Chinese Official Mahjong · 4 pt

Outside Hand in Chinese Official Mahjong (MCR): Points, Examples and Reaching 8

In Chinese Official Mahjong, Outside Hand (全带幺) is worth 4 points: when you win, each of the four sets (chows, pungs, kongs) and the pair contains at least one terminal (a 1 or a 9) or an honor tile. Chows can only be 1-2-3 or 7-8-9; pungs and the pair are 1s, 9s or honors.

The rules for Outside Hand

• Every chow contains a 1 or a 9: only 1-2-3 or 7-8-9
• Every pung or kong is of 1s, 9s or honors
• The pair too must be a 1, 9 or honor
• Claiming is allowed; the hand doesn't need to be concealed
• Only standard hands (four sets and a pair) qualify; Seven Pairs, knitted hands and Thirteen Orphans never score Outside Hand

Which fan absorb Outside Hand

Outside Hand excludes nothing itself. These bigger fan always have a terminal or honor in every group, so with them Outside Hand is not counted:

• All Terminals and Honors (32 points): only terminal and honor pungs and pair
• All Terminals (64 points): only 1s and 9s, no honors
• All Honors (64 points): only honors

Outside Hand stacks with the usual chow and pung fan: Two Terminal Chows (1-2-3 and 7-8-9 in one suit), Pung of Terminals or Honors, dragon and wind pungs, Mixed Double Chow and Mixed Triple Chow all add on.

How to get Outside Hand to 8 points

On top of that come the 1-pointers that Outside Hand often brings along: Two Terminal Chows, Pung of Terminals or Honors, Mixed Double Chow, No Honors, and Edge Wait (1-2 waiting on 3, 8-9 on 7).

Scoring examples

These hands are scored live by the site's scoring engine — exactly as in the game.

How it relates to other fan

• All Terminals and Honors, All Terminals: the all-pung versions of Outside Hand, worth far more, and they absorb it.
• Two Terminal Chows: 1-2-3 and 7-8-9 in one suit, the most common 1-pointer inside an Outside Hand.
• Pung of Terminals or Honors, Dragon Pung: Outside Hand pungs are terminals or honors anyway, so these come along almost automatically.
• Mixed Triple Chow: 1-2-3 (or 7-8-9) in all three suits plus Outside Hand is 12 points.
• All Simples: the exact opposite — no terminals or honors at all.

Outside Hand odds

Outside Hand needs a terminal or honor in every group: 4, 5 and 6 are useless, and 2, 3, 7, 8 only fit inside 1-2-3 or 7-8-9 — harder than it looks. In 4,000 hands of the site's AI playing normally, Outside Hand appeared in only 0.49% of wins (19 hands), averaging 16.6 points — a small sample.

In a 13-tile opening hand, 8 or more terminals and honors turn up about 6.6% of the time.

Source: 1,000,000 random 13-tile deals (flowers already replaced).

When to play for Outside Hand

• Your opening is heavy in terminals and honors, light in middle tiles, with edge shapes like 1-2 and 8-9.
• All three suits have 1-2-3 or 7-8-9, so Mixed Triple Chow or Two Terminal Chows can come along.
• Your honor pair is a dragon or your own wind: punging it tops up at the same time.
• Don't force it when middle tiles keep arriving: a single 4, 5 or 6 that you need breaks it.

To practise, play MCR online — scores are worked out for you.

Outside Hand in other mahjong styles

• Sichuan Mahjong: quan dai yao, 2 fan — no honors there, so every set needs a 1 or a 9 (Sichuan Mahjong Terminals in Every Set)
• Japanese Riichi Mahjong: chanta, 2 han concealed, 1 han open (Riichi yaku list)

FAQ

How many points is Outside Hand?

Outside Hand is worth 4 points in Chinese Official Mahjong. With the 8-point minimum you need 4 more.

Does the pair need a terminal or honor too?

Yes. All four sets and the pair must each contain a 1, a 9 or an honor; a middle-tile pair means no Outside Hand.

Is Seven Pairs of terminals an Outside Hand?

No. Outside Hand only applies to standard four-sets-and-a-pair hands; seven pairs of terminals and honors score Seven Pairs plus All Terminals and Honors instead.

Related fan

All Terminals and Honors 32 pt Only 1s, 9s and honors for 32 points: the pung and seven-pairs forms, what it doesn't combine with, and the All Types and Triple Pung it often brings. Pung of Terminals or Honors 1 pt 1 point for each pung of 1s, 9s or honors: non-seat winds count, scoring winds and dragons don't count twice, and which big fan drop it. Two Terminal Chows 1 pt 1-2-3 plus 7-8-9 of one suit for 1 point: when it isn't counted, how account-once limits it, and its link to Outside Hand.