wind up with a negative score. Meanwhile, other players might happen to have many thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands of points. But don't ever give up! When you move along from East Hand#1 all the way to North Hand#4, you should always consider the possibility that you could somehow win a fabulous hand and capture thousands of points from your opponents. Never underestimate the notion that the scores might shift drastically, until you finally see the table reach "Game Over" and the ultimate tally is displayed.

When a player is going out with a Limit Hand of All~Terminals or All~Honours, the other factors basically become irrelevant. Yahoo might mention "four pungs" and "all terminals or honours", but this is superceded by the LIMIT. When a player has Limit~All~Honours, Yahoo has a quirk showing text for "one suit with honours" because their algorithm finds no mixture of suits, but this is meaningless in the context of the LIMIT.

In the Yahoo system of MahJong, three of the four players at the table could be paid for their Tile Points, including two of those people who are not the actual winner Going Out. Any player could add up some score for their pongs/kongs, pairs of Dragons and OwnWinds and PrevailingWinds, Flowers and Seasons. Any player could receive bonus doubles multiplying their points if they have concealed pongs/kongs of Dragons, OwnWinds, PrevailingWinds, and if they have OwnFlower, OwnSeason, FlowerKong, or SeasonKong. They don't need to be Going Out to score these payments from opponents with cheaper hands. However, only the actual winner of each hand can earn any Faan. To achieve any Faan from zero thru thirteen, you must be Going Out with some complete arrangement of tiles. Your winning tile will have a blue rectangular border. If you are not the actual winner Going Out, you will not earn any Faan; but your beautiful tiles could still theoretically manage to score 1000 Tile Points or more if you hold super flowers and/or honours.

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STRATEGIES for all styles of Yahoo MahJong

Skillful players might analyze the methods used by Yahoo to calculate the Tile Points. They see the important differences between exposed pongs/kongs of dragons versus concealed dragons. They see the drastic difference in scores when pong/kong of DoubleWind is concealed versus exposed. They learn how Yahoo can award super points to any player with good FlowerKong or SeasonKong even when that player isn't the actual winner Going Out. They keep in mind that a hand of All~Chows is awarded double points on the Yahoo system if the pair is "worthless" and the tiles are thus considered to be "non-scoring". They keep track of the Flowers and Seasons held by their opponents, and try to deduce the arrangements of honours tiles and/or suits tiles concealed in other players' hands-- because if it becomes necessary to lose, it might be better to lose to an opponent with "cheap" tiles rather than lose to somebody with a super "expensive" arrangement. The Yahoo system is slightly different from the way most people play with real tiles at home, and you might notice it has a variety of interesting quirks.

During a fast-paced game, experienced players will often recognize when their own tiles are hopeless, perhaps even when there are still many dozens of Tiles Left in the wall; so they might quietly choose to destroy their own hand and attempt to force a Stalemate. Remember that it is better to win Zero Tile Points and re-deal, rather than lose to an opponent's expensive hand!

Players might also become concerned when they can see an opponent has exposed six or more tiles, and very cautious when nine or more tiles are revealed in front of any player; when that opponent is already exposing two or three chows/pongs/kongs, they are likely to be calling for a winning tile. Clever players will be defensive and try to avoid throwing that winning tile if they suspect any danger. Wise players frequently try to keep their tiles concealed as long as possible, because they don't want to reveal any clues to their opponents, and they might earn higher Tile Points this way. People often focus on their own tiles, while missing the warning signs that an opponent is ready to win sooner; it's a good idea to be alert to the possible jeopardy when discarding any tile. It's also helpful to use deductive reasoning when looking at the window of discards and estimating what your opponents hold, because you'd wish to avoid putting yourself in the position of waiting for important tiles which could not possibly be remaining in the wall.

