is a , and the hand has to be closed. It's fourteen tiles of one suit: 1112345678999, plus one more tile of that suit.
The name players use is chuuren poutou (九蓮宝燈). This site's glossary also lists it as Nine Gates, and the EMA 2016 rules use the same English name.
The shape
Three 1s, one each of 2 through 8, three 9s, and one extra tile of the same suit. Tenhou's rules allow it in man, pin, or sou, and they rule out a closed .
Every tile is one suit, so the hand is always chinitsu too. The yakuman replaces it.
The glossary entry is the short form: 1112345678999 in one suit plus any tile of that suit, closed only.
The nine-sided wait
This hand waits on every pin tile: , , , , , , , , or . Each one finishes nine gates. Players call this junsei chuuren poutou (純正九蓮宝燈), pure nine gates.
- Tenhou: one yakuman. Its rules list pure nine gates by name and pay every yakuman as a single. A collects 32,000. The dealer collects 48,000.
- Mahjong Soul: a double yakuman. A non-dealer ron collects 64,000. The dealer collects 96,000.
- EMA 2016: one yakuman. The entry asks for 1112345678999 plus any one extra tile of the suit, whatever the wait.
When one tile out of three is nine gates
This hand waits on , , or . Only one of them makes the shape.
brings the 9s to three, and the second 8 is the extra tile. That's nine gates on every platform. A non-dealer ron collects 32,000. The dealer collects 48,000.
leaves two 9s. The hand reads 123, 456, 789, and 789 man, with a pair of 1s. That's , 6 , plus ittsu, 2, and iipeikou, 1: 9 han, a . A non-dealer ron collects 16,000. The dealer collects 24,000.
leaves two 9s too. The hand reads 111, 234, 567, and 888 man, with a pair of 9s. That's chinitsu alone: 6 han, a . A non-dealer ron collects 12,000. The dealer collects 18,000.
From 5 han up, fu don't change the payment, so none of the three needs a fu count. Those payments have no , no , and no sticks. The scoring guide has the haneman and baiman rows.
Open or closed
Closed only. The EMA 2016 entry starts with "Concealed hand", Mahjong Soul's in-game yaku list marks it "Menzenchin Only", and Tenhou's rules don't even allow a closed kan. That's the row on this site: yakuman, closed only.
What sits with it
Chinitsu, , and every other yaku inside the shape stop counting at the limit. The only yakuman that can join it is a first-turn win: the heavenly hand for the dealer, or the earthly hand for a non-dealer. Tenhou and Mahjong Soul stack it on , and the EMA 2016 rules don't stack yakuman at all. No other yakuman fits the shape.
Common mistakes
- Reading nine gates off the . The shape is the fourteen tiles at the win, and in the second hand two of the three winning tiles miss it.
- Declaring a closed kan on the 1s or the 9s. Tenhou's rules don't allow it.
- Expecting a double on Tenhou. Mahjong Soul doubles the nine-sided wait. Tenhou and the EMA 2016 rules pay one yakuman.
- Calling a or a . Nine gates has to stay closed.
Price a nine gates hand
The score calculator pays one yakuman at 32,000 or 48,000 on a ron, and two at 64,000 or 96,000. The 7 man miss is 9 han, a baiman: 16,000.
Open the score calculator