Three kans 三槓子 · san kantsu
Declare three kans in one hand — open, closed, or added, in any mix.
| Value | 2 han, open or closed |
|---|---|
| How often | very rare |
Nobody plans sankantsu from the deal. It grows out of a triplet-heavy hand where fourth tiles keep arriving: you're already collecting sets for toitoi or sanankou, the fourth copies show up, and each kan brings a replacement draw with a shot at rinshan along the way.
Every declaration has a price. Each kan flips a new dora indicator for the whole table, not just for you, so kanning into an opponent's riichi can hand them the game. An added kan can be robbed for chankan. On the other side of the ledger, kans add serious fu, and a closed kan still counts as a concealed triplet — three closed kans score sanankou on top of sankantsu.
So treat each kan as a decision, not a reflex. The test: is your hand already built on triplets, and do the extra fu and dora chances outweigh the information you're broadcasting? If a fourth kan is realistic, suukantsu, a yakuman, is on the table.
Key points
- Each kan adds fu, a new dora indicator, and risk — three of them is a statement
- Four kans upgrade to suukantsu, a yakuman
- Among the rarest non-yakuman hands in recorded play
Related yaku
- Four kans 四槓子 — Declare four kans in one hand — then win with the single remaining pair.
- Three concealed triplets 三暗刻 — Three triplets you completed yourself, without pon — the rest of the hand can be open.
- After-kan win 嶺上開花 — Win on the replacement tile you draw after declaring a kan — “blossom on the ridge.”
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