Playing MahJong requires more than just counting Faan in your hand. It's a game of concentration, flexibility, and quickly changing decisions. The Yahoo system can move along at a very fast pace. Unlike tiles in real life, the Yahoo virtual version of the game allows us to instantly shuffle and re-deal after a stalemate. The conveniences of the automated virtual gaming system of MahJong at Yahoo Games make it easy to play styles such as 5F, 6F, 7F, and other games with high Faan expectations. Because there is no actual money being gambled you might enjoy playing ambitiously, allowing the possibility of certain dangerous moves for high stakes. Of course, you will also learn that lofty goals are hard to reach when your opponents are quickly Going Out much sooner with cheaper arrangements. Much of your attention is on their possible moves, while you hope to conceal your intentions before they become too obvious. When playing styles with high levels of Faan~counting such as 5F and 7F you might appreciate this notion: by using simple logic and thinking about the process of elimination when proceeding through the wall, you can see that it's usually easy to block your opponents but very difficult to win!

The element of chance makes MahJong interesting, but luck is definitely not the only issue. Every player has to use tactics in an attempt to succeed, while trying to avoid the choices which give the game away to an opponent. The only situation in which luck would be the determining factor would be if somebody's tiles were dealt as a perfect hand immediately, so they could be Going Out instantly without ever discarding. As soon as a player discards their very first tile, all subsequent actions will result from the consequences of their choices and opponents' interactions. The tiles have already been randomly shuffled and built into the wall before they are dealt; so after the hand proceeds, it makes no actual difference whether anybody feels like they are "lucky" or "unlucky".

Miscellaneous Notes:

If two or three players are calling for the SAME tile to win from an opponent's discard, Yahoo awards the tile to the player sitting clockwise from whoever threw it out. This is backwards from the way people usually play in real life. Most people using real tiles at home would award the tile in a counter-clockwise direction because that is the regular order of play around the table. However, the Yahoo program is somewhat "upside-down", and will always give the winning tile CLOCKWISE when more than one person tries to claim it.

If you are already on the Last~Tile of the wall (dead wall "TilesLeft=14") then it's actually too late to meld a kong. Attempting to kong#14 causes an error which freezes the table, forcing everyone to Stand Up and then Sit again; then you must discard the erroneous tile.

If a winner is Going Out with Self~Pick, they often mention "sp" in the chat dialogue. But this is not truly necessary! Opponents can read the table's text: "draws from wall", and will find "winning tile drawn from wall" under the rack with the Winning Tile's blue highlighted border. You don't need to ask anybody "did you sp?", because you can verify the text next to their name.

If you make a kong and the replacement tile causes you to be Going Out, you have Supplementary&Self~Pick which earns +2F altogether. Yahoo awards bonus double Tile Points for this KongPick achievement. In real life, many players at home would also theoretically earn a Supplementary bonus when Going Out from a FlowerPick or SeasonPick, but the Yahoo system does not recognize this! KongPick is the only way to earn the Supplementary bonus on the Yahoo system, and the Faan can be confirmed when a winner has KongPick because the table would show "melds a kong" then their text would indicate "going out with supplementary tile". Beginners sometimes don't notice the value of the KongPick, so you will often see experts mention "kong~sp" when they're Going Out with a Supplementary tile.

If you have a single pong/kong of dragons, it earns +1F regardless of whether or not you have another pair of dragons. If you have two pongs/kongs of dragons then you would earn +2F. If you have two pongs/kongs dragons plus a pair of the third dragons, you would earn +3F ("Minor~Dragons" achievement). If you have all three pongs/kongs of dragons, you would earn +6F (superior "Major~Dragons" achievement).

If you have KFC~Chicken, it could still theoretically be possible to earn 5F+, provided you have enough super Flowers, valuable winning tile, useful honours, or other unusually good elements. But if you reveal some tiles during the game showing KFC, many beginner hosts will boot you from the table! To avoid being booted, you'll have to stay concealed, or explain how you have enough Faan to be calling for a Winning Tile. It is tremendously difficult to earn 5Faan+ and have KFC~Chicken at the same time, but experts know these arrangements can sometimes bring surprising rewards!

