Score table memorization
Memorizing the score table, or at least learning the common values, is important for strategy. However, learning the score table should only be done after learning the basic game procedures and yaku. The score table is large, but it can be memorized over time.
It may be helpful to divide the table into sections, then memorize them one by one, e.g. memorizing 30 fu values, then 40 fu values. Many sections share similar point values to other sections.
Counting Han / Fu
Hand scores can be expressed in terms of han and fu. In order to use the score table, you need to know how much the hand is worth. If you have not memorized the scoring table yet, you can calculate han/fu, then look at the table.
Han
Han is determined by the number and value of yaku in your hand. As a reminder, yaku can stack. Then, for each dora, one han is added. The total han is the hand's han value.
Fu
All hands start with a base of 20 fu. Then, a hand may increase fu by:
- Having triplets and/or kan calls.
- Having a kanchan, penchan, or tanki wait
- Having a pair of yakuhai.
- Winning by tsumo or closed hand ron.
(See the fu article for exact details).
After calculating fu, the fu count is rounded up to the next interval of 10 fu, unless it is chiitoitsu. For example, a hand with 32 fu is rounded to 40 fu. This rounding makes it easier to memorize the hand values.
Common Fu Values
The most common values of fu, by far, are:
- 30 fu - Most open hands; most closed hand tsumo; pinfu ron
- 40 fu - Most closed hand ron; most open toitoi
- 20 fu - Pinfu + tsumo
- 25 fu - Chiitoitsu
Therefore, by learning point values for each of 20 fu, 25 fu, 30 fu, and 40 fu, you'll cover a large majority of cases.
If a hand has declared kan, has at least 2 closed simple triplets, or 1 closed terminal/honor triplet, it is likely that the hand deviates from these shortcut values.
Mangan
Once a hand reaches 5 han, 4 han 40 fu, or 3 han 70 fu, it reaches mangan, and fu no longer matters for scoring. From mangan onwards, only han determines score. Mangan-or-higher hands are easy to remember - they all have round, convenient numbers and specific names (haneman, baiman, etc.).
Therefore, for any possible hand, it is not needed to learn fu values for 5+ han.
Common Patterns
Point patterns for ron
Overall, the majority of the points in the scoring table pertaining to ron can be learned with these patterned numbers:
- 1000 -> 2000 -> 3900 -> 7700
- 1300 -> 2600 -> 5200
- 1500 -> 2900 -> 5800 -> 11600
- 1600 -> 3200 -> 6400
- 2400 -> 4800 -> 9600
The sum of tsumo values are equal or almost equal to these particular numbers.
Tsumo vs ron
The total points gained from a tsumo is (nearly) identical to the points from ron. When a non-dealer wins by tsumo, the dealer pays ~50% of the points, and the other players pay ~25% of the points. When a dealer wins by tsumo, the other players split points equally.
Any differences between tsumo and ron come from rounding. For example, a 1 han 30 fu ron is worth 1000 points. Without rounding, this would be split into 500 dealer / 250 non-dealer. Points in riichi mahjong are always rounded to the hundreds place, so for non-dealers 250 is rounded up to 300. Therefore, a 1 han 30 fu tsumo earns 500/300 (500 + 300 + 300), or 1100 points.
+1 han = doubled fu
When a hand gains +1 han, it is exactly equivalent to doubling the hand's fu. (This does not apply once a hand reaches mangan.)
- 1 han 40 fu = 2 han 20 fu
- 1 han 80 fu = 2 han 40 fu = 3 han 20 fu
- 2 han 30 fu = 1 han 60 fu
- 3 han 50 fu = 4 han 25 fu
Therefore, if you multiply fu by 2, then subtract 1 han, you'll end up with the same score value. Likewise, you can add 1 han, then divide fu by 2, and end up with the same score. This means by memorizing the 30 fu values, you will also memorize the 60 fu values. By memorizing the 25 fu values, you will also memorize the 50 fu values.
By proxy, this means that when a hand gains +1 han (without changing fu), it roughly doubles in point value. Due to rounding, a hand may not exactly double in value, but it will be close to double.
Memorizing common values
It is important to know the most common values first. Memorize the values for (1-4 han) + (20, 25, 30, 40) fu hands, as well as mangan+ hands, first, since they are far more common than anything else.
Mangan and more
Hands at mangan or higher are always worth a set amount.
| Mangan or greater | Dealer | Non-Dealer | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Han | Ron | Tsumo† | Ron | Tsumo |
| Mangan | 3 (70+ fu) 4 (40+ fu) 5 |
12000 | 4000 | 8000 | 4000/2000 |
| Haneman | 6 or 7 | 18000 | 6000 | 12000 | 6000/3000 |
| Baiman | 8, 9, or 10 | 24000 | 8000 | 16000 | 8000/4000 |
| Sanbaiman | 11 or 12 | 36000 | 12000 | 24000 | 12000/6000 |
| Yakuman | 13+ Any yakuman |
48000 | 16000 | 32000 | 16000/8000 |
| † Dealer tsumo applies to all non-dealer players | |||||
30 and 40 fu
30 and 40 fu are the most common point values. The smallest possible hand is 1 han 30 fu from ron, which is worth 1000 points.
