# Declaring mahjong (American mahjong, lesson 11)

Say you won, check the hand, and see who pays. Interactive version: https://learnmahjongquick.com/learn-american-mahjong/declaring-mahjong

### 1. How to declare

- When your 14 tiles match a hand on the card, say "Mahjong."
- Lay all 14 tiles face up.
- The other players check it against the card.
- If it matches, you win the hand.

### 2. Two ways to win

Your last tile can come from the wall or from a discard.

- From the wall (You draw the tile yourself)
- From a discard (You call the tile someone throws)

Note: For mahjong, you can call a discard to finish anything, even a pair or a single tile.

### 3. Check it tile by tile

Everyone checks the 14 tiles against the line on the card. Tap each group.

Card line 111 111 111 DDD FF:

- 1 Bam, 1 Bam, 1 Bam: Green is Bams in this hand. Three 1 Bams.
- 1 Crak, 1 Crak, Joker: Red is Craks. Two 1 Craks and a joker. A joker can fill a pung.
- 1 Dot, 1 Dot, 1 Dot: Blue is Dots. Three 1 Dots.
- Green Dragon, Green Dragon, Green Dragon: D in green is the dragon that goes with Bams: three Green Dragons.
- Flower, Flower: F is a flower. Any 2 flowers match.

All 14 tiles match the line. It's mahjong.

### 4. Call for mahjong

You have 2, 4, 6 and 8 Craks, and one Red Dragon.

Try it: Pick the discard that gives you mahjong. (card line 222 444 666 888 DD) Tiles to pick from: 8 Crak, Green Dragon, 2 Bam, Red Dragon, 5 Crak, Soap.

### 5. Who pays

- Each hand on the card has a value.
- Win on a discard: the player who threw it pays double. The others pay the value.
- Win from the wall: everyone pays double.
- No jokers in your hand: all payments double again.
- Hands of only singles and pairs can't use jokers, so they don't get this extra double.

### 6. A scoring example

Your hand is worth 25. Here is what each player pays you.

- On a discard (Thrower pays 50. The others pay 25.)
- From the wall (Everyone pays 50.)
- Discard, no jokers (Thrower pays 100. The others pay 50.)
- Wall, no jokers (Everyone pays 100.)

### 7. A wall game

- If the wall runs out and no one has won, it's a wall game.
- No one pays.
- Mix the tiles and deal again. The deal moves to the right, as it does after every hand.

### 8. Quiz: Declaring mahjong

- Q: What do you say when you win? A: "Mahjong"
- Q: You need one tile to finish a pair and win. Can you call it? A: Yes. For mahjong, you can call a discard for a pair or a single tile.
- Q: Is this mahjong? [card line 222 444 666 888 DD] [3 × 2 Dot, 3 × 4 Dot, 3 × 6 Dot, 3 × 8 Dot, 2 × Soap] A: Yes. All Dots, and Soap goes with Dots. It matches.
- Q: Your hand is worth 25. Someone threw your winning tile. What do they pay? A: 50. The player who threw the winning tile pays double.
- Q: You drew your winning tile from the wall. Who pays double? A: Everyone
- Q: The wall runs out and no one has won. What happens? A: No one pays. It's a wall game. Mix the tiles and deal again.

## What this lesson teaches

- Say "Mahjong" and show all 14 tiles.
- The player who threw your winning tile pays double. From the wall, everyone pays double.
- No jokers in your hand doubles the payment (not for Singles & Pairs).