If your hand looks like All~Terminals&Honours~Pongs, but is not mixing suits, then it would actually be considered Semi~Pure~All~Pongs instead. Either way, it would earn 6F+. If your hand consists of only terminals~pongs with a pair of terminals in mixed suits and you manage to void honours and simples tiles, this achievement becomes Limit~All~Terminals(13F+) and Yahoo would automatically award the table's maximum Tile Points!

If you have any four pongs/kongs honours with a worthless pair of suit tiles, you have All~Honours~Pongs~Semi~Pure earning 6F+. This is somewhat similar to Semi~Pure~All~Pongs(6F+), but will guarantee to effectively yield more than 6F, because the Winds and Dragons add valuable elements. If you have four pongs/kongs honours while you also manage to include a pair of honours and void any suit tiles, this achievement becomes Limit~All~Honours(13F+) and Yahoo would automatically award the table's maximum Tile Points!

Semi~Pure Hand (3F+) with no chows becomes Semi~Pure~All~Pongs(6F+) instead.

Pure~Suit Hand (6F+) can be improved by combining with All~Chows(+1F) or All~Pongs(+3F).

All~Chows(1F+) can also be combined with Semi~Pure(+3F). But if you arrange All~Chows(1F+) with KFC~Chicken(+0F), you would need some super situation in order to earn 5F+ (a combination of elements such as concealment, Flowers and Seasons, and valuable Winning Tile) . You would amaze your opponents by achieving 5F+ and KFC at the same time!

If you have All~Pongs containing some simples and it is mixing suits, then it would earn 3F+. But if you have All~Pongs and it only contains one suit with honours, it would become Semi~Pure~All~Pongs(6F+). If you have All~Pongs with mixed suits and honours but it contains NO simples, it would become All~Terminals&Honours(6F+). If you have All~Pongs and it only contains one pure suit with NO honours, you would have Pure~Suit(6F+) plus All~Pongs(+3F) achieving 9F+. If you have All~Pongs of honours with a pair of honours (thus NO suits), your hand becomes Limit~All~Honours(13F+). If you have All~Pongs of terminals with a pair of terminals (NO simples and NO honours), it becomes Limit~All~Terminals(13F+). If you have four KONGS and any pair, you have special All~Kongs~Hand ("Lucky 18 Melded Tiles") earning 13F+!

If you are incredibly lucky and you win on the First~Tile in play with your original tiles dealt as a HeavenlyHand, EarthlyHand, or NetherlyHand, i would recommend that you take multiple snapshots of the situation. Before you click the "MahJong" button, you could take a picture of the entire screen showing your tiles dealt on the table, as well as the window of Discards (which would display your position having none). After clicking the "MahJong" button, you could take another snapshot, showing the entire winning screen with all the players' tiles, names, and text for Tile Points scored; no matter how cheap the Tile Points would be on the Yahoo system, it would be amazing to see anybody winning with a First~Tile. In reality, the only arrangement of tiles which could result entirely as a matter of LUCK (rather than tactical skills) would be such a HeavenlyHand, EarthlyHand, or NetherlyHand.

When most people play with real tiles at home, the East chair is usually the dealer; and when the dealer wins, they are allowed to remain in their East chair. When the dealer loses, everybody rotates to the next chair. But the Yahoo system is slightly different. On the Yahoo table, East is the dealer during Hand#1 and Hand#3 of each round, but West is the dealer during Hand#2 and Hand#4 of each round. If the dealer wins (whether East-odd or West-even) they keep their chair and continue dealing. When the dealer loses, everybody rotates chairs and moves along to the next hand. You will notice the Hand# remains constant as long as the dealer is winning, and it only advances to the next Hand# when the dealer loses. Despite this quirk of the Yahoo system, the double payments for East chair are constant, regardless of whether East is dealing (odd hand#) or not dealing (even hand#).

