Hong Kong Mahjong · 1 fan
Dragon Pung (三元牌) in Hong Kong Mahjong: Fan, Examples and Odds
In Hong Kong mahjong, each dragon pung is worth 1 fan: three (or four, as a kong) of the Red, Green or White Dragon (中, 發, 白) give you one fan, and two such pungs give two.
Dragon pungs are the easiest fan in Cantonese mahjong: they don't depend on your seat or the round, so whoever gets one scores. With a 3-fan minimum, plenty of hands only clear the bar thanks to one or two dragon pungs.
On this page
The rules for a dragon pung
- Three or four of one dragon: punged, exposed kong, concealed kong or drawn yourself all count
- A pair scores nothing: a dragon pair is just the eyes (two dragon pungs plus the third dragon as the pair is Small Three Dragons, scored separately)
- Each pung counts on its own: two pungs, two fan
- Seat and round don't matter — it's the same for all four players
- Only the highest in the family counts: two pungs plus the third dragon as the pair is Small Three Dragons, three pungs is Great Three Dragons, and the single dragon fan is not added on top
How a dragon pung is scored
The fan below are computed live by the same scoring code the game uses.
Won on a discard
| Dragon pung (三元牌) ×2 | 2 |
| No flowers (無花) | 1 |
| Total | 3 fan |
|---|
Anything over 10 fan scores 10 (the limit).
Self-drawn
| Self-drawn (自摸) | 1 |
| Dragon pung (三元牌) | 1 |
| No flowers (無花) | 1 |
| Total | 3 fan |
|---|
Anything over 10 fan scores 10 (the limit).
| Combination | Fan |
|---|---|
| One dragon pung | 1 fan |
| One dragon pung + No Flowers | 2 fan |
| Two dragon pungs + No Flowers | 3 fan |
| One dragon pung + Mixed One Suit | 4 fan |
| One dragon pung + All Pungs | 4 fan |
| Two pungs + third dragon as pair (Small Three Dragons) | 5 fan |
| Three pungs (Great Three Dragons) | 8 fan |
How it relates to other hands
- Small Three Dragons: two dragon pungs with the third dragon as the pair, 5 fan, replacing the two dragon-pung fan.
- Great Three Dragons: pungs of all three dragons, 8 fan.
- Round wind, seat wind: a wind pung only scores if it matches the round or your seat; a dragon pung always scores.
- Mixed One Suit: dragons are honour tiles, so one suit plus a dragon pung scores both.
- All Honours: all honour tiles is a limit hand, and individual dragon pungs are no longer counted.
Dragon pung odds
How many dragons in the opening hand
There are 12 dragon tiles (four each of Red, Green and White). A 13-tile opening hand holds at least one about 72% of the time and at least two about 32%; it already has a dragon pair (two of the same dragon) about 13% of the time, and two dragon pairs only 0.46%.
| Dragon tiles in the opening hand | Chance |
|---|---|
| 1+ tiles | 72% |
| 2+ tiles | 32% |
| 3+ tiles | 9.1% |
| 4+ tiles | 1.6% |
| 5+ tiles | 0.19% |
| 6+ tiles | 0.018% |
Source: 1,000,000 random 13-tile deals (flowers already replaced).
How common it is in play
Over 100,000 hands of computers playing normally on this site, 23% of all wins included a dragon pung — the most common fan after flowers, concealed hand, self-draw and All Chows.
Playing your dragons
- Pung a dragon pair as soon as you can: it's an instant fan, and often what turns a 2-fan hand into a 3-fan winner.
- Single dragons: if you hold one and two are already in the discards, it is dead — let it go early.
- Careful discarding dragons: early on, a player with a pair will pung it and gain a fan. Later, if someone has two dragon pungs exposed, never throw the third dragon — that could hand them Great Three Dragons.
To practise building fan from dragons, open a table of online Hong Kong mahjong — the computers play with you and count the fan for you.
Dragons in other mahjong styles
Red, Green and White exist in every style, but they score differently:
- Taiwanese mahjong: see the Taiwanese mahjong tai table
- Japanese mahjong: dragon pungs are "yakuhai", see the Japanese mahjong yaku list
- Chinese Official (Guobiao): see the Guobiao fan table
- American mahjong: dragons have their own hand category (American mahjong Winds and Dragons)
FAQ
How many fan is a dragon pung?
In Hong Kong mahjong each pung (or kong) of Red, Green or White Dragons is worth 1 fan; two are two fan. Two pungs plus the third dragon as the pair is Small Three Dragons (5 fan), and three pungs is Great Three Dragons (8 fan).
Is a pair of Red Dragons worth anything?
No. A dragon only scores as a pung or kong; as the pair it scores nothing.
What's the difference between a dragon pung and a wind pung?
A wind pung scores only if it is the round wind or your own seat wind; a dragon pung scores 1 fan for every seat.
Can you still have All Chows with a dragon pung?
No. All Chows needs all four sets to be chows, so any pung rules it out — but the dragon fan usually makes up for it.
Related hands
Small Three Dragons 5 fan
Two dragon pungs and a pair of the third dragon — 5 fan. Examples, the difference from Great Three Dragons, combos and how many dragons you need to go for it.
Great Three Dragons 8 fan
Pungs of Red, Green and White — an 8-fan big hand: examples, the difference from Small Three Dragons, when it hits the limit and how many dragons you need.
Round Wind 1 fan
1 fan for a pung of this round's wind, for every player — East in the East round, South in the South round, plus another fan if it's also your seat wind.
Try it at the table
Hong Kong Mahjong — Play classic Hong Kong (Cantonese) mahjong free in your browser against three computer opponents. 13-tile hands, flowers, 3-fan minimum, 10-fan limit and automatic fan scoring. No sign-up, works on phone and desktop.