Hand Types

Nine Gates

Also called: 九蓮宝燈, Chuuren Poutou, 九蓮寶燈

Concealed 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 in one suit + any tile of that suit. Considered the most beautiful hand.

Nine Gates is the rare and beloved single-suit limit hand. You hold concealed 1-1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-9-9 in one suit (13 tiles) and complete with any tile of that suit. Worth yakuman in Riichi, 88 fan in MCR, 13 faan in HK. The 'pure' version — where exactly the 9-wait completes a pure-nine-gates pattern — is sometimes scored as a double yakuman.

Related terms

Limit hand
A hand that hits the maximum table payout — typically the rarest and most beautiful.
Thirteen Orphans
A non-standard hand: all 13 unique terminal/honor tiles + a pair of one.
Full Flush
Every tile in the hand is in a single suit. No honors.