Taiwanese Mahjong · 1 tai

Dragon Pung (San Yuan Pai) in Taiwanese Mahjong: Tai, Examples and Odds

In Taiwanese mahjong, each Dragon Pung (三元牌, san yuan pai) is worth 1 tai: a pung (three identical tiles, or a kong) of Red, Green or White Dragon (中, 發, 白) scores, and two pungs score twice. Pungs of all three dragons are no longer counted this way — that's Big Three Dragons, 8 tai.

The rules for Dragon Pung

• A pung or kong of Red, Green or White: claimed, self-drawn, exposed or concealed kongs all count
• A pair doesn't count: a dragon used as the pair scores nothing (two dragon pungs plus the third as the pair becomes Little Three Dragons)
• Each pung counts once: two pungs are 2 tai
• Same for every player — no round or seat wind involved, no need to stay concealed

Dragon Pung, Little and Big Three Dragons

They are one family and only the highest counts: Little Three Dragons doesn't add the two dragon pungs, and Big Three Dragons doesn't add Little Three Dragons.

How Dragon Pung is scored

The tai below are computed live by the same scoring code the game uses (dealer and dealer-streak tai are added on top).

Common combinations:

How it relates to other hands

• Little Three Dragons: two dragon pungs with the third dragon as the pair, 4 tai. Once you have two dragon pungs, a pair of the third makes a big difference: two pungs are 2 tai, Little Three Dragons is 4.
• Big Three Dragons: all three dragons as pungs, 8 tai.
• Round Wind, Seat Wind: wind pungs score separately and stack with dragon pungs.
• Half One Suit: dragons are honors, so one suit plus dragon pungs is Half One Suit — the two often come together.

Dragon Pung odds

Four normal-level computers played 12,000 hands on this site's table. Of the 11,677 wins:

• 23% included one or two dragon pungs — 2,728 wins, one of the most common tai in the game.
• Those wins averaged 2.2 tai for the whole hand, against 1.6 tai for all wins.
• In the same data, Little Three Dragons appeared 2 times and Big Three Dragons 2 times.

Playing dragon tiles

• A dragon pair: pung it when it comes — tai for free, no change to your shape.
• A single dragon: it scores for all four players, so it gets more dangerous the longer you hold it. If it's useless, discard it early; one that's already in the discards is safer.
• Two dragon pungs already: keep a pair of the third — winning makes it Little Three Dragons; punging it makes Big Three Dragons.
• Someone else has two dragon pungs out: don't discard the third dragon — it would hand them Big Three Dragons.

To try it, open a table of online Taiwanese mahjong — the computers play with you and count the tai for you.

Dragon pungs in other mahjong styles

• Japanese mahjong: Red, Green and White pungs are yakuhai, 1 han each (Japanese mahjong yaku list)
• Hong Kong mahjong: 1 fan per dragon pung (Hong Kong mahjong fan list)
• Chinese Official (Guobiao): "Dragon Pung", 2 fan (Guobiao mahjong fan list)
• Sichuan mahjong uses only characters, dots and bamboo — there are no dragons

FAQ

How many tai is a dragon pung?

In Taiwanese mahjong each dragon pung is worth 1 tai; two are 2 tai. Two pungs plus the third dragon as the pair is Little Three Dragons, 4 tai; all three as pungs is Big Three Dragons, 8 tai.

Does a pair of dragons score?

No. A dragon needs to be a pung or kong to score.

Does Little Three Dragons add the dragon pungs on top?

Not on this site: Little Three Dragons' 4 tai already includes the two dragon pungs. Some tables add them anyway — agree before you play.

Which tiles are the dragons?

Red Dragon, Green Dragon and White Dragon — 中, 發 and 白.

Related hands

Little Three Dragons 4 tai Two dragon pungs with the third dragon as the pair — 4 tai. Examples, the two-pair wait, and how it differs from Big Three Dragons. Big Three Dragons 8 tai Pungs of all three dragons — an 8-tai big hand. Examples, scoring combos, and what your opening hand needs. Half One Suit 4 tai One suit plus honors — a 4-tai hand. Examples, Half One Suit vs Pure One Suit, and how concentrated your start must be.