Reading full-flush waits

Full Flush (Chinitsu)

Full Flush uses only one suit: Characters, Circles, or Bamboo, with no honors. It is worth 6 han closed or 5 han open. Its value is high, but collecting a single suit can take time.

Why these hands are difficult

In a mixed-suit hand, suit boundaries help separate the sets. In a full flush, the same tiles can often be split into sets and pairs in several ways. The difficulty is checking all those interpretations.

A reliable way to read the hand

• Convert the tiles into a sorted sequence of numbers.
• Try each possible pair, then work from the lowest remaining number.
• Remove a sequence or triplet when possible. If both are possible, explore both.
• For a ready hand, try adding each number from 1 to 9 and check for a complete four-set-and-pair structure. Never use more than four copies of a tile.

Shapes to remember

23456 can wait on 1, 4, or 7 when the rest of the hand supplies two completed sets and a pair. Try completing it as 123 + 456, 234 + 456, and 234 + 567.

2345678 can wait on 2, 5, or 8 when the rest supplies two completed sets. The added tile forms the pair; there is no separate pair already fixed.

1112345678999 is the nine-sided ready shape for Nine Gates: any tile from 1 to 9 in that suit completes it.

A group of three identical tiles is not always a triplet. Reusing those tiles in sequences can reveal additional waits.

When to pursue a full flush

Six or seven tiles of one suit early in the hand can be a reason to consider a flush, depending on shape, visible tiles, and time remaining. With only a few suited tiles later in the hand, forcing it is often too slow. A heavily biased discard pile also warns opponents about your chosen suit.

Practice until recognition becomes quick

Start by checking all possibilities carefully, then repeat the patterns under a timer. After a round, compare every accepted discard and its waits rather than memorizing just one answer.