Seven Pairs

What is Seven Pairs in Japanese Mahjong

Seven Pairs is a two-han yaku in Japanese Riichi Mahjong. It is one of the special hands that does not require a typical hand structure of four sets and one pair. Instead, the goal is to form exactly seven pairs of tiles. seven pairs is a two-han yaku where the goal is to form seven pairs in your hand. Unlike traditional hands, this yaku does not require sequences or triplets, making it a unique and specialized hand. While challenging assembling, seven pairs can be an effective way to win by collecting the right pairs. The hand’s straightforward structure makes it appealing for players who focus on forming pairs rather than the more complicated structures of triplets and sequences.

How to Achieve Seven Pairs？

Seven Pairs: To achieve seven pairs, your entire hand must consist of exactly seven pairs. Each pair consists of two identical tiles. A tile can only be part of one pair in your hand. These pairs can be formed from any tiles in the game, including suit tiles (1–9 in Pin, Sou, and Man) and honor tiles (winds and dragons).

No Sets or Sequences: Unlike other hands, seven pairs does not require triplets (pung), quads (kong), or sequences (chow). Instead of forming triplets or sequences, all the tiles must be paired, with the exception of the final hand, which is the winning pair.

Two-Han Value: seven pairs is worth two han, regardless of whether the hand is open or closed. This hand does not allow for any additional han from Yakuhai, as you cannot have a triplet of wind or dragon tiles in a seven-pairs hand.

What is the Strategy and Risk of Seven Pairs?

No Sequences or Triplets: Since the hand requires seven pairs, it eliminates the possibility of using regular sequences or triplets. The focus is purely on collecting pairs, so it can be tricky to collect enough identical tiles to form the seven pairs. This might make it a more difficult hand to form compared to others, especially in a game where opponents are discarding tiles quickly.

Combining with Other Yaku

• Dora: If you complete the seven pairs and have any dora tiles in the hand, those dora tiles will contribute to your total score, but they do not increase the han for seven pairs itself.
• Yakuhai cannot be added to seven pairs, because there are no triplets in the hand to count towards additional han.

Melding Tiles: seven pairs is a closed hand, meaning you must form the seven pairs entirely by drawing tiles yourself. You cannot call (pung) tiles from other players to form triplets or pairs in this hand. Therefore, all pairs must come from your own draws, adding a level of difficulty to completing the hand.

Waits: Since the hand is composed of pairs, your winning wait will generally involve drawing a tile that completes one of the pairs. The final tile needed to complete your hand is always a pair, and your wait will typically be on any single tile that can form one of your pairs.

Defensive Play: Once you start forming pairs, your opponents may start avoiding discarding matching tiles, particularly the ones that complete your pairs. This could result in a more cautious game, where your opponents try to block tiles you need to complete the hand.