Value-tile triplets 役牌 · yakuhai
A triplet (or kan) of dragons, your seat wind, or the round wind — 1 han each, open or closed.
| Value | 1 han, open or closed |
|---|---|
| How often | very common |
The opportunity announces itself early: a pair of dragons, your seat wind, or the round wind in your starting tiles. Two value tiles are a yaku in waiting, and the third copy usually has to come from a call, so decide up front whether you are willing to open the hand. If your other tiles are scattered and slow, calling pon ポン on the value tile often is the whole plan.
From there, build for speed. Once the value triplet is settled, the remaining sets can be anything, so take the shortest road to tenpai テンパイ (see riichi and tenpai). Watch how the hand wants to grow, too: a second dragon pair points toward shousangen, and honor-heavy hands slide naturally into honitsu or toitoi.
The classic trap is the guest wind: a wind that is neither your seat wind nor the round wind. It looks like a value tile, but a triplet of it scores nothing, and calling pon on one can leave you with an open hand and no yaku at all. Check the round and your seat before you call. Dragons never have this problem, since all three count for every player in every round.
Key points
- Dragons (white, green, red) always count; winds count only as your seat wind or the round wind
- A wind that is both your seat wind and the round wind counts twice (double East, etc.)
- The fastest yaku for open hands: pon a value tile and your hand is already valid
- Multiple value triplets stack — two dragon triplets are 2 han (and put you one step from shousangen)
Related yaku
- Little three dragons 小三元 — Triplets of two dragon types and a pair of the third.
- Big three dragons 大三元 — Triplets of all three dragon tiles — white, green, and red.
- All triplets 対々和 — A hand of four triplets (or kans) and a pair — no sequences at all.
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