Riichi Mahjong · 1 han（closed only）
Pinfu (All Sequences) in Riichi Mahjong: Rules, Fu and Examples
In riichi mahjong, Pinfu is a closed-only yaku worth 1 han. The name means "no fu": four sequences, a pair that isn't a value tile, and a two-sided wait — nothing in the hand earns extra fu. It's cheap on its own, but it stacks easily with riichi, tanyao, iipeikou and sanshoku, which makes it one of the most common yaku in the game.
On this page
The rules for Pinfu
All four conditions must hold:
- Closed hand: no chi, pon or open kan (a closed kan is a quad, not a sequence, so it breaks pinfu too)
- All four sets are sequences: a single triplet or quad rules it out
- The pair isn't a value tile: no dragons, no seat wind, no round wind
- Two-sided wait: the winning tile must be readable as a two-sided wait (e.g. waiting on or )
Which waits give Pinfu
Two-sided wait: yes
Two adjacent number tiles waiting on either end, like waiting on or .
Closed, edge or pair wait: no
waiting on is a closed (kanchan) wait, waiting on is an edge (penchan) wait, and waiting only on the pair is a single (tanki) wait. Each adds 2 fu, so none of them is pinfu.
Ron
| Tanyao | 1 han |
| Total | 1 han 40 fu · 1,300 points |
|---|
Non-dealer, East round, no dora, no honba.
Value-tile pair: no
A pair of dragons, seat wind or round wind also earns fu. This hand has exactly the pinfu shape, except the pair is white dragons:
Riichi · Ron
| Riichi | 1 han |
| Total | 1 han 40 fu · 1,300 points |
|---|
Non-dealer, East round, no dora, no honba.
How Pinfu is scored
A pinfu hand is always 20 fu by tsumo and 30 fu by ron. On tsumo you also get menzen tsumo, so a pinfu tsumo is at least 2 han 20 fu. The yaku, han, fu and points below are computed live by the same scoring code the game uses.
Ron
| Pinfu | 1 han |
| Total | 1 han 30 fu · 1,000 points |
|---|
Non-dealer, East round, no dora, no honba.
Tsumo
| Menzen tsumo | 1 han |
| Pinfu | 1 han |
| Total | 2 han 20 fu · 400 / 700 points |
|---|
Non-dealer, East round, no dora, no honba.
Riichi · Ron
| Riichi | 1 han |
| Tanyao | 1 han |
| Pinfu | 1 han |
| Total | 3 han 30 fu · 3,900 points |
|---|
Non-dealer, East round, no dora, no honba.
Common combinations:
| Combination | Han |
|---|---|
| Pinfu | 1 |
| Riichi + pinfu | 2 |
| Riichi + pinfu + tanyao | 3 |
| Pinfu + iipeikou | 2 |
| Pinfu + sanshoku | 3 |
| Pinfu + ittsu | 3 |
How it relates to other yaku
- Riichi: pinfu is closed, so any pinfu tenpai can also declare riichi — and a two-sided wait is a good wait to riichi on.
- Tanyao: if all four sequences and the pair use only 2–8, tanyao comes along too.
- Iipeikou, sanshoku, ittsu: all built from sequences, so they often appear together with pinfu.
- Calling kills it: the same shape with one chi is not pinfu; an open hand of that shape won by ron scores 30 fu (open pinfu shapes are rounded up to 30 fu).
Pinfu odds
You rarely "go for" pinfu: sequences and two-sided waits are simply the fastest shape, so normal play produces it all the time. When the computers on this site play normally, pinfu is part of 12% of all wins; those wins average 9,000 points, and 50% of them are by tsumo.
| Yaku | Share of wins |
|---|---|
| Riichi | 46% |
| Menzen tsumo | 22% |
| Yakuhai | 40% |
| Tanyao | 19% |
| Pinfu | 12% |
| Ippatsu | 8.9% |
| Chiitoitsu | 3.7% |
| Iipeikou | 2.4% |
| Sanshoku doujun | 1.6% |
| Honitsu | 0.76% |
| Ittsu | 0.57% |
Source: 40,000 computer hands on this site (all four at normal level), 33,226 wins. A win usually has several yaku, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Building toward Pinfu
- Use a number-tile pair: don't keep a value-tile pair as your pair — pon it or let it go. Pinfu needs a number-tile pair (a guest wind is fine too).
- Keep two-sided shapes: is better than (closed wait) or (edge wait), and it makes pinfu when you reach tenpai.
- Turn triplets into sequences: can be seen as a pair plus a spare to build sequences from.
- Don't call too early: one chi and pinfu is gone; a closed two-sided tenpai with riichi is usually worth more.
To practice, open a table of free online riichi mahjong: the game shows your waits at tenpai and the han and fu when you win.
Pinfu in other mahjong styles
"All sequences" hands exist elsewhere, with different conditions:
- Hong Kong mahjong: "All Chows", four sequences, 1 fan (Hong Kong mahjong fan table)
- Taiwanese mahjong: "ping hu" needs five sequences, no honors, no flowers and no self-draw, 2 tai (Taiwanese mahjong tai table)
- Chinese Official (Guobiao): "All Chows", 2 fan (Guobiao fan table)
- Sichuan mahjong: "ping hu" is simply the basic win with no other fan, and triplets are allowed (Sichuan mahjong Basic Hand)
FAQ
How many han is Pinfu?
Pinfu is 1 han and closed only — any chi or pon removes it.
How many fu is a pinfu tsumo?
20 fu. A pinfu tsumo doesn't take the usual 2 fu for tsumo, so it stays at 20 fu, plus 1 han for menzen tsumo. By ron it's 30 fu.
Can the pair be my seat wind or the round wind?
No. Dragons, seat wind and round wind pairs all earn fu, so no pinfu. A guest wind (neither your seat wind nor the round wind) is fine.
What if the wait can be read as either closed or two-sided?
It's pinfu. If the winning tile can be read as a two-sided wait, pinfu applies, and the hand is scored the highest way.
Related yaku
Riichi 1 han（closed only）
Declare it with a closed tenpai hand for 1 han: requirements, the rules after riichi, ippatsu and ura dora, win rate and average result.
Tanyao Closed 1 / open 1
Only 2–8 number tiles, 1 han, calling allowed here. Examples, common combos, and how many simples you need to force it.
Iipeikou 1 han（closed only）
Two identical sequences, closed only, 1 han. Examples, why a call kills it, and how it differs from ryanpeikou and chiitoitsu.
Try it at the table
Riichi Mahjong — Play Japanese Riichi Mahjong free in your browser against three AI opponents. Standard online rules with red fives, ippatsu and ura dora, a yaku guide, wait and furiten hints, and three AI levels. No sign-up.