Hong Kong Mahjong · 1 fan

All Chows (Ping Wu) in Hong Kong Mahjong: Fan, Chicken Hand and Odds

In Hong Kong mahjong, All Chows (平糊) is worth 1 fan: when you win, all four sets are chows (runs like 3-4-5) plus one pair, with no pung or kong at all.

On its own it's only 1 fan, but it's easy to make: with Concealed Hand and No Flowers it becomes the most common 3-fan win at a 3-fan-minimum table.

The rules for All Chows

• All four sets are chows — built in hand or claimed
• No pung (claimed or three of a kind in hand) and no kong
• The pair can be anything, even a scoring honour pair
• This site ignores the wait: single, closed, edge or two-sided waits all count; open hands count; flowers don't matter

All Chows vs a chicken hand

A "chicken hand" (雞糊) means a win with almost no fan — it isn't a scoring item. All Chows is a real scoring item that needs four chows.

How All Chows is scored

The fan below are computed live by the same scoring code the game uses.

Common combinations:

How it relates to other hands

• Concealed Hand and No Flowers: All Chows' best partners — the three together make exactly 3 fan.
• All Pungs: four pungs, so never together with All Chows.
• Mixed One Suit and Pure One Suit: chows fit one-suit hands well and stack with All Chows.
• Dragon pung and Seat Wind: an honour pung breaks All Chows; honours can only be the pair.

All Chows odds

Over 100,000 computer hands on this site, All Chows appeared in 49% of wins, averaging 3.2 fan; all wins averaged 3.4 fan, and 73% of wins were exactly 3 fan.

Source: 100,000 hands of computer play on this site (Normal level, 3-fan minimum, 10-fan limit).

All Chows is so common because chows are the easiest sets to complete: neighbouring number tiles join up without waiting for a pung. The price is small fan, so it usually needs Concealed, No Flowers or a self-draw to reach the minimum.

How to play All Chows

• Stay concealed: an open All Chows hand has only All Chows plus flower fan and is easily short of 3. Without scoring honours or a one-suit plan, avoid chowing.
• Aim for two-sided waits: the wait doesn't change the fan, but a two-sided wait (3-4 waiting on 2 or 5) has twice the outs.
• Drop lone honours: honours can only be pungs or the pair, so discard single honours early.
• Watch your flowers: one wrong-seat flower kills No Flowers, and a concealed All Chows discard win falls to 2 fan — you'll need a self-draw.

To try it, open a table of online Hong Kong mahjong — the computers play with you, count the fan and warn you when a win is short.

All Chows in other mahjong styles

"Ping hu" means different things in different styles:

• Sichuan mahjong: a basic win with no other scoring patterns, and pungs are allowed (Sichuan mahjong Ping Hu)
• Taiwanese and Japanese (pinfu) mahjong each have their own version with different conditions: Taiwanese mahjong tai list, Japanese mahjong yaku list

FAQ

How many fan is All Chows?

In Hong Kong mahjong All Chows is worth 1 fan. With Concealed and No Flowers it's 3 fan — exactly enough to win.

Can you chow in All Chows?

Yes, claimed chows still count. But you lose Concealed, so the hand is easily short of 3 fan.

Can the pair be an honour?

On this site, yes — any pair works. Some tables don't allow a scoring-honour pair in All Chows; ask before you play.

What's the difference between All Chows and a chicken hand?

All Chows is a scoring item for four chows, worth 1 fan; a chicken hand just means a win with very few fan, not a scoring item.

Related hands

Concealed Hand 1 fan No chows or pungs is worth 1 fan: do concealed kongs count, discard vs self-draw, building 3 fan with All Chows and No Flowers, and how common it is. No Flowers 1 fan No flowers at all is worth 1 fan: how it differs from Own Flower, why someone else's flower costs you, and how often it happens. All Pungs 3 fan Four pungs and a pair, no chows — 3 fan, exactly enough to win. Examples, scoring combos and how many pairs you need to go for it.