Fourteen tiles, no sets
Most winning hands are four sets and a pair. The snake ignores that shape. You collect thirteen different tiles, one of each, then double one of them.
- Suit run1 through 9 of one suit, one copy each.
- WindsEast, South, West and North, one copy each.
- The 14th tileA second copy of any of those thirteen. That is your pair.
- ConcealedNo pung, kong or chow calls on the way. Most tables let you claim the final winning tile from a discard.
- PaysThe limit. It is not combined with other scoring.
Check your table's version first
Rule cards disagree on the 14th tile. Some say it must be a wind (this version is also called the NEWS hand). Some list a pair of 1s. At least one chart uses the name for a different hand: 1 to 9 plus a pung of one wind and a pair of dragons. Agree on the rule before you start. The hand checker below handles all three pairing rules.
How far away are you?
Because the hand is all singles, you don't look for sets. Pick the suit you hold most of, then count.
Characters suit. Ten different needed tiles (1 2 3 5 7 8 9, East, South, North) and a pair of 5s. The two dragons are dead weight. 13 − 10 − 1 = 2 steps: draw the 4, 6 or West twice and you're ready.
Prefer thirteen singles to an early pair
A pair and a new tile are each worth one step, so they look equal. They aren't equal at the finish. Ready with a pair, you wait on the one tile you're missing, at most four copies. Ready with all thirteen as singles, any of the thirteen wins: up to 39 live tiles. Under the wind-only rule that wait shrinks to the four winds, still far better than one tile.
Decide on the deal
Count your 13 dealt tiles. The table shows how often a deal starts that far away, and the best case for finishing from there.
| Steps away | Deals that start here | Best-case finish | Call | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From 300,000 simulated deals with a 136-tile set and no flowers, using the best suit for each hand. Finishing assumes 18 turns, perfect discards, and that you can win off any of three opponents' discards each turn. Real games are harder because opponents hold your suit and someone may win first, so read the finish column as a ceiling.
Limit hands pay many times a normal win, which is why a long shot can still be right. In practice: chase it from 4 or fewer, consider it at 5 when the same tiles also point to a half flush, and play normally from 6 or more. About three deals in four start 6 or further away, so most of the time the right answer is no.
What to throw, in order
Number tiles from the other two suits
They do nothing for the snake or for the backup plan below. Throw them first.
Dragons
A lone dragon fits a half flush but not the snake. Let them go early. A dragon thrown late is more likely to hand someone a pung.
Extra copies
A third copy, or a second pair. You only ever need one duplicate, and you'd rather have none until the end.
Never a needed single
Each of the thirteen is one step. Breaking one costs a full draw to replace.
When to let it go
Every needed tile has four copies. Keep a running count of each one you can see in discards and exposed melds.
- All four of a needed tile visible: the snake is dead. Switch plans that turn.
- Three visible and you hold none: you're relying on one tile. Fold unless you're already ready.
- Someone exposes a pung of a wind you need: three of the four are gone in one move.
- Late in the wall and still two or more steps away: stop feeding opponents and play defense.
Your own discards give you away. A river of two suits and dragons tells sharp players you're building one suit, and they will hold that suit. Expect your winning tile to be self-drawn or a wind.
The snake folds into a half flush
The 1 to 9 run is three chows: 123, 456, 789. Add a wind pung and a pair and you have a half flush (one suit plus honors) with a pure straight. Most of your snake tiles carry straight over.
Same suit and winds, rearranged: three chows, a pung of East, a pair of North.
Switch when a needed tile dies, when you've drawn a second and third copy of a wind, or when you're two or more steps away by mid-game. Half flush and straight values vary by ruleset, so check your table's scoring.
Count a hand
Tap tiles to build a hand of 13 or 14. Tap a tile in the hand to take it back. The checker picks your best suit, counts your steps, and lists your waits or the best discard.