| Position | 1 han 30 fu | 2 han 30 fu | 3 han 30 fu | 4 han 30 fu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
300/500 1000 |
500/1000 2000 |
1000/2000 3900 |
2000/3900 7700 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
500 1500 |
1000 2900 |
2000 5800 |
3900 11600 |
| Position | 1 han 40 fu | 2 han 40 fu | 3 han 40 fu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
400/700 1300 |
700/1300 2600 |
1300/2600 5200 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
700 2000 |
1300 3900 |
2600 7700 |
25 fu
Only hands with chiitoitsu can score 25 fu. Unlike all other hands, the fu for chiitoitsu is not rounded - it always remains at 25 fu.
| Position | 2 han | 3 han | 4 han |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
400/800 1600 |
800/1600 3200 |
1600/3200 6400 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
800 2400 |
1600 4800 |
3200 9600 |
Equivalent point values
As mentioned above, adding one han is equivalent to doubling the hand's fu. This rule makes it easier to memorize, say, 20 fu, if you already know the 40 fu values.
20 fu and 40 fu
Only hands with pinfu + menzen tsumo can score 20 fu. Pinfu with ron is worth 30 fu (+10 from closed ron). All other hands cannot reach this amount.
If you know the 40 fu values, you can add 1 han and divide fu by 2 to get the associated 20 fu value. Because pinfu + tsumo is at least 2 han, there is no 1 han 20 fu amount needed to worry about.
| Position | 1 han 40 fu = 2 han 20 fu | 2 han 40 fu = 3 han 20 fu | 3 han 40 fu = 4 han 20 fu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
400/700 1300 |
700/1300 2600 |
1300/2600 5200 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
700 2000 |
1300 3900 |
2600 7700 |
25 fu and 50 fu
Now, the 25 fu values can be doubled to 50 fu. So, by knowing the "chiitoitsu" point values, one would already know the 50 fu column.
| Position | 2 han 25 fu = 1 han 50 fu | 3 han 25 fu = 2 han 50 fu | 4 han 25 fu = 3 han 50 fu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
800/400 1600 |
1600/800 3200 |
3200/1600 6400 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
800 2400 |
1600 4800 |
3200 9600 |
30 fu and 60 fu
| Position | 2 han 30 fu = 1 han 60 fu | 3 han 30 fu = 2 han 60 fu | 4 han 30 fu = 3 han 60 fu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
500/1000 2000 |
1000/2000 3900 |
2000/3900 7700 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
1000 2900 |
2000 5800 |
3900 11600 |
70 fu and more
This portion of the scoring table is the least used. Hands scored at 70+ fu rarely occur; but they most certainly do occur. To score 70+ fu, the hand needs the large amount of fu generated by closed kan involving terminal or honor tiles. Otherwise, the hand may also involve any multiple kan calls. Furthermore, the 70+ fu scores only apply to 1 or 2 han hands. With 3 han or more, the value is already set to mangan.
| Dealer | Non-Dealer | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 | |
| 1 han | 1200 3400 |
1300 3900 |
1500 4400 |
1600 4800 |
1800 5300 |
600/1200 2300 |
700/1300 2600 |
800/1500 2900 |
800/1600 3200 |
900/1800 3600 |
| 2 han | 2300 6800 |
2600 7700 |
2900 8700 |
3200 9600 |
3600 10600 |
1200/2300 4500 |
1300/2600 5200 |
1500/2900 5800 |
1600/3200 6400 |
1800/3600 7100 |
Point equivalences continue to apply for the 40 fu and 80 fu column, as well as the 50 fu and 100 fu column. The columns for 70 fu, 90 fu, and 110 fu all produce unique point values not found elsewhere on the scoring table. Therefore, those may have to be memorized on their own. Again, they do not occur frequently; so it is best and practical to learn these values after learning the rest of the scoring table.
40 fu and 80 fu
| Position | 2 han 40 fu = 1 han 80 fu | 3 han 40 fu = 2 han 80 fu |
|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
700/1300 2600 |
1300/2600 5200 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
1300 3900 |
2600 7700 |
50 fu and 100 fu
| Position | 2 han 50 fu = 1 han 100 fu | 3 han 50 fu = 2 han 100 fu |
|---|---|---|
| Non-dealer tsumo Non-dealer ron |
800/1600 3200 |
1600/3200 6400 |
| Dealer tsumo Dealer ron |
1600 4800 |
3200 9600 |
Once again, these two values are directly linked to the chiitoitsu values. However, these han and fu combinations do not apply to chiitoitsu. As a reminder, the equivalences are (2 han 50 fu = 3 and 25 fu) and (3 han 50 fu = 4 and 25 fu).
Impossible scores
There are no scoring values assigned for 1 han and 20 fu, 1 han and 25 fu, and 2 han and 25 fu (via menzen tsumo).
- 1 han and 20 fu (tsumo)
- To score 20 fu, a hand must be pinfu + menzen tsumo. Pinfu and menzen tsumo are worth 1 han each, so a 20 fu hand needs a minimum of 2 han.
- 1 han and 25 fu
- Chiitoitsu is by default worth 2 han and 25 fu. No other yaku worth 1-han can be set at 25 fu.
- 2 han and 25 fu (tsumo)
- Chiitoitsu with menzen tsumo would be 3 han and 25 fu.
- 20 fu (ron)
- Closed hands score +10 fu. An open hand which would otherwise be at 20 fu gains +2 fu for "open pinfu". Thus, you cannot ron with 20 fu; the lowest possible ron is 1 han 30 fu.
External links
- Score table memorization in Japanese Wikipedia