Pinfu
Pinfu 「平和」 is a yaku obtained when a closed hand has the minimum amount of fu, excluding the fu from win method. It is worth 1 han and can only be scored by closed hands.
| Type | Yaku |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 平和 |
| English | All sequences |
| Value | 1 han |
| Speed | Very fast |
| Difficulty | Very easy |
Tile diagram
Winning tile: 
or 
The winning tile completes the last sequence, which is worth 0 fu, making the hand pinfu.
Definition
In English, pinfu is sometimes referred to as "all sequences", but that isn't the only requirement for this yaku. There are hands that have all sequences but cannot score pinfu.
The exact definition of pinfu is a closed hand that has no fu, other than the fu from winning. To score pinfu:
- The hand must be closed.
- The hand cannot have any triplets or quads - it must be all sequences.
- The pair cannot be composed of yakuhai - the pair cannot be the round wind, seat wind, or a dragon.
- At tenpai, the hand must have a ryanmen wait. A ryanmen wait is two consecutive tiles waiting to complete either side of sequence, such as {23} or {45}.
- The pair must be complete before reaching tenpai. This means that a "two-sided" nobetan wait does not count, it has to be a wait to complete a sequence.
- Complex waits can also score pinfu if they could be interpreted as a ryanmen wait. A sanmenchan wait, such as {34567}, always counts as a ryanmen wait, because it can be interpreted as {34 + 567} (a ryanmen wait) or {345 + 67} (also a ryanmen wait). Ryantan counts only if you win by completing the sequence (e.g. a wait of {4555} only scores pinfu if you win with 3 or 6).
By avoiding all excess sources of fu, you can score pinfu. Triplets and quads score at least 2 fu each. A yakuhai pair scores 2 fu. A non-ryanmen wait scores 2 fu.
As an exception, pinfu does not score fu from tsumo (win from self draw). Normally, a win by self draw is worth 2 fu. When a hand wins with pinfu, these 2 fu are waived. Thus, a pinfu tsumo is worth 20 fu. Pinfu is allowed to score the 10 fu from winning from a closed ron, though.
Counter examples
The following examples are all "all sequence hands", but they are not pinfu.
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Every tile group is a sequence, but this hand is open. |
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The pair of east winds disqualifies the hand as pinfu for the dealer or for any player in the east round. |
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The pair wait disqualifies this hand as pinfu. |
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The dragon pair does not qualify this hand as pinfu. |
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The middle wait does not qualify this hand as pinfu. |
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This hand qualifies for pinfu using either 6-pin or 9-pin. However, the first tile, 3-pin, functions as tanki. Coupled with the 6-pin, it is on a 3-6 nobetan. Nevertheless, 6-pin still qualifies for pinfu, because the han increase takes precedence over fu. |
Value
By definition, pinfu has the minimum possible fu: a pinfu ron has 30 fu, while a pinfu tsumo has 20 fu. Therefore, for hands below mangan, a hand with pinfu will result is less points than other hands with the same han value. To demonstrate:
- Riichi + Pinfu ron (2 han 30 fu) = 2000 points
- Riichi + Tanyao ron (2 han 40 fu) = 2600 points
- Riichi + Mentsumo + Pinfu (3 han 20 fu) = 2700 points
- Riichi + Mentsumo + Tanyao (3 han 30 fu) = 4000 points
Of course, pinfu still increases your score due to the +1 han (riichi + tanyao + pinfu > riichi + tanyao). Also, once the hand reaches mangan or higher, fu no longer matter, so pinfu is worth the same as any other 1-han yaku.
Compatibility
^ Ippatsu requires riichi to be of any use.
| RCH | DRI | IPP | SMO | TAN | PFU | IPK | ITT | YAK | SDJ | SDO | TOI | SNA | SNK | CHA | JUN | RPK | SSG | HRO | HON | CHN | CHI | RIN | HAI | HOU | CHK | |
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Pinfu is incompatible with any yaku that requires a triplet, including rinshan. It is similarly incompatible with chiitoitsu, which does not use mentsu at all. On the other hand, pinfu works any sequential based yaku. As long as the hand is closed, the pair does not produce "fu", and the wait is open, then pinfu may be applied.
Usage
Pinfu is one of the most common yaku. While complex, the requirements are not difficult to meet.
- When playing with a closed hand, sequences are much easier to complete than triplets, so having "all sequences" is reasonably common.
- Ryanmen waits have better tile efficiency than other waits, so players will normally gather and keep ryanmen in their hand.
- Pairs are even easier to complete than sequences.
Therefore, by aiming to complete a closed hand quickly, players will often end up scoring this yaku as a byproduct. While pinfu won't be as fast as tanyao or yakuhai, because it cannot be scored open, this yaku is still seen often.
It naturally combines with other sequence based yaku, namely iipeikou, sanshoku doujun, and ittsuu.
External links
- Pinfu in Japanese Wikipedia