Taiwanese Mahjong · 8 tai

Little Four Winds (Xiao Si Xi) in Taiwanese Mahjong: Tai, Examples and Odds

In Taiwanese mahjong, Little Four Winds (小四喜, xiao si xi) is worth 8 tai: of the four winds — East, South, West and North — three are pungs (or kongs) and the fourth is exactly your pair. On this site, if those three wind pungs include the round wind or your seat wind, they still score separately.

The rules for Little Four Winds

• Three of East, South, West and North are pungs or kongs: claimed, self-drawn, exposed or concealed kongs all count
• The fourth wind is the pair (exactly two)
• The other two sets are free: chows and pungs, any suit or dragons
• No need to stay concealed

How Little Four Winds waits

The most common shape is two wind pairs: two wind pungs done and a pair each of the other two winds — whichever you win on, it's Little Four Winds.

With three wind pungs done, a pair of the fourth wind and another pair: winning on the wind makes Big Four Winds, winning on the other tile is Little Four Winds.

How Little Four Winds 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

• Big Four Winds: all four winds as pungs, 16 tai, already including round wind, seat wind and All Pungs.
• Round Wind, Seat Wind: if Little Four Winds' three pungs include the round or seat wind, this site adds 1 tai each; the wind used as the pair scores nothing.
• Half One Suit: if the other two sets are one suit, it's Half One Suit too, 12 tai.
• All Honors: if the other two sets are dragon pungs, the whole hand is honors — add All Honors' 16 tai (the two dragon pungs count as well).
• All Pungs: if the other two sets are pungs too, add All Pungs' 4 tai.

Little Four Winds odds

Wind pairs in the opening hand

Little Four Winds needs at least two of every wind. In a random 16-tile opening hand:

Pairs of all four winds at the start almost never happen; most Little Four Winds start with two or three wind pairs and pung their way up.

Little Four Winds in computer play

In 12,000 hands of normal-level computer play there were 11,677 wins, and 0 of them were Little Four Winds. The computers never hold tiles for it and the sample is far too small, so this isn't its real frequency — it only shows how rarely it happens without trying.

When to go for Little Four Winds

• Three or more wind pairs at the start: worth a try. Winds can only be punged anyway, and round- and seat-wind pungs score even if the big hand fails.
• You don't need four pungs: one wind can stay as the pair.
• Watch the discards: once two of a wind are out, you can't pung it any more — use it as the pair or give up.
• Defending: when someone has two or three wind pungs out, don't discard the remaining winds — they may be waiting for Big or Little Four Winds.

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

Little Four Winds in other mahjong styles

• Japanese mahjong: Shousuushii is a yakuman (Japanese mahjong yaku list)
• Hong Kong mahjong: Little Four Winds is a limit hand (Hong Kong mahjong fan list)
• Chinese Official (Guobiao): Little Four Winds, 64 fan (Guobiao mahjong fan list)

FAQ

How many tai is Little Four Winds?

In Taiwanese mahjong Little Four Winds is worth 8 tai. This site also adds round and seat wind for its pungs, and it stacks with Half One Suit, All Pungs and All Honors.

Does Little Four Winds add round and seat wind?

On this site, yes: a pung of the round or seat wind adds 1 tai each; the wind used as the pair scores nothing. Some tables don't add wind tai to Little Four Winds — agree before you play.

What's the difference between Little and Big Four Winds?

Little Four Winds is three wind pungs with the fourth wind as the pair, 8 tai; Big Four Winds is all four winds as pungs, 16 tai.

Can you chow in Little Four Winds?

Yes. Winds can only be punged, but the other two sets can be chows; the hand doesn't need to be concealed.

Related hands

Big Four Winds 16 tai Pungs of all four winds — a 16-tai big hand. Examples, what's already included, and how it differs from Little Four Winds. Round Wind 1 tai A pung of this round's wind is 1 tai: how to tell the round wind, how it stacks with the seat wind, and why a pair scores nothing. Seat Wind 1 tai A pung of your own seat's wind is 1 tai: how to find your seat wind, how it changes with the deal, and how it stacks with the round wind.