Easiest Yaku to Remember and Most Common Foolproof Yaku in Riichi Mahjong
In Riichi Mahjong, you often need a particular hand structure or a particular hand condition to create a valid. Unless you experience a locked discard (furiten) situation, the most common yaku that are relatively easy to remember are:
- Riichi (Ready Hand) is singlehandly the most important yaku to learn, since it is very common (40% of winning hands) and very easy to achieve. The key thing for riichi is that it is always a valid option to you at the start of a hand – so long as you keep your hand closed you can pretty much always aim for riichi.
- Value Tiles (Yakuhai) are the second easiest to remember yaku. Any triplet of Dragon tiles, the round wind (typically East and sometimes South), or your own seat wind (in relation to the Dealer who is East) counts as Value tiles. Another thing that makes value tiles great is that you can openly call for them. Value tiles typically occur in 33% –39% of winning hands.
- All Simples (Tanyao) is a popular and easy to remember yaku since there are no honors tiles such as winds or dragons and no terminal tiles (1s and 9s). All simples only uses tiles numbered 2 through 8 and can be openly called.
- Half Flush and Full Flush (Honitsu and Chinitsu) is a relatively straight forward yaku where you need only one suit of tiles for a full flush or with some honor tiles for a half flush. Collectively you have a 17.7% to get either a half flush (13.2%) or a full flush (4.5%).
- All Triplets (Toitoi) is a pretty fast and callable hand that consist of 4 sets of triplets and a pair. Even though this hand is easy to remember, typically this hand only occurs 6.1% of all winning hands.
- Seven Pairs (Chiitoisu) is often introduced as an alternate win condition since it is a more unique and memorable hand since it consist of 7 different pairs. Unfortunately this hand only occurs 4.5% of time.
- Concealed Self-Drawn Hand (Tsumo) when in doubt draw your own tiles and make your own hand. Surprisingly this yaku occurs in 17.8 to 22.8% of winning hands.
It can take awhile to memorize all the yaku so don't worry too much about it. Just start when the easiest and most common yaku and slowly learn the rest.
Top 7 Most Common Yaku in Riichi Mahjong
According to statistics gathered from Tenhou.net and Mahjong Souls, the top 7 most common yaku without grouping similar yaku together are as followed:
- Red Five (Red Dora) which appears in about 43%–50.5% of winning hands
- Bonus Tile (Dora) which appears in about 40%–60% of winning hands
- Riichi (Ready Hand) which appears in about 40% of winning hands
- Fully Concealed Self-Drawn Hand (Tsumo) which appears in about 18%–23% of winning hands
- All Sequences (Pinfu) which appears in about 20%–22% of winning hands
- All Simples (Tanyao) which appears in about 21%–23% of winning hands
- Hidden Bonus Tile (Uradora) which appears in about 13%–18% of winning hands
While those seven are the most common yaku in winning hands, the Red Doras, Dora, and Ura Dora are not considered yaku to create a minimally viable hand.
What are the easiest Yakuman in Japanese Mahjong?
Yakuman are rare and difficult. Most yakuman have restrictions that make them difficult, such as All Greens (ryuuiisou) only allowing 6 of 34 tile types, or Four Great Winds (daisuushii) requiring 4 wind triplets. Others are achieved in specific conditions, such as the Heavenly Hand (Tenhou) which must be won on the first draw as dealer.
The hands known as Thirteen Orphans (appears in 0.03% to 0.3% of winning hands), Four Concealed Triplets (appears in 0.04% to 0.5% of winning hands), and Big Three Dragons (appears in 0.03% to 0.5% of winning hands) are considered relatively easy to complete among limit hands, and are collectively called "the three big families of yakuman" (Japanese: 役満御三家 (yakuman gosanke)).
What are the hardest Yakuman in Riichi Mahjong?
The chances for a yakuman are not constant like the probability in Poker because the chances for a yakuman typically decreases as the opponents' skill level increases. Higher skilled individuals will more likely defend once a yakuman threat active.
The hands known as Four Quads, Blessing of Heaven, and Four Big Winds are considered the hardest to complete among limit hands.
Most Common Yaku According To Tenhou.net
According to Tenhou.net, a popular Japanese online riichi mahjong client, these are the most common yaku by occurrence in hand and by win frequency.
