Yaku — the 33 scoring patterns

The same run twice, in the same suit.

How to go for it If a second copy of a run you already hold turns up, keep it — the extra value costs you nothing.

Four runs, a pair that scores nothing, and a two-sided wait.

How to go for it Keep two-sided shapes, avoid triplets, and pick a plain number tile for the pair. It combines with almost everything.

No terminals and no honours — every tile is a 2 through 8.

How to go for it Cut terminals and honours first. Most ordinary middle-tile hands drift into this one without trying.

A triplet of white dragons.

How to go for it Hold a lone dragon longer than feels comfortable. One more copy turns a dead tile into a scoring hand.

A triplet of green dragons.

How to go for it Hold a lone dragon longer than feels comfortable. One more copy turns a dead tile into a scoring hand.

A triplet of red dragons.

How to go for it Hold a lone dragon longer than feels comfortable. One more copy turns a dead tile into a scoring hand.

Every group and the pair contains a terminal or an honour.

How to go for it Keep 123 and 789 shapes and honour pairs. Cheap, but it turns a bad hand into a scoring one.

Seven different pairs instead of four groups and a pair.

How to go for it The escape route for a hand of isolated pairs. Five pairs by the middle of the hand is the signal to take it.

Nothing but terminals and honours.

How to go for it Only from a hand already made of terminals and honours. It always arrives with toitoi attached.

1-2-3, 4-5-6 and 7-8-9 all in one suit.

How to go for it It needs nine specific tiles of one suit. Chase it only when two of the three runs are already there.

Three triplets, none of them taken from another player.

How to go for it It arrives from a hand that was already going for triplets. Never aim at it directly.

Three kongs.

No example: this pattern needs kongs, which ALL-HU does not use.

How to go for it Almost never worth chasing — kongs happen to you rather than the other way round.

The same run in all three suits.

How to go for it Spot it early. The moment two suits share the same run, keep the third suit's tiles in that range.

The same triplet in all three suits.

How to go for it Rare and awkward. Only chase it when two of the three triplets are already in your hand.

Two dragon triplets plus a pair of the third dragon.

How to go for it Two dragon pairs is the tell. From there either dragon completing gives you this and a very big hand.

Every group is a triplet — no runs at all.

How to go for it Switch to it when your hand is full of pairs and no runs are forming. Pairs become triplets; broken runs do not.

One suit plus honours, and nothing else.

How to go for it The most reliable way to rescue a bad start: commit to one suit plus honours and throw the rest away.

Every group and the pair contains a terminal — and no honours.

How to go for it Chanta without the honours, so it is harder and worth more. Only from a hand already full of 1s and 9s.

Two separate pairs of identical runs.

How to go for it Very rare. It shows up inside one-suit hands full of consecutive runs; do not aim for it.

One suit only, with no honours at all.

How to go for it Commit early or not at all. Past six tiles of one suit, the rest of your hand is worth discarding.

Nothing but terminals — only 1s and 9s.

How to go for it Terminals only, so every group has to be a triplet of 1s or 9s. Extremely rare.

1112345678999 in one suit, plus any one more tile of that suit.

How to go for it A pure one-suit hand that kept its terminals. It usually appears while you are chasing chinitsu.

Triplets of all three dragons.

How to go for it Once the second dragon triplet lands, everything else in your hand is worth throwing away.

One of each terminal and honour, plus a second copy of any one of them.

How to go for it All or nothing from the opening tiles. Nine or more different terminals and honours to start, and it is worth the ride.

Only green tiles: 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 of bamboo, and the green dragon.

How to go for it Needs an opening hand already deep in green bamboo. Luck rather than planning.

Three wind triplets plus a pair of the fourth wind.

How to go for it Three wind triplets. Early wind pairs are the only warning you will get.

Four triplets, none of them taken from another player.

How to go for it A toitoi hand that stayed concealed. Take nothing from anyone and the upgrade happens by itself.

Four kongs.

No example: this pattern needs kongs, which ALL-HU does not use.

How to go for it Effectively a legend. Four kongs in a single hand.

Nothing but honour tiles.

How to go for it Only from an opening hand that is already nearly all honours. Otherwise unreachable.

Triplets of all four winds.

How to go for it All four winds as triplets. Three wind pairs early is the only point at which it is even imaginable.

The nine gates held pure, waiting on all nine tiles at once.

No example: this pattern depends on which tile completed the hand, which a finished hand cannot show.

How to go for it The nine-sided wait itself. You do not plan this one; you notice it.

The thirteen orphans held complete, waiting on all thirteen.

No example: this pattern depends on which tile completed the hand, which a finished hand cannot show.

How to go for it Complete the thirteen orphans before the final tile, then wait on all thirteen at once.

Four concealed triplets where the final tile completed the pair.

No example: this pattern depends on which tile completed the hand, which a finished hand cannot show.

How to go for it Suuankou where you wait on the pair rather than a triplet — worth arranging when the choice is yours.