Chinese Official Mahjong · 1 pt

Single Wait in Chinese Official Mahjong (MCR): Points, Examples and Rules

In Chinese Official Mahjong, Single Wait (单钓将) is worth 1 point: four sets are complete and you hold one lone tile, waiting for its partner to make the pair — and it's the only tile your hand waits on. As with Edge and Closed Wait, a hand that can also win on another tile gets nothing.

The rules for Single Wait

• The winning tile pairs up with a tile in your hand to form the pair
• One wait only: the hand waits on exactly one kind of tile
• Discard or self-draw both count
• Never stacks with Edge Wait or Closed Wait

When it's not Single Wait

• The hand waits on more tiles: 1-2-3-4 dots waits on 1 (1-1 and 2-3-4) and on 4 (1-2-3 and 4-4); winning on 4 is not Single Wait (second example below)
• Fan that already include it: Seven Pairs (24 points), Thirteen Orphans, Greater and Lesser Honors and Knitted Tiles, Seven Shifted Pairs, Four Kongs, and Melded Hand (6 points — every set claimed, so the last tile is always a single wait)

Scoring Single Wait

Single Wait and the 8-point minimum

Its advantage is that you choose the tile you wait on: one point short, wait on an honor or a tile others are throwing away, and you get both the 1 point and a decent chance of a discard. The downside: one kind of tile, three copies at most.

In 4,000 simulated hands between the site's computer players, Single Wait appeared in 2.0% of winning hands, averaging 15.3 points. Play MCR online and try it.

Single Wait in other mahjong styles

Taiwanese mahjong's "Single Wait" (独听) includes waiting on the pair, also only when it's the one wait (Taiwanese mahjong Single Wait).

FAQ

How many points is Single Wait?

1 point in Chinese Official Mahjong, on a discard or self-drawn.

Does waiting on the last pair of Seven Pairs count?

No. Seven Pairs (24 points) already includes Single Wait, so it's not counted again.

Does Melded Hand also score Single Wait?

No. Melded Hand always ends on a single wait for a discard, so its 6 points already include it.

Related fan

Edge Wait 1 pt 1-2 waiting on 3, 8-9 waiting on 7 — 1 point only if it's your one and only wait. Closed Wait 1 pt Waiting on the middle tile — and only that tile — for 1 point: how to tell, the common fake closed waits, and using it to reach 8. Melded Hand 6 pt All four sets claimed and a single wait won on a discard for 6 points: self-draw doesn't count, Single Wait is absorbed, and you still need 2 more to win.