What Is “Janpo”?
“Janpo” is a groundbreaking game that fuses mahjong and poker (Texas Hold'em) devised by “Toshiki,” a developer on the Poker Q'z team.
Each player holds both a mahjong hand and a poker hand at the same time, and on their own turn chooses whether to prioritize a mahjong discard or a poker action.
Through this choice, you must decide on a situation-by-situation basis whether to put more weight on mahjong or poker. You need to build your strategy while balancing both games — truly a new kind of game where you can fully enjoy brainpower and the art of the mind game.
Basic Rules
- Points
Mahjong and poker share the same starting points: 25,000 points. - Handling score sticks
Points are managed as a single pool of poker chips. Using mahjong score sticks instead also works. - Action restrictions
On each turn, you can only do one of two things: a mahjong “discard from hand” or a poker “action that puts chips into the pot.”
In other words:
① If you take an action of call or higher in poker, mahjong is forced into tsumogiri (discarding the drawn tile).
② If you discard from hand in mahjong, poker is forced into a check or fold.
- The game proceeds in mahjong turn order, meaning the poker action order runs opposite to usual.
- When it is not your turn to act in poker, you only discard tiles in mahjong. (Commonly known as “tada-jan time”)
Poker
- Format
Texas Hold'em. - Blinds
Fixed at 200-500. - Dealer
You need one PD (playing dealer). Ask whoever seems best suited to this game.
- Required equipment
Playing cards and chips. Mahjong score sticks can also be used.
Mahjong
- Rules
Four-player mahjong following M.League rules. (We recommend a tonpuusen (East-only game); a hanchan makes the match time extremely long) - Dealer renchan (continuing as dealer)
None. Since it is a tonpuusen, it always ends after exactly 4 hands (kyoku). - Required equipment
Only mahjong tiles and a table. An automatic mahjong table is fine, but if cards or chips fall into the table, we take no responsibility for them.
※ If you don't mind longer match times, feel free to change the mahjong rules however you like.
Game Flow
Start of a Hand
Dealing the Tiles
- Deal 13 tiles to each player. We recommend forming the dead wall at the seventh stack from the right of the dealer's shimocha (the player on the dealer's right). (This makes it easier to open the board when playing poker)
If your table has an auto-deal function, we recommend turning it off.
※ The dealer does not take their first draw tile during the deal; the 14th tile is treated as the first draw.
The Poker Hand
- Place the button so that the dealer (oya) is the first position to act in poker (the cutoff).
- After the mahjong dealer finishes the first draw, poker hands are dealt to everyone.
※ Even when the poker action order means you can only play mahjong, as a rule the hand is dealt before you discard.
During the Hand
Your Choice on a Draw Turn
- On your own turn, follow the basic rules and take your mahjong discard and your poker action at the same time.
(Poker only when it is your turn in the action order. Otherwise, it is tada-jan time.)
Melds (Naki)
- Mahjong melds (naki) are allowed as in regular mahjong.
- However, if you choose to meld, you cannot take a poker action that turn.
- Since poker actions are only taken on your mahjong draw turn, tada-jan time may continue until the draw turn comes around to the player holding poker action rights.
End of a Poker Hand
・If the mahjong hand has not ended, the next poker hand starts right away.
・When the next poker hand begins, the action must always start from the CO. Players in earlier positions only play mahjong at that point.
Handling a win (agari) in mahjong
・When a win occurs, pause poker and settle the points as in regular mahjong.
・On a self-draw win (tsumo) → your poker hand must check or fold. If you want to take an action of call or higher, your only option is to tsumogiri the winning tile.
・On a discard win (ron) → no particular restrictions. It does not affect the poker action order.
End of a Mahjong Hand
・A mahjong hand ends on a win (agari) or a drawn hand (ryuukyoku). In either case, the poker hand in progress at that time becomes the last hand, and you proceed to the next mahjong hand. During this period there is no mahjong play, so keep your hand face down.
Special Cases
- When a player's points drop to 0 or below
- The player is considered busted from poker and plays only mahjong from then on.
- If three players drop to 0 or below, that hand ends as the final hand.
- If you lose points in mahjong while holding a poker hand and your points drop to 0 or below, your last chip action is treated as an all-in.
- All-in
- An all-in is treated as betting your entire amount so that your points become 0. If you gain points from a mahjong win while all-in, your last chip action is treated as a bet/raise of that amount.
End of the Match and Win Conditions
・Game set is the moment the final hand, East 4, ends and the last poker hand finishes.
・The player with the highest total raw points is the winner.
・Mahjong placement points are not applied.
Notes
If a foul occurs in poker or mahjong and the game can be restored, the play is treated as no-count.
For fouls that would seriously affect the progress of the game, the PD makes an on-the-spot ruling.
Strategy and Choices
In Janpo, the key to the game is which of the two — mahjong or poker — you focus on. Here are examples of choices and strategies unique to Janpo.
① Useful mahjong tiles vs. a strong poker hand
・Should you tsumogiri useful tiles to chase poker expected value?
・Or prioritize useful mahjong tiles and fold a strong hand?
② Dead draws and hands you should fold
・Can you use dead draws to open poker hands you normally wouldn't play?
・If you let opponents draw useful tiles in mahjong, won't they fold in poker, making your bluffs more likely to land?
③ When your initial mahjong hand is hopeless
・Isn't it more profitable to abandon mahjong, specialize in poker, and win points there?
In this way, you need to optimize your actions between the two games. An action in one game will often affect the other. Among advanced players, it is common to see sophisticated reading wars unfold using the many elements on the table.
Whether to advance both games in balance or focus and specialize in one — that judgment will largely decide the outcome.
Summary
“Janpo” is a new fusion game that lets you enjoy the different strategic depths of mahjong and poker at the same time.
- Mahjong skill: reading your hand and tracking other players' moves.
- Poker skill: judging expected value and reading opponents' play.
Not only are both games' skills put to the test, but you are also asked to make choices that balance the two and create synergy.
Enjoy this new challenge!