Great Four Winds (大四喜) — 10 Faan
Great Four Winds is worth 10 faan — pungs (or kongs) of all four winds: East, South, West and North. Many tables pay it as a limit hand.
What it is
Great Four Winds is one of the rarest hands in Hong Kong Mahjong: all four wind tiles formed into pungs or kongs, plus any pair as the eyes. The winds occupy all four melds, so the hand’s skeleton is completely fixed.
How to form it
Like Small Four Winds it starts from a wind-heavy deal, but here all four winds must become pungs — four copies of each in the whole wall. By your third exposed wind pung the entire table will lock up the fourth wind, so the last set usually has to be drawn yourself.
Example hand — 10 Faan
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Common scoring mistake
The 10 faan is the whole hand’s price — Seat Wind and Prevailing Wind faan are not added per pung. Three wind pungs with a wind pair is Small Four Winds (8 faan) — whether the fourth wind is a pung or the pair is exactly the difference. And like Great Three Dragons, many tables apply liability: discarding the fourth wind against three exposed wind pungs makes you pay for the whole hand.
Combines with
Great Four Winds is an All Pungs structure by definition, and with suited eyes it borders on Half Flush — but the stack blows past any cap, so in practice it simply pays the limit.
Frequently asked questions
How many faan is Great Four Winds?
Great Four Winds is worth 10 faan in Hong Kong Mahjong: pungs or kongs of all four winds. Many tables pay it as an automatic limit hand.
What is the difference between Great and Small Four Winds?
Great Four Winds has pungs or kongs of all four winds (10 faan). Small Four Winds has three wind pungs plus a pair of the fourth (8 faan).
Is there a liability rule for Great Four Winds?
At many tables, discarding the fourth wind type when three wind pungs are already exposed makes the discarder liable for the entire payout. Agree on this before playing.
Related hands
See how this hand fits into the complete scoring table: