Full Flush

What is Full Flush in Japanese Mahjong

Full Flush is one of the highest-value yaku in Japanese Riichi Mahjong that requires your hand to consist entirely of tiles from one suit (Pin, Sou, or Man), with no honor tiles (winds or dragons). Full Flush is a highly rewarding yaku that mandates using only one suit with no honors, typically yielding 6 han if concealed or 5 han if open. Although narrow in tile selection, Full Flush can quickly create large scoring hands—especially when combined with Riichi, Fully Concealed Hands, dora, or other bonuses. Keep in mind that once your opponents recognize you’re focusing on a single suit, they may withhold those crucial tiles, challenging your path to a flush finish.

How to Achieve Half Flush？

Only One Suit: You must use tiles from exactly one of the three suits (Pin, Sou, or Man). No tiles from the other two suits, and no honor tiles (winds or dragons) are allowed.

Standard Hand Structure: A valid Riichi Mahjong hand has four sets (sequences, triplets, or quads) plus one pair. All sets and the pair must come from the same suit in Full Flush.

Value Varies by Open/Closed:

• 6 han if the hand is fully concealed.
• 5 han if the hand is opened (any meld is called).

What is the Strategy and Risk of Full Flush?

Open vs. Closed: A closed Full Flushu yields 6 han, which can easily reach mangan or higher when combined with dora or additional yaku (Riichi, Fully Concealed Hands, etc.). An open Full Flush (5 han) is still quite valuable and can be faster to complete since you can call (chow/pung) tiles from opponents.

Possible Combinations

• Riichi: If fully concealed and you declare Riichi, that’s +1 han on top of 6 han, which can shoot your hand into haneman range.
• Fully Concealed Hands: Another +1 han if you self-draw a concealed flush.
• All Simples: Potentially compatible if your flush consists only of tiles 2–8 in that single suit (avoiding 1 and 9). However, note that if you incorporate 1 or 9, All Simples is invalid.
• Ippatsu or Ura Dora: Additional bonuses possible if you declare Riichi and quickly win (Ippatsu) or gain hidden dora flips (Ura Dora).

Efficiency vs. Point Potential: Collecting tiles in just one suit can be challenging, as it narrows your available tile pool. Opponents may also notice and avoid discarding that suit. The payoff, however, is significant if successful, often resulting in large swings of points—especially if combined with dora or other yaku.

Opponent Defense: Once opponents realize you’re discarding only tiles outside a specific suit, they may guess you’re aiming for a full flush (or half flush). They’ll become cautious about discarding the suit you’re collecting. If you open (meld) in your chosen suit, it becomes very obvious; opponents may intentionally hold back key tiles, slowing your progress.