Playing a Hand
What makes a hand dead
The mistakes that end a hand early, and how to avoid them.
Beginner · lesson 24 of 25
A dead hand is one that can no longer win, because of a rule rather than because of your tiles. It is worth knowing the list, because every item on it is avoidable.
The common ones: holding the wrong number of tiles, making an exposure that does not match any hand on the card, drawing out of turn, and calling Mahjong when your hand is not actually complete.
Note
Swapping for someone's joker has its own trap. You have to draw or call first, then swap. Reaching for the joker before you have picked is what makes the hand dead.
You cannot call your own hand dead, and nobody has to catch it for you. If you notice partway through that you cannot win, you keep playing, and playing carefully still matters: a hand you cannot win with is a hand that can still avoid handing someone else the game.
Tip
None of this is anything to worry about while you are learning. Count your tiles before you discard and you have avoided most of the list.
This lesson finishes with 2 quick drills in the app, and they're free.
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