MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Mahjong Game -
Mahjong (Mah Jong) is a Chinese game of skill, strategy, and calculation. Researchers have found relationship
in form of healing with Mahjong as they believe that playing the game is beneficial for individuals suffering
from dementia, cognitive and memory difficulties.
Mahjong is very similar to Rummy and is played with tiles. The main objective is to build sets with the tiles
through drawing and discarding. The game involves drawing and discarding tiles in order to form different
melds for going out to win the hand. Even though the winner of the hand gets the points or paid from other
players, forming the best melds is as important as winning. Not only is the winning score depends on the
content of the hand but also a losing hand can earn/collect as much or more from the other two losing hands.
In different variants, it has different tiles but four players always play it. There is little uniformity in the way
Mahjong is played in various provinces in China. The same variants occur In the United States as well as
worldwide due to the multi-mixture of migration from all part of China. As in any game, there are no rights or
wrongs, as long as the participants agree and play by the same set of rules.
These write-up documents the traditional Chinese Mahjong played in Hoysun and Hoyping province of
Guangdong. It is played with 144 tiles (including 8 flower/season tiles). The rules documented here are based
upon traditional games played in various oversea Chinatown Family Associations throughout the US, since the
days of the railroad workers, and passed on from earlier generations of players, including some house rules.
The Mahjong images, Chinese characters, some descriptions and verbiages are compiled and copy-n-paste
from online Websites to clarify and to provide visual image examples.
The transliterating of Chinese, sound-a-like, or pinyin is in the Hoysunese, HongKongese, and Mandarin
dialects. The objective of the write-up is to document the traditional ways of scoring and to be use as a
reference. The assumption is made that the reader has basic knowledge of playing Mahjong and knows the
playing procedures listed below:
1. Picking The Seats
2. Creating And Breaking The Wall
3. Dealing The Tiles
4. Drawing The Tiles
5. Using the dice

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Description
Ones & Nines
Twos to eights
WINDS: East, South, West, North
1. not own or current wind
2. own or current wind
3. own & current wind
Dragons: Red, Green, White

Wu

Pong
3 open

Pong
3 close

Kong
4 Open

4
2
4
4
4
4
4

8
4
8
8
8
8
8

16
8
16
16
16
16
16

countIng
Kong
2
4 close only
32
16
32
32
32
32
32

Add
wu

Fan
count Comment

2
2
2

1
2
1

Flowers mi ln j joke

All Wu
Counts
Are
Rounded
Up To
Nearest
10 th. Wu
for total Wu.

Plum/Lily/Chrysanthemum/Bamboo

Seasons: chn xi qi dng

Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter

1. Not own (each one count s)

2. Own (each one count as)
3. All four (Flowers or Seasons)
Eat on: Self Drawn (gee more)(4 Ping Wu)*
Eat on: Eye (don duel guan)
Eat on: In-Between (ka loon)
Eat on: ones & Nines
Description

4
4
16
2
2
2
2
Fan

+Fan
wind or
no wind

Basic
Wu

Basic hands
A. Pong & Chow Hand (30 + plus wu count)

B. Ping Wu (Chow Hand, 4 sequential sets, no pong

4.

With 2 flowers (8)not own, Kaloon(2)

5.

With 2 own flowers (8)

6.

Single Suited only (no wind or Dragons)

C. Pong Hand Deoi Deoi Wu

(open & covered)
1. Mixed Suited

3.

Ping
Wu
Bonus

+
Wu

30
30

0
30

One Suited only (Wan Jat Sik)

(with wind or Dragons)
Single suited only Ting Jat Sik
(no wind or Dragons)

D Pong Hand, All cover (tan um kind)+ self drawn

Out on last tile (additional)
Out on Kong (additional)
Little Dragon (2 Pong/Kong & pair Dragon

1
1

30
30
30
30
30
30

10
10
10
10

2
1

30
30
30
30
30
30

2
4

30
30

0
0

30

5
Max

*House rule

Pay Chip Amount

Total
Wu

Self
Drawn

60

+4
wu *

60
70
70
70
70
70

70
70
70
80
80
80

eye cant be dragons, current or own wind)

1. No flower (Tang Ping)

2. Own flower (4 wu)
3. With flower (4 wu) not own

2.

Woo Count

1
2

280
280
280
320
640
limit

Discard
player

Other
players

240
280
140
140
560
1920

120
140
70
70
280
960

2000
2000

1000
1000

2000

1
1
3

Big Dragon( Pong/Kong all three Dragons

Max

Max

All winds and Dragons

Max

Max

2000
2000

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Chinese Classical Scoring Rules (played in Hoy-Sun and Hoy-Ping, Guangdong)

Scoring in the Chinese Classical System proceeds as follows: A hand is considered a winning hand when it
has 4 melds and a pair (eye). There are also Special Hand exceptions. When one player has won the hand by
obtaining mahjong.

