Chinese Official Mahjong · 1 pt

Pure Double Chow in Chinese Official Mahjong (MCR): Points, Examples and Rules

In Chinese Official Mahjong, Pure Double Chow (一般高) is worth 1 point: your winning hand has two chows that are the same suit and the same numbers, such as two 2-3-4 of characters. It's small, but same-suit chows are common, so it is often the point that gets a hand to 8.

The rules for Pure Double Chow

• Two chows of the same suit with the same three numbers (234 characters + 234 characters)
• Claimed and concealed chows both count — the hand doesn't need to be concealed
• Same numbers in different suits (234 characters + 234 dots) is not this fan but Mixed Double Chow
• Pairs in Seven Pairs never make it: Pure Double Chow only looks at chows

When Pure Double Chow is not counted

• Three identical chows: Pure Triple Chow (24 points) already includes it; four identical chows are Quadruple Chow (48 points)
• Pure Terminal Chows (two 123 and two 789 of one suit, pair of 5 of that suit), 64 points, already includes it
• Account once: each chow can combine with only one other chow once more. Two 234 characters plus 567 characters score Pure Double Chow and one Short Straight, not Pure Double Chow plus two Short Straights

Scoring Pure Double Chow

The points below are computed live by the site's scorer, exactly as in the game.

Pure Double Chow and the 8-point minimum

At 1 point it can never carry a win by itself; its job is topping up: with 6 or 7 points already, two identical chows add the missing 1. It's also half of Pure Triple Chow — one more identical chow turns 1 point into 24.

In 4,000 simulated hands between the site's computer players, Pure Double Chow appeared in 1.5% of winning hands, which averaged 14.9 points. To practise building 8 points, play MCR online against the computer.

Pure Double Chow in other mahjong styles

Riichi mahjong's iipeikou is also two identical chows, but it must be concealed and is worth one han (Japanese mahjong yaku list). In MCR, claimed chows count.

FAQ

How many points is Pure Double Chow?

1 point in Chinese Official Mahjong. Claimed chows count; the hand doesn't need to be concealed.

What's the difference from Mixed Double Chow?

Pure Double Chow is two identical chows in one suit; Mixed Double Chow is the same numbers in two different suits (234 characters and 234 dots). Each is 1 point.

How many Pure Double Chows are three identical chows?

None: three identical chows in one suit are Pure Triple Chow (24 points), which already includes Pure Double Chow.

Related fan

Pure Triple Chow 24 pt Three identical chows of one suit for 24 points: rules, what it absorbs, how it differs from Pure Shifted Pungs, and how a fourth chow scores. Mixed Double Chow 1 pt The same chow in two suits for 1 point: counting it twice, the account-once limit, and how it grows into Mixed Triple Chow. Short Straight 1 pt Two same-suit chows forming a run of six (1–6, 4–9…) for 1 point — and not counted once it becomes a Pure Straight.