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Common varieties of Faan~counting at Yahoo MahJong

The simplest way to play MahJong on Yahoo is to ignore the issue of Faan, and just focus on winning Tile Points. People enjoy a game known as "KFC" which permits 0F+, and any Faan from Zero thru Maximum are unmentioned. "Kentucy Fried Chicken" implies a big bucket with a variety of items tossed together, and no consistency is required to win. Of course, higher Tile Points are awarded to the finer arrangements and more valuable tiles. The host can create the table with any maximum amount of possible Tile Points up to 65536, and the Yahoo default is 500. This can be played with or without Flowers and Seasons. Hosts can also make up all different kinds of requirements which stipulate conditions necessary for Going Out: for example, there are popular versions of "All~Chow or All~Pong", "No balls" or "No sticks" or "No wanzis", and any other type you can imagine within the Yahoo parameters.

There is a basic style which people call "1F", meaning at least One Faan element is needed in order to be Going Out. The usual way these tables are hosted is with No Flowers And No Seasons, so the Faan must be earned from the other four categories (Arrangements, Winds, Dragons, or the Winning Tile). Beginners will understand how to make All~Chows, All~Pongs, a clean suit, pong/kong of OwnWind or PrevailingWind, pong/kong any dragon, and Self~Pick. The games become more advanced when the players acknowledge the value of All~Hidden, the Last~Tile, and styles using Flowers&Seasons. Since these games are mostly with "No FaFa" (no flowers and seasons) the hosts often create the table with a maximum amount of Tile Points in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand.

There is a very popular style which people call "3F", referring to the three primary arrangements which earn Three Faan and up. However, beginners usually do not recognize all the ways to count Faan, so this is really just a simple game which has three possible basic ways to win. The first way is to have a hand of All~Pongs; it doesn't matter what suits or honours you are using, as long as you have all four pungs/kongs plus a pair, that will suffice. The second way is to have a "clean hand", which means it is not mixing suits; the Yahoo system calls this "one suit with honours", and it can only contain one type of suit, plus any winds and/or dragons; some people describe it as "half~suit". The third way is to have a "pure hand", which means it is not mixing suits, and it has only one pure kind of tiles with neither winds nor dragons; it can be pure Bamboo, or pure Circles, or pure Myriads. A Pure suit is considered more difficult to arrange than a Half suit, so you will see it could score more tile points, but other factors will of course determine the total. Some people enjoy playing 3F with "No FaFa", meaning "No Flowers And No Seasons", and usually set the maximum Tile Points to low stakes (500 or 1000 are popular amounts). Other people enjoy playing 3F with Flowers & Seasons, resulting in more variable ranges of outcomes for Tile Points, so the host might create the table with a high maximum (up to 65536).

The complex style which can be found on the advanced tables is "5F", referring to the five categories of winning elements which can be combined to achieve hands counting 5Faan and up. This style results in the broadest range of possible outcomes for Tile Points, so most hosts will create the table with a maximum of 65536. Some beginners are unaware of factors such as All~Chows, All~Hidden, All~Kongs, Supplementary~Tile, Last~Tile, and esoteric "Classic Limit" hands. But you will find the most enjoyable tables acknowledge all possible varieties of Faan~counting which can be verified on the Yahoo system. Their hosts often describe the game as Pro~5F or Advanced~5F or All~Faan~Counting~5F+ when inviting players.

There is a version played on Yahoo known as "7F" which requires Faan~counting for any winning hand to have at least 7Faan and up. Hosts usually set the maximum possible Tile Points to a high amount, up to 65536. Beginners will understand Pure~Suit, Semi~Pure~All~Pongs, and other common arrangements. However, in order for this style to be most interesting, advanced players will acknowledge all possible Faan~counting which can be verified on the Yahoo tables. The players who invite you to play "pro~7F" will generally expect comprehension of All~Hidden, All~Chows, All~Terminals~&~Honours~Pongs, 3~Dragons, 4~Winds, the Last~Tile, KongPick moves, Limit possibilities, et cetera.