The winning Hand gets paid off as follow:

Determine the Total Wu: (see below)

Determine the Total Fan: (refer to Fan Table).
Determine the Winning Amount. (see below).
Winner collects Pay Chip Amount from the three losers.
In the case where a player wins by a discard (a player picks off an opponent), the player who
performs the discard pays double
In the case where a player wins by a draw (a player wins by self-pick), every losing player pays
double.
In the case where a player wins from a high-risk scenario (see below), the player who performs the
discard pays for the other two losing players (in addition to the normal double share).

To determine number of Total Wu:

1. Count Wu on hand, round up to nearest 10 = Count-Wu
2. Add Count-Wu to Basic Wu of hand and bonus if any = Total Wu
To determine Winning Amount: (Calculated exponential with base of 2)
1. Double Total Wu with each Fan(s) ie: 70 Wu with 3 Fan:
(1st Fan 70+70=140, 2nd Fan 140+140=280, 3rd Fan 280+280=560, etc, (until the maximum house limit
amount (1,000) is reach).

The three losing hands pay each other off by Sue-Wu-Me.

Sue-Wu-Me: After paying off the winning hand, unless it was a Mon-Wu (max) hand, the other 3 players:
Count their hands for Wu Points and Total Fan.
Calculate, Wu Points with Total Fan, exponentially with base of 2.
Pay each other the difference in Total-Wu.
10 chips for 10 Wu, 20 chips for 20 Wu, etc.
The dealer pays and receives double.
To receive payment a hand must have a minimum of 30 Wu. A hand of 20 Wu or less does not
receive any payment.

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Terminology:
Pong: Set of 3 identical tiles in the same suit.
Kong: Set of 4 identical tiles in the same suit.
Open: tile face up; Close: tile face down.
Chow: Any sequential set of 3 tiles or a run of the same suit.
Meld: Set of Pong, Kong or Chow.
Eye: A set of two identical tiles of any kind
Dragons: Tile of Red, Green, White, also describe as honor tiles.
Winds: (dng, nn, x, bi,) Tile of East, South, West, North.
Flower: (mi ln j joke) Tile of Plum/Lily/Chrysanthemum/Bamboo:
Seasons: (chn xi qi dng) Tile of Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter
Wu: Point count based on combinations of tiles within a hand, (see Table above). It is use to determine
the winning amount. The final/total Wu count is always rounded up to the nearest 10 th. Wu
Fan: A Fan is determined by the combinations of tiles within a hand, (see Table above). It is use
To determine the winning amount. Each Fan is calculated exponentially with the base of 2.
Gee More: The winning tile is self drawn from the wall.
Kaloon: middle tile of three tiles.
Teng Wu: - A "waiting" or "calling" hand, one tile away from winning.
Sik Wu: - Winning off another player's discard, eat or mahjong.
Gai Wu: ( gai wu) "Chicken Hand"), this is used to describe a winning hand worth zero fn
Ping Wu Hand: A hand consist of 4 chows sets and eye cannot be current wind or dragon.
Deoi Deoi Wu: A hand consists of pong or Kong sets.
Wan Jat Sik: A hand consists of only honor tiles and tiles from one suit.
Ting Jat Sik: A hand consists of all tiles from one suit.
Mon Wu: A winning hand of 5 or more fans or the winning amount reached the maximum set limit.
Sue Wu Me: After paying off each winning hand, unless it was a Mon Wu hand, the other 3 players
total their hands for Wu points and pay each other the difference in Wu points. The dealer pays and
Receives double. To receive payment a hand must have a minimum of 30 Wu. A hand of 20 Wu or less
does not receive any payment. The winning hand is not included in this process.

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

English

some examples on type of winning hand but not limited to

Cantonese Fn
Description

Sequence
Hand

(ping wu) 1

Every meld is a Chow, no pong

Triplets
Hand

2
(deoi deoi wu)

Every meld is either a Pong or Kong

Mix Pure
Hand

(wan jat sik)

Only honor tiles and tiles from one suit

Pure Hand

(cing jat sik)

All tiles from one suit

Pure Honor
Hand
(zi jat sik)

Limit All honor tiles

Three
Lesser
Scholars

(siu saam jyun)

Melds of 2 dragons and a pair of the 3rd dragon

Three Great
limit Melds of all 3 dragons
Scholars
(daai saam jyun)
Four Small
Blessings

(siu sei hei)

Limit Melds of 3 winds and a pair of the 4th wind

Four Large
Blessings

(daai sei hei)

