Lesson 10 of 12
Declaring mahjong and paying
When your 14 tiles exactly match a hand on the current card, say "Mahjong!" and lay your whole hand face up. If you won with someone's discard, that player pays you double the hand's value and the other two pay the value once. If you picked the winning tile yourself, all three pay double.
Step by step
- Check before you call. Your exposed and rack tiles together must match one card hand exactly, with the right suits, numbers and group sizes.
- Say it, then show it. Say "Mahjong!" and expose the whole hand so the table can check it.
- Winning on a discard. The player who threw the winning tile pays double the hand's value; the other two pay the value once.
- Self-picked. If you drew the winning tile from the wall, all three players pay double.
- Jokerless bonus. If the winning hand has no jokers, payments double. Many tables play for small change or chips; agree before you start.
Common mistakes
- Declaring before checking against the card. A wrong declaration can make your hand dead.
- Forgetting to leave your winning hand exposed until everyone has checked it.
Words from this lesson
Jokerless · Self-pick · Mahjong
Questions people ask
What happens if you call mahjong by mistake?
If you catch it before anyone else exposes their hand, your hand is usually declared dead and play continues. Tables differ in the details, so agree on house rules first.
Who pays in mahjong?
On a discard win, the discarder pays double and the others pay single. On a self-picked win, everyone pays double.
Do you have to play for money?
No. Many groups play for points, chips or nothing at all.