Three Quads

What is Three Quads in Japanese Mahjong

Three Quads is a two-han yaku in Japanese Riichi Mahjong. It requires forming exactly three kong (sets of four identical tiles) within a single winning hand. Three Quads is a two-han yaku requiring exactly three kong within the same winning hand. While quite rare and potentially difficult to assemble, it can lead to dramatic point swings when combined with dora indicators and other triplet-based yaku. Mastering when and how to declare kongs—balancing the risk of revealing extra dora against the potential rewards—is key to utilizing Three Quad effectively.

How to Achieve Three Quads？

Three Kong Sets: You must have three different quads in your final hand.

A kong (quad) can be declared in one of the following ways:

• Concealed Kong: All four tiles are in your hand, and you reveal them face-down (except for the indicator tiles).
• Open Kong: You upgrade an exposed triplet (pung) to a quad or declare a quad immediately by calling an opponent’s discard to complete four identical tiles.

Complete Hand Structure: A valid Riichi Mahjong hand consists of four sets (triplets, sequences, or quads) and one pair. In Three Quads, three of those four sets are quads. The remaining set can be a triplet or a sequence, and you still need a pair to complete the hand.

Two-Han Value: Regardless of whether the quads are concealed or open, three quads is worth two han.

What is the Strategy and Risk of Three Quads?

Rare But High-Impact: Drawing or calling the same tile four times on three occasions in a single hand is quite rare. If successful, the hand’s point value can escalate—especially when combined with dora indicators (each kong causes an additional dora flip).

Open or Closed: Unlike many yaku that require a fully concealed hand (menzen), Three Quads can be made with open kong. You do not lose this yaku by calling tiles from opponents.

Tactical Considerations: Declaring a kong reveals extra dora (one additional dora indicator per kong), which might also benefit opponents if they hold relevant dora tiles. If you’re already in tenpai (one tile away from winning), adding a kong can give you a After a Kan chance, stacking more potential yaku and points. However, each kong you declare also reveals more information about your hand and could make you a bigger target for others to defend against.

Combining with Other Yaku

• All Triplets: If the fourth set in your hand is also a triplet or another kong, you can combine Three Quads with All Triplets (two han), further increasing your hand’s value.
• Yakuhai: Any of your quads can be of a value tile (seat wind, round wind, or dragon), adding an additional one han per set.
• After a Kan: If you win on the supplementary tile drawn immediately after declaring a kan, you gain an additional one han.

Three Quads Example Hand

• Quad 1: 2 of Pin × 4
• Quad 2: 2 of Sou × 4
• Quad 3: 2 of Man × 4
• Fourth Set: 5 of Man × 3 (triplet)
• Pair: White Dragons × 2

This satisfies the requirement of three quads. If any of the triplets happen to be your seat wind or a dragon, you’d gain additional Yakuhai bonuses. If all four sets were triplets/quads, you could also qualify for All Triplets. Plus, each kan flips an extra dora indicator, potentially skyrocketing the hand’s value.