Sichuan Mahjong · 1 fan

Golden Hook (Jin Gou Diao) in Sichuan Mahjong: Fan, Examples and Odds

In Sichuan mahjong, the golden hook (金鉤釣, jin gou diao) is worth 1 fan, and it always comes with All Pungs' 1 fan — 2 fan in total, so each payer pays 4 units: all four sets are punged or konged, only one tile is left in your hand, and you wait for its match to make the pair. The name pictures a hook dangling a single tile.

The rules for the golden hook

• All four sets are pungs or kongs (exposed, upgraded and concealed kongs all count), with one tile left in hand
• You win on the other copy of that tile to make the pair — self-drawn or on a discard
• All four sets are pungs, so it is always All Pungs too, and both fan count
• The last tile can't be from your void suit

How the golden hook waits

The golden hook always waits on one tile, but every draw lets you switch: you draw, hold two tiles, and the one you discard decides your new wait.

• Keep a tile nobody has discarded yet: three copies are still out there, better than one
• Keep a tile the others can't use: someone's void suit, or a kind that's already been thrown a few times

The risk of the golden hook

With one tile in hand you can't defend: every draw you pick one of two tiles to discard, and it's easy to deal into someone's hand. In blood battle the hand goes on after others win, and the later it gets the more dangerous it is.

How the golden hook is scored

Fan add up, and each extra fan doubles the payment, up to the cap of 4 fan. The hands below are scored live by the same code the game uses (the self-draw bonus and kong payments come on top).

Common combinations:

How it relates to other hands

• All Pungs: the golden hook is always All Pungs; not every All Pungs is a golden hook (pungs still in your hand don't count).
• Root: each kong among the four sets adds a root — and collects kong money as well.
• All 2-5-8 pungs: four sets and the waiting tile all 2, 5 or 8 adds another 2 fan.
• Pure One Suit: four sets from one suit and a waiting tile of that suit is a pure golden hook, over the default cap.

Golden hook odds

In 40,000 hands of normal computer play, only 4 of 115,067 wins were golden hooks: playing normally, the computers don't claim four sets just for it.

In the forced All Pungs simulation (the player with the most pairs must go for All Pungs and pungs whenever it helps — see the All Pungs page), 6.4% of the finished hands were golden hooks. Punging everything often ends with a single tile in hand.

Which hands suit the golden hook

• Lots of pairs, and others keep throwing your tiles: quick pungs lead naturally to four claimed sets.
• The more concentrated the better: four sets of one suit is a pure golden hook, straight to the cap.
• Kong when you can: drawing the fourth tile of a pung and upgrading it adds a root and collects kong money (beware of robbing the kong).
• Wait on a fresh tile: keep the one nobody has discarded and nobody needs.

To try it, open a table of online Sichuan mahjong — the computers play blood battle with you and count the fan for you.

The golden hook in other mahjong styles

"Everything claimed, win on a single wait" has cousins elsewhere:

• Taiwanese mahjong's "all from others" (全求人): all sets claimed, winning on someone's discard with a single wait, 2 tai (Taiwanese mahjong scoring)
• Guobiao's "Melded Hand" (全求人): 6 fan, discard wins only (Guobiao fan list)

Sichuan's golden hook also counts on a self-draw, and it is always All Pungs.

FAQ

How many fan is the golden hook?

The golden hook is 1 fan, plus All Pungs' 1 fan that always comes with it: 2 fan, so each payer pays 4 units.

Does a self-drawn golden hook count?

Yes. Self-drawn or on a discard, it's a golden hook; on a self-draw each payer also adds the 1-unit self-draw bonus.

Does a concealed kong count as one of the four sets?

Yes. Pungs, exposed, upgraded and concealed kongs all count; with four sets down and one tile left it's a golden hook, and a concealed kong adds a root too.

Is the golden hook always All Pungs?

Yes. Sichuan mahjong has no chows, so every claimed set is a pung — the golden hook always includes All Pungs.

Related hands

All Pungs 1 fan Four pungs and a pair — 1 fan. Examples, 2-5-8 / golden hook / pure-pungs combos, and how many pairs you need to go for it. All 2-5-8 Pungs 2 fan All Pungs made only of 2s, 5s and 8s — 3 fan in total. Examples, stacking to the cap, and why it's so rare. Root 1 fan All four copies of a tile in your hand adds 1 fan: examples, no kong needed, stacking roots, and how common they are.