Best Sections

Part 2 ranked every hand. Here we rank the sections on the card — Runs, 2468, Like Numbers, and the rest — in two different ways. Both use the same 10 million game probability simulation. They just answer different questions.

Two Rankings

How often a section shows up counts a game if any hand in that section finishes. Sections with lots of hands tend to rank higher.

How strong a typical hand is looks at the middle hand in each section (the median). A short section with a few strong hands can rank higher here.

September 11, 2026. The “shows up” column can sum to more than 100% because two hands can finish at the same time when they’re played simultaneously — both count as a win.

What Stands Out

Runs sit at the top of both lists. The section finishes often, and its typical hand is also the strongest on the card. FFF 11 22 333 DDDD Runs 5B · 13.2%

Any Like Numbers is second on the typical-hand list because it has two really strong hands and only one weaker one. On the “shows up” list it ranks much lower — there just aren’t many hands in that section, so it can’t appear as often as a bigger block. FF 1111 11 1111 DD Any Like Numbers 3 · 3.3% 1111 D 111 D 1111 D Any Like Numbers 2 · 2.6%

13579 is second on the “shows up” list because it has a lot of hands, including good ones. Spread that many lines across the card and the section will finish in more games — even though a typical 13579 hand sits in the middle of the pack. 113579 1111 1111 13579 4 · 3.5%

Where to Start

1. 1

   Learn Runs first. It’s at the top of both lists — it finishes in almost half of all games, and its typical hand is the strongest on the card. If you know one section cold, make it this one.

2. 2

   Learn the two good Like Numbers hands. The section only has three hands, and two of them are among the best on the card: FF 1111 11 1111 DD (Any Like Numbers 3, 3.3%) and 1111 D 111 D 1111 D (Any Like Numbers 2, 2.6%). Those two are worth memorizing on their own — the third is weaker (0.2%).

3. 3

   Then 2468 and 13579. Between them they cover the rest of the number tiles, and together with Runs they account for most of the games that end in mahjong. A typical hand in either is mid-pack, but you’ll land in them constantly. You’re learning them for coverage, not strength.

4. 4

   Skip Quints and Singles & Pairs until you’re comfortable. Quints finish in 4 of every 10,000 games. Don’t chase them, and don’t waste defensive effort worrying about them either.

Complete Results All 72 hands

All 72 hands by completion rate. Line is the section and number on the card (A/B when two versions share a line).

#	Line	Complete
1	Runs 5B	13.2%
2	Runs 2B	9.9%
3	Runs 3	8.4%
4	Runs 5A	6.0%
5	Runs 2A	5.2%
6	Winds 2	5.1%
7	2468 6	4.9%
8	Runs 4B	4.3%
9	369 4	4.3%
10	Runs 8	4.0%
11	13579 4	3.5%
12	2026 4	3.4%
13	2468 8	3.4%
14	Any Like Numbers 3	3.3%
15	2026 3	3.0%
16	Any Like Numbers 2	2.6%
17	Winds 3	2.1%
18	Winds 6	2.0%
19	13579 9	1.9%
20	Runs 4A	1.8%
21	369 6	1.7%
22	13579 1B	1.6%
23	2026 2	1.6%
24	369 3B	1.6%
25	Winds 4	1.5%
26	Runs 7B	1.4%
27	2468 7	1.4%
28	13579 6B	1.3%
29	13579 6A	1.3%
30	Singles & Pairs 3	1.1%
31	369 2	1.0%
32	369 5	0.9%
33	2468 5	0.9%
34	13579 5A	0.9%
35	2468 3	0.9%
36	13579 5B	0.9%
37	369 3A	0.8%
38	2468 1B	0.8%
39	Runs 1A	0.7%
40	13579 1A	0.7%
41	13579 2B	0.7%
42	Runs 1B	0.7%
43	13579 2A	0.7%
44	2468 4	0.6%
45	Singles & Pairs 5	0.6%
46	Winds 8	0.6%
47	Runs 7A	0.6%
48	13579 8A	0.5%
49	369 1A	0.5%
50	2468 2	0.5%
51	Singles & Pairs 1	0.5%
52	369 1B	0.5%
53	13579 8B	0.5%
54	2026 1	0.4%
55	13579 7B	0.4%
56	Winds 7A	0.3%
57	2468 1A	0.3%
58	Winds 7B	0.3%
59	Singles & Pairs 2	0.2%
60	13579 3A	0.2%
61	13579 3B	0.2%
62	Singles & Pairs 4	0.2%
63	Any Like Numbers 1	0.2%
64	Runs 6	0.1%
65	13579 7A	0.1%
66	Winds 1A	0.1%
67	Winds 5	0.1%
68	Winds 1B	0.1%
69	Quints 3	0.0%
70	Singles & Pairs 6	0.0%
71	Quints 2	0.0%
72	Quints 1	0.0%