Some players feel that the extremely high Faan expectations on the 7F tables result in very long games with many stalemates, but they yearn for the complexity level of the 5F tables and wish to avoid many of the "cheapest" arrangements. These players may devise a "6F" game which requires Faan~counting for any winning hand to have at least 6Faan and up. The hosts usually set the maximum Tile Points to 65536, allowing the widest range of possible scores. In order to participate on these tables the players are generally expected to have expertise with all complex varieties of Faan elements, and are supposed to understand all the ways to make Limit arrangements and other unusual achievements. These tables always appear to move at a very fast pace, and despite the frequent stalemates they are still very brisk.

Some pro players may occasionally enjoy tables of "2F~no~FaFa" which expect hands to win with 2Faan and up, but are not utilizing Flowers and Seasons; they would need to earn their 2F+ using the other four categories of elements (arrangements, winds, dragons, and the winning~tile). Other pro players have been known to play games of "pro~3F~with~FaFa" expecting hands to win with *ANY* 3Faan and up, including KFC arrangements combined with Flowers and Seasons or any other possible elements. These styles are somewhat rare in the Lion's Lair, but if you play on these sorts of tables you will quickly learn that there are many ways to experience fast-paced hands with all varieties of tactics.

No matter which styles you enjoy on Yahoo tables, whether KFC or All~Faan~Counting, you will see there are other factors involved which determine the outcome of the game. The system of calculating Tile Points is not customizable, no matter what the players choose for table settings. The Yahoo algorithms can give people points for Flowers and Seasons and other items even when they are not Going Out. The winner who is Going Out is not always the person who scores the most Tile Points. The payments of Tile Points back and forth are always allocated unchangeably, regardless of who threw or picked the ultimate tile. The pace of the progress through the wall often reveals when opponents are considering their options, and the "Pass" or "Draw" buttons can sometimes be just as important as the "MahJong" button!

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My friend Alex hosts advanced games with All~Faan~Counting. He is an expert who has designed the VirtualSuperSurvivor*s MahJong Hall Of Fame. His website shows details of exactly how Yahoo calculates Tile Points: VirtualSuperSurvivor*s Yahoo!MahJong Tile Points System.

MahJong at Yahoo Games has four rooms with tables of players. The Lion's Lair is the room for advanced players where you will find tables of complex 5F and other styles (7F, 6F, 3F, 2F, 1F, KFC, league tournaments, et cetera); these players often expect a fast pace. The Learner's Lounge mostly has Basic tables with KFC or 3F, sometimes with other styles; these players often accept a slower pace and more chatting. The Veteran's Vortex is designated as an Intermediate area, however you will almost always find those tables have league games, and i haven't noticed any casual tables open there. The Cricket's Cavern is considered to be a Social venue where people go to chat, and new players might practise using the Yahoo interface while learning the basics of MahJong.

Click this picture to browse all Flickr galleries of Lion's Lair screenshots:
Yahoo Tiles

mj5fanfun Flickr screenshots contain collections of snapshots i've taken on the tables in the Lion's Lair when my friends and i were enjoying Faan Counting games. These include hands with thousands of Tile Points; hands with Maximum Faan (13F+); many Limit hands, and the most exceptional situations i've personally seen at the advanced tables. The details of how to count the faan and how the Yahoo mathematics calculate the Tile Points are explained in the Yahoo 360 ~ Lion's Lair Blog where i post the screenshots and info i've seen for all recent winners:
Yahoo dragons - most recent screenshots

If you seek me in the Lion's Lair, these are my Yahoo Profiles:
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Find Kevin Hutchins' public home page here.

Updated 2007 September 21st © Kevin Hutchins

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