# Set up and deal (American mahjong, lesson 6)

Build the wall, break it, and deal the tiles. Interactive version: https://learnmahjongquick.com/learn-american-mahjong/set-up-and-deal

### 1. One player is East

East deals and goes first. Then South, West and North, going to the right.

- East
- South
- West
- North

### 2. Play goes to the right

After each turn, the player on the right goes next.

Direction: right. This is counterclockwise around the table.

### 3. Build the wall

- Turn all 152 tiles face down and mix them up.
- Each player builds a wall in front of their rack.
- Each wall is 19 tiles long and 2 tiles high.
- Push the four walls together into a square.

### 4. Break the wall

- East rolls two dice and adds them up.
- East counts that many stacks along their own wall, starting from the right end.
- East splits the wall there. The deal starts at the split.

### 5. Deal the tiles

- East takes 4 tiles. Then each player takes 4, going to the right.
- Go around 3 times. Everyone now has 12 tiles.
- Then everyone takes 1 more tile. East takes 2.
- East has 14 tiles. Everyone else has 13.

### 6. Who has what

Count your tiles before play starts.

- East (14 tiles): East
- Everyone else (13 tiles): South, West, North

Note: Then do the Charleston. After that, East starts play by throwing out one tile. East does not draw first.

### 7. East goes first

You are East, going for this hand in Bams.

Try it: Pick 1 tile to throw out. (card line 222 444 666 888 DD) Tiles to pick from: 2 Bam, 4 Bam, 7 Crak, 6 Bam, Joker, 8 Bam, Green Dragon, 4 Bam.

### 8. Quiz: Set up and deal

- Q: How long is each wall? A: 19 tiles, 2 high
- Q: Who rolls the dice to break the wall? [East] A: East
- Q: How many tiles do you take at a time in the deal? A: 4. Take 4 at a time, 3 times around. Then 1 more each.
- Q: How many tiles does East start with? A: 14
- Q: Which way does play go? A: Right
- Q: Does East draw a tile on the first turn? A: No. East already has 14 tiles. East starts by throwing one out.

## What this lesson teaches

- Each player builds a wall 19 tiles long and 2 high.
- East gets 14 tiles. Everyone else gets 13.
- East goes first by throwing away one tile.