No Honors

What Is No Honors

No Honors is a 1-fan pattern in Chinese Mahjong achieved when your entire winning hand consists solely of the three suits (Craks, Bams, Dots) without a single wind or dragon tile. It arises frequently in normal play if you discard or ignore honor tiles. While this pattern offers a small bonus, it can combine effectively with larger suit-focused patterns (e.g., Full Flush) or chow-based strategies. Always weigh whether excluding honors entirely is more beneficial than including them for bigger opportunities, and manage your discards accordingly for maximum flexibility.

The Tile Pattern of No Honors

Honor-Tile Exclusion

• The defining characteristic is that your winning hand has no winds and no dragons whatsoever.
• Your entire hand is made up exclusively of the suits (Craks, Bams, Dots)—including sequences (chows), triplets (pungs or kongs), and pairs, as long as they are not honor tiles.

Examples: A hand composed entirely of Bams, Dots, and Craks (e.g., 1-2-3 of Dots, 5-6-7 of Bams, etc.) with absolutely no East, South, West, North, or Dragon tiles.

Fan Value of No Honors

In Chinese Mahjong scoring, No Honors is worth 1 fan. If your hand meets the criteria—no wind or dragon tiles—it gives you this bonus. This pattern can stack with other patterns, so it can serve as a small but useful increment to your total fan count.

Strategies and Considerations of No Honors

Natural Occurrence: Often, No Honors happens naturally if you do not draw or keep wind/dragon tiles. Many players discard unwanted honors early in the game unless they see potential to form a pung or a more valuable pattern.

Early Discard of Honors: Many players discard honors early if they are not pursuing an honor-related pattern (e.g., Pung of Terminals/Honors, All Honors). If you see that you keep drawing them, decide whether it’s worth trying to pung or kong them for more valuable points, or if you’d rather keep your hand flexible for No Honors.

Keep Options Open: Because No Honors is only 1 fan, consider your other paths. If you have a pair of honors that could become a pung, weigh whether that might yield a better total score.

Watch Out for Forced Honor Tiles: Sometimes you may pick up a useful seat wind or round wind tile (which can be worth additional fans if used in a pung). If you decide to incorporate it, you lose the No Honors bonus. Evaluate carefully if that trade-off is beneficial.

Compare with Other Patterns：

• One-Void Suit: If you’re missing an entire suit anyway, you also might end up with no honors.
• Big Suit Patterns (Half Flush / Full Flush): These exclude or limit honors as well, automatically covering No Honors if you don’t include dragons/winds.

Cautions:

• Don’t Overvalue the +1 Fan: If adding a pung of dragons or winds yields you more points (e.g., a special fan for prevalent wind, seat wind, or dragon pung), that might outweigh the No Honors bonus.
• Late-Game Tile Draws: If you draw an honor tile late that might complete a pung or secure a faster win, it might be worth losing the No Honors bonus.