Empty call and changing a call:A player making a call, including riichi and concealed kantsu declarations, but being unable to perform the claimed action will be penalised for "empty call".
Calls can not be changed. If the player is unable to perform the first call, he will be penalised for "empty call".
• Empty call for a shuntsu, kōtsu or kantsu: | Dead hand |
• Empty concealed kantsu declaration: | Dead hand |
• Empty riichi declaration: | Dead hand |
• Empty call for a win: | Chonbo (even if the offending player has not shown his hand) |
Calling with a dead hand (including concealed kantsu and riichi declaration):• If the hand was not formally declared to be dead: | Not penalized, the call is voided. |
• If the hand was formally declared to be dead: | 20 points penalty, the game continues. |
Wrong word:The valid terms for calling are: "chii", "pon", "kan".
The valid terms for declaring riichi are: "riichi", "reach".
The valid terms for winning on a claimed tile are: "ron".
The valid terms for winning on a self-drawn tile are: "tsumo".
• Using alternative terms like "chow", "pung", "kong" or "mahjong": | One (1) point penalty. |
• Using an incorrect term (e.g. saying "ron" instead of "tsumo"): | One (1) point penalty. |
Wrong tile count:• Not taking a claimed tile before the next two players have made a discard: Dead hand
• Having too many or too few tiles: Dead hand
Wrongly revealing tiles: | 1 to 5 tiles | 6 tiles or more |
From the live wall | Not penalized | Chonbo |
From the dead wall | Dead Hand | Chonbo |
From the player's own hand | Not penalized | Chonbo |
From another player's hand | Dead Hand | Chonbo |
If six tiles or more are revealed due to no mistake on a player’s part, the hand is re-dealt without any point penalty.
Wrongly revealed tiles are placed back where they came from.
The penalty for wrongly revealing tiles does not apply while building the walls, before the dice are thrown to break the wall.
Picking a tile from the wrong part of the wall:• From the live wall: | Not penalized |
• From the dead wall: | Dead hand |
If the mistake is realized or pointed out before the discard, the mistake should be corrected.
Wrong riichi declaration:• Not placing the 1000 points riichi bet | Not penalized, the mistake should be corrected. |
• Not saying "riichi" or "reach" | Dead hand, the riichi declaration is voided. |
• Not rotating the first discard | Dead hand, the riichi declaration is voided. |
• Declaring riichi on an open hand | Dead hand, the riichi declaration is voided. |
• Declaring riichi on a noten hand (noten riichi) | Chonbo. * |
• Invalid concealed kantsu after having declared riichi | Chonbo. |
In case the first tile is claimed by another player, forgetting to rotate the next discard is not penalized. The mistake must be corrected. If the tile to rotate is unknown, the earliest discarded tile among the supposed ones is chosen regarding furiten.
When a riichi declaration is voided, the player takes back his riichi bet and will not get a noten riichi penalty.
Cases of noten riichi and invalid kantsu are only determined in case the player wins or there is an exhaustive draw.
* The noten riichi penalty does not apply if the player's hand is noten solely due to a dead hand penalty occurring after the riichi declaration. The player still pays for being noten.
Passing information:Penalty at the referee discretion. Minor cases would not be penalized.
It is permissible to correct a player who is about to commit a minor irregularity or etiquette error.
It is permissible to make it clear if a player has a dead hand.
Cheating:A player caught cheating will be immediately disqualified.
Obstruction:Penalty at the referee discretion.
Repeated obstructive behaviour can result in disqualification.
Being late for a session:• Being late by one to ten minutes: | One (1) point penalty per minute. |
• Being late by more than ten minutes: | Replacement by a substitute player for the session. |
Missing a session and substitute players:Substitute players are scored normally and then not included in the ranking.
The player missing the session doesn't get any point and will have a 30 points penalty.
This penalty is not cumulative with the 10 points penalty for being late 10 minutes. A player who is late by ten minutes and is substituted will only have a 30 points penalty for missing the session.
At the head referee discretion, a player intentionally missing a session without good reason can be disqualified for obstruction; especially if he leaves the table when his score is below the penalty or if the penalty doesn't make a real difference regarding his current overall score.