Limit Melds of all 4 winds

Thirteen
Orphans

(sap saam jiu)

limit thirteen terminal hand or thirteen wonders

All Kongs

/
/

Limit Hand containing four Kongs

Hidden
Treasure

Limit

Jade Dragon

Limit

Ruby
Dragon
Pearl
Dragon
All
Terminal

Limit

Limit

Limit

Nine Gates
Hand

Limit

Hand containing four concealed (unmelded)

Pongs, won by Self-Pick
Hand containing Pongs/Kongs of the Stick suit
only and Pong/Kong of the Green Dragon
Hand containing Pongs/Kongs of the Characters
suit only and Pong/Kong of the Red Dragon
Hand containing Pongs/Kongs of the Dots suit
only and Pong/Kong of the White Dragon
Hand containing Pongs/Kongs of Ones and
Nines only
Hand in any one suit consisting of
1112345678999

Example

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Additional Fan based on presence of certain melds

English

F
n

Cantonese

Description

Example

A meld of the winner's seat

wind

or

or

or

gyun fung 1

A meld of the prevailing

wind

or

or

or

hung zung 1

A meld of the red dragon

Seat Wind

mun fung

Prevailing
Wind
Red Dragon

Green Dragon faat coi

A meld of the green dragon

White Dragon baak baan 1

A meld of the white dragon

English

Additional Fan based on winning condition

Cantonese
Fn
Description

Self-Draw

zi mo

The winning tile is from the wall

Concealed Hand

mun cin cing

The winner did not form a meld by discard

Robbing the Kong

coeng gong 1

The winning tile is obtained from someone calling a

Kong

Win on Last Tile

hoi dai
1
lou jyut

The winning tile is either the last tile from the wall or
the last discard

Win on
Replacement Tile

gong
soen hoi faa

The winning tile is from a replacement tile due to a

Kong or a Bonus Tile

Win on double
Replacement Tile

gong
soeng gong

Similar to 'Win on Replacement Tile', except that the

tile used to make the Kong was itself an extra tile from
declaring a Kong

Heavenly Hand

tin wu)

Limit East wins with initial hand

Earthly Hand

dei wu

Limit Non-East player wins on East's first discard

Example

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Penalties
English
9 Pieces
Penalty
12 Pieces
Penalty
Fifth Tile
Penalty
Maximum
Penalty

Cantonese

Description
Discarder pays all losses for enabling winner to go out with Pure Hand
after winner had already melded 3 sets (9 tiles) of the same suit

Winner goes out with Self-Picked Pure Hand after discarder has allowed
them to meld a 4th set of the same suit; Discarder pays all losses

Discarder pays all losses for discarding a "fresh" (previously unseen

anywhere on the table) tile when there are 5 or less tiles left in the wall,
allowing winner to go out

Example

 MahJong: Wu & Fan Counting Classic Cantonese (Hoysun/Hoyping) Style

Chip Values: Mahjong is played in a gambling setting. Poker Chips are used for keeping score. In the beginning
of a Mahjong secession, each player is given/buy a fixed amount of chips. The chips are in various
denominations. Chips are use to pay the winner of each hand as well as pay for each player for Wu-Me points.
At the conclusion of the Mahjong secession/rounds, these chips are counted and cash settlements are made.
Since Mahjong is a zero-sum game, if one player loses all their chips, the loser pays cash to buy back the chips
from the winners and the game continues. Before the game starts, all players must agree upon the maximum
payoff (limit) per hand and how much one unit of chips is worth. As an example, lets say, 2000 maximum and
$5.00 per thousand. Each 10 unit of chip is worth $.05. Each player receives a total of 10,000 unit of chips in
denominations as follows: This is basically like the buy-in in a poker game.
Chip
Count
10
9
6
6
Total

Unit/
$ Worth
Denomination Value
10
$ .50
100
$ 4.50
500
$15.00
1,000
$30.00
10,000
$50.00

Mahjong Table: The Mahjong Table is a card-table like with a hard smooth square surface, apx. 34 X 34
. The surface should have a 1/4 raised edge for ease of tile stacking and to prevent tiles from falling onto
the floor. The table surface is small enough for ease-of-reach but big enough to accommodate 144 tile
stacking of 18 double-stack by each player.
The Mahjong Set Consists of the Following Tiles:
Tile Name

Tile image

The character suit mon-do

The circle cookies suit (

hong-do

The bamboo suit ( shurg-do

Four Dragons: Red (, White (,,Green(

Four Winds:
East (, South (, West (, North (,
Four Seasons:

Spring
Autumn thu, Winter onn

chong Summer Ha,

Four Flours: plum moy, orchid lan,

chrysanthemum goat, bamboo Joke