Curriculum · 19 / 50
Yakuman
Yakuman are legendary riichi hands: each pattern has a fixed payout that ignores han and fu, and multiple yakuman stack.
The principle
A yakuman is an exceptional pattern whose payment is independent of han, fu and dora. One yakuman pays 32,000 points on a non-dealer ron and 48,000 on a dealer ron. Outside pao liability, that total is split among the three opponents on tsumo.
Rule and example
The classic yakuman fall into a few families. Triplets and kans: suuankou (four concealed triplets) and suukantsu (four kans). Honors and terminals: daisangen (the three dragons), shousuushii and daisuushii (the winds), tsuuiisou (all honors), chinroutou (all terminals) and ryuuiisou (all green). Special hands include kokushi musou and chuuren poutou. Tenhou is East winning with the initial fourteen tiles before any discard; chiihou is a non-dealer winning on the first draw with no prior call.
What changes
Under Tenhou rules, different genuine yakuman stack, but suuankou tanki, thirteen-sided kokushi, and pure chuuren each remain a single yakuman. An ordinary hand with 13 or more han becomes kazoe yakuman. WRC 2025 also keeps special waits at single value and calls its ordinary 13-han tier yonbaiman.
Mistake to avoid
For suuankou, a ron preserves all four concealed triplets only when the winning tile completes the pair. If it completes the fourth triplet, that triplet is treated as open and suuankou does not apply.
Key takeaway
In practice a yakuman is a rare event you almost never force: chasing an unlikely daisangen while letting a normal hand slip away is costly over time. Tenhou and chiihou depend only on the deal and cannot be played for at all. Recognizing a hand with real yakuman potential when it appears beats stubbornly pursuing one at any cost.
Rules references
- Tenhou rulesReference profile used for game mechanics and scoring.
- WRC Rules 2025International rules compared whenever their options differ from Tenhou.