| Yaku (English Name) | Yaku | Occurrence (%) | Win Frequency (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bonus / Red Dora | 赤ドラ | 42.7 | 50.5 |
| Bonus Tile / Dora | ドラ | 39.1 | 60.5 |
| Ready / Riichi | 立直 | 41.9 | 41.9 |
| Fully Concealed Hand / Self-Drawn / Menzen Tsumo | 門前清自摸和 | 17.8 | 17.8 |
| All Sequences / Pinfu | 平和 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| All Simples / Tanyao | 断幺九 | 23.2 | 23.2 |
| Hidden Bonus / Ura Dora | 裏ドラ | 13.7 | 18.4 |
| One-Shot / Ippatsu | 一発 | 9.3 | 9.3 |
| East Round Wind | 場風 東 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Red Dragon / Yakuhai Chun | 役牌 中 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Green Dragon / Yakuhai Hatsu | 役牌 發 | 7.9 | 7.9 |
| White Dragon / Yakuhai Haku | 役牌 白 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Half Flush / Honitsu | 混一色 | 6.4 | 13.2 |
| Pure Double Sequences / Iipeikou | 一盃口 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Mix Triple Sequences / Sanshoku Doujun | 三色同順 | 3.5 | 5.5 |
| All Triplets / Toitoi | 対々和 | 3.1 | 6.1 |
| Seven Pairs / Chiitoitsu | 七対子 | 2.3 | 4.5 |
| Seat Wind East | 自風 東 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Seat Wind South | 自風 南 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Seat Wind West | 自風 西 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Seat Wind North | 自風 北 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Pure Straight / Ittsuu | 一気通貫 | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| Half Outside Hand / Chanta | 混全帯幺九 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Full Flush / Chinitsu | 清一色 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| Three Concealed Triplets / San Ankou | 三暗刻 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| Last Discard / Houtei | 河底撈魚 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Full Outside Hand / Junchan | 純全帯幺九 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Last Tile / Haitei | 海底摸月 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| After a Kan / Rinshan Kaihou | 嶺上開花 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Double Ready / Double Riichi | 両立直 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| South Round Wind | 場風 南 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Little Three Dragons / Shousangen | 小三元 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| All Terminals and Honors / Honroutou | 混老頭 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Robbing the Kan / Chankan | 槍槓 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Triple Triplets / Sanshoku Doukou | 三色同刻 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Twice Pure Double Sequence / Ryanpeikou | 二盃口 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Four Concealed Triplets / Suu Ankou | 四暗刻 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Three Great Dragons / Daisangen | 大三元 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| 13 Orphans / Kokushi Musou | 国士無双 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Four Little Winds / Shousuushi | 小四喜 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| All Honors / Tsuuiisou | 字一色 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Three Quads / Sankantsu | 三槓子 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Four Concealed Triplets, Single Wait / Suu Ankou Tanki | 四暗刻単騎 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| All Greens / Ryuuiisou | 緑一色 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Four Great Winds / Daisuushi | 大四喜 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| All Terminals / Chinroutou | 清老頭 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Blessing of Earth / Chiihou | 地和 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nine Gates / Chuuren Poutou | 九蓮宝燈 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Blessing of Heaven / Tenhou | 天和 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| True Nine Gates / Junsei Chuuren Poutou | 純正九蓮宝燈 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Thirteen-wait Thirteen Orphans / Kokushi Musou 13 Wait | 国士無双１３面 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
*Based on Tenhou.net Data, Phoenix Room only, East-South Rounds with Red Fives only, 547213 game sample last updated 2024/09/21
Most Common Yaku According to Mahjong Soul
According to Mahjong Soul, a popular online riichi mahjong client, these are the most common yaku by win frequency.
| Yaku (English Name) | Yaku | Win Frequency (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Red Five | 赤ドラ | 43.00% |
| Riichi | 立直 | 42.83% |
| Dora | ドラ | 39.28% |
| Fully Concealed Hand / Self-Drawn | 門前清自摸和 | 22.87% |
| All Simples | 断幺九 | 21.65% |
| Pinfu | 平和 | 20.71% |
| Uradora | 裏ドラ | 13.73% |
| One-shot / Ippatsu | 一発 | 8.60% |
| Seat Wind | 自風 | 8.33% |
| Prevalent Wind | 場風 | 8.11% |
| White Dragon (Haku) | 白 | 7.78% |
| Green Dragon (Hatsu) | 發 | 7.77% |
| Red Dragon (Chun) | 中 | 7.77% |
| Half Flush | 混一色 | 5.44% |
| Pure Double Sequence | 一盃口 | 4.15% |
| Mixed Triple Sequence | 三色同順 | 3.46% |
| Seven Pairs | 七対子 | 2.81% |
| All Triplets | 対々和 | 2.06% |
| Pure Straight | 一気通貫 | 1.54% |
| Half Outside Hand | 混全帯幺九 | 0.92% |
| Full Flush | 清一色 | 0.69% |
| Three Concealed Triplets | 三暗刻 | 0.68% |
| Last Discard / Under the River | 河底撈魚 | 0.49% |
| Last Tile / Under the Sea | 海底摸月 | 0.43% |
| After a Kan | 嶺上開花 | 0.28% |
| Fully Outside Hand | 純全帯幺九 | 0.27% |
| Double Riichi | 両立直 | 0.20% |
| Little Three Dragons | 小三元 | 0.11% |
| All Terminals and Honors | 混老頭 | 0.04% |
| Four Concealed Triplets | 四暗刻 | 0.04% |
| Twice Pure Double Sequence | 二盃口 | 0.04% |
| Thirteen Orphans | 国士無双 | 0.03% |
| Robbing a Kan | 槍槓 | 0.03% |
| Triple Triplets | 三色同刻 | 0.03% |
| Big Three Dragons | 大三元 | 0.03% |
| Four Little Winds | 小四喜 | <0.01% |
| Single-wait Four Concealed Triplets | 四暗刻単騎 | <0.01% |
| All Honors | 字一色 | <0.01% |
| Three Quads | 三槓子 | <0.01% |
| All Green | 緑一色 | <0.01% |
| Blessing of Earth | 地和 | <0.01% |
| All Terminals | 清老頭 | <0.01% |
| Nine Gates | 九蓮宝燈 | <0.01% |
| Thirteen-wait Thirteen Orphans | 国士無双１３面 | <0.01% |
| Four Big Winds | 大四喜 | <0.01% |
| Blessing of Heaven | 天和 | <0.01% |
| True Nine Gates | 純正九蓮宝燈 | <0.01% |
| Four Quads | 四槓子 | <0.01% |
*Based on Jade only, East-South Rounds with Red Fives only, 305646663 win sample last updated 2024/09/21
