First Published Friday, August 31, 2007
The Draws
And the Winner is…
It is possible for there to be no winner in a hand and for it to end in a draw. There are Normal Draws and Special Draws.
Normal Draws
No more tiles! Normal Draw = No Winner
A Normal Draw is when all 70 tiles from the active mountain are exhausted and only the 14 King’s Tiles remain and no one has won the hand. Bonuses for Ready hands are only given in Normal Draws. If a normal draw occurs, the Dealer is allowed to continue as Dealer only if s/he has a Ready hand. If the hand is not Ready, the Dealer moves to the right. 1 Continuances is ALWAYS added to the bank in the case of a Draw.Once the drawing tiles are all used up, starting with the Dealer and going counter-clockwise (the normal play direction), each person shows their hand if it is Ready and turns their hand face-down if they are not Ready. All non-Ready hands split the penalty of 3,000 points and the Ready hands split this reward as follows:
|
Ready or Not |
Non-Ready Players Pay | Ready Players Receive |
| No Ready Hands | No point exchange | N/A |
| 1 Ready Hand | 1,000 pts. Each | 3,000 pts. |
| 2 Ready Hands | 1,500 pts. Each | 1,500 pts. Each |
| 3 Ready Hands | 3,000 pts. | 1,000 pts. Each |
| 4 Ready Hands | N/A | No point exchange |
Special Draws
There are 5 optional Special Draws that stop play in the middle of a hand. Some have practical purpose while others have superstitious roots. All Special Draws are optional. If one occurs, the Dealer does not change and 1 Continuance is added to the bank. Venues that place importance on speed usually omit these Special Draws, so check where you are playing.
Blowing Together – First-Round Winds Discard:
In the first round of discards, if each player discards the same wind and there are no pungs(pons) or chows declared, the hand ends in a draw.
Draw or Go for broke – Nine Different Terminals/Honors:
In a player’s first turn, before anyone has punged(ponned) or chowed, if a player has 9 different Terminals/Honors in his hand, he may declare a Special Draw. The player is not required to declare a Special Draw and may play the hand as normal if he chooses (ie. to go for a 13-Orphans or Outside Hand)
Nine Terminals/Honors
Four of Four – Four Quads:
If 4 Quads are declared on the board, the hand ends in a Draw. The exception to this rule, is if all 4 Quads are declared by the same person because of the Limit Hand: Four Quads.
Reaching Far – Four Reaches:
If all 4 players declare Reach and no one wins the hand on the 4th Reach-declarer’s discard, the hand ends in a Draw. All players must show their hands to make sure each hand is Ready. If all hands are Ready the hand ends in a Draw. If a player is not Ready, that player has fouled and the hand is started over as a Hand Replay.
Par-tay~ – Three Winners:
If 3 players declare Mahjong on the same discarded tile, the hand ends in a Draw.
Now that you can start and end the game at your will, get playing and come back later for more strategy and tips!
