Mixed Straight

What Is Mixed Straight

Mixed Straight in Chinese Mahjong is an 8-fan pattern where you form the 1–9 sequence across three suits as 1-2-3, 4-5-6, and 7-8-9, each chow in a different suit. This high-value pattern grants a significant scoring boost, but demands careful tracking of key ranks and balanced tile draws among all three suits. If you can spot an early partial alignment (e.g., a couple of consecutive sets in separate suits) and manage your melds or concealed draws effectively, building a Mixed Straight can lead to a strong, satisfying Mahjong win.

The Tile Pattern of Mixed Straight

Three Separate Chows

• Each chow is three consecutive tiles within one suit (no mixing suits in a single chow).
• These chows are specifically 1-2-3, 4-5-6, and 7-8-9, in three different suits.

Complete 1-to-9 Run: Combining those three chows yields a continuous run from rank 1 through rank 9—albeit distributed across suits.

Within a Standard Hand: You still need the standard 4 melds (chows/pungs/kongs) plus 1 pair to form a winning hand. So these three chows make up three of your melds; the fourth meld (and pair) can be anything else that completes your 14-tile structure.

Fan Value of Mixed Straight

Under Chinese Mahjong scoring, Mixed Straight is worth 8 fan, reflecting the difficulty of aligning a perfect 1–9 sequence across all three suits. This is a high-value pattern, substantially boosting your final score if you can assemble it.

Strategies and Considerations of Mixed Straight

High Base Score (8 Fan): Achieving Flower Dragon can elevate an otherwise moderate hand to a large-scoring result. You can also combine it with other small patterns (e.g., No Honors, One-Void Suit) if conditions allow.

Some Flexibility with Melds: You can choose to claim discards (meld) to form each of the 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9 sets. Alternatively, you can keep them concealed if you want synergy with a Concealed Hand. This choice depends on tile availability and your speed needs.

Rigid Rank Requirements: You specifically need 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 7-8-9. If a critical tile (e.g., 1, 2, 3 in a certain suit) is heavily discarded or melded by another player, completing the exact chow may be impossible.

Spread Across Three Suits: You rely on forming exactly one chow in each suit. If you start drawing multiple useful sequences in one suit and none in another, you might have to pivot away from Mixed Straight.

Tiles Already Used: Keep a close eye on discards. If too many of your needed tiles (like 4 or 5 or 9) are out, you may lose the chance to finish your intended chow-based run.

Early Recognition: If you see early that you have partial sequences in different suits (e.g., 1-2 of Dots, 4-5-6 in Characters, and a 7-8 of Bamboos), hold those sets. You might turn them into a Mixed Straight if you pick up the missing tiles.

Flexible or Forced Melds: Because each chow is quite specific, you may need to meld discards to secure them quickly. However, melding them face-up reveals your suits and your partial progress, so be aware that opponents may detect your 1–9 goal and stop discarding key tiles.

Overcommitting: If the 1-2-3 in your third suit is becoming unattainable (for instance, you see multiple 1s or 3s already discarded), consider switching to a simpler chow-based or multi-suit approach rather than chasing an impossible 8-fan bonus.