February 28th, 2026 at 8:27:01 AM
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Have there been any reputable studies on the probabilities of various hands in standard Chinese Mahjong (Mah-Jongg), from the lowly, bog-common "Chicken Hand" all the way up to the (allegedly) ultra-rare Special Limit Hands (e.g. "13 Orphans" or "Nine Gates")? Unfortunately I do not have a professional background in Mathematics to probe into this matter on my own, and require the input of those who have such qualifications. By what means can a person establish the probabilities of the commonly-known hands of Mahjong, to determine if their traditional ranking is mathematically justified?
The upper limit of combinations should be (144 choose 14), or a staggering 9,844,971,586,905,715,128, (9.84 quintillion), but the number of winning hands would obviously be a tiny subset of that figure.
Any help or suggestions will be most appreciated!
The upper limit of combinations should be (144 choose 14), or a staggering 9,844,971,586,905,715,128, (9.84 quintillion), but the number of winning hands would obviously be a tiny subset of that figure.
Any help or suggestions will be most appreciated!
March 1st, 2026 at 6:23:08 AM
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Somebody published a math paper on this.
Mathematical aspects of the combinatorial game “Mahjong”
Mathematical aspects of the combinatorial game “Mahjong”
March 1st, 2026 at 7:29:42 PM
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Quote: acesideSomebody published a math paper on this.
Mathematical aspects of the combinatorial game “Mahjong”
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I've scanned through it, but it focuses on a specific hand called "Nine Gates", and is not as broad in scope as I would like. Thanks for the lead, nonetheless!

