3.3.9 Liability: Third melded dragon pung and fourth melded wind pung
A player who feeds the third dragon pung/kong to an opponent with two melded dragon pungs/kongs or the fourth
wind pung/kong to an opponent with three melded pungs/kongs of winds must pay the full value of the hand in
case Big Three Dragons or Big Four Winds are made on a self-draw (the two remaining opponents pay nothing).
In case another opponent feeds the Big Three Dragons or Big Four Winds, he shares the payment equally with
the player who fed the third dragon pung/kong or the fourth wind pung/kong, but only the discarder pays for
any counters.
3.3.10 Fouth kong
After declaration of a fourth kong the game continues, but no further kongs may be declared during this hand.
Under no circumstance can a fifth kong be made.
3.3.11 Mahjong on a discard (ron)
A player who can form a valid mahjong hand with at least one yaku with the last discard, can win by clearly
declaring ron or mahjong, unless he is furiten.
3.3.12 Mahjong on self-draw (tsumo)
A player who can form a valid mahjong hand with at least one yaku with a tile just drawn from the wall or the
dead wall, can win by clearly declaring tsumo or mahjong. The player should keep the winning tile apart from
the rest of the hand, so that it is clear to all players which was the winning tile. A player who is furiten
can still win on self-draw.
3.3.13 Tenpai
A player’s hand is tenpai or waiting if the hand needs only one more tile to complete a winning hand. A player
is still considered tenpai if all his waiting tiles are visible among the discards and declared sets. A player
is not considered tenpai if he is waiting only for a tile of which he already has 4. A player is not considered
tenpai if his hand has been declared a dead hand.
3.3.14 Riichi
A player with a concealed waiting hand can declare riichi by clearly saying riichi, rotating the discarded
tile sideways and paying 1000 points to the table by placing a stick by the discards. If an opponent claims
the rotated discard for winning, the riichi declaration is invalid and the 1000 points are returned to the
riichi declarer. If an opponent claims the rotated tile for a melded set, rotate your next discarded tile.
A player is not allowed to declare riichi if there are less than four tiles left in the wall.
The 1000 points goes back to the riichi declarer if he wins. If another is the winner of the current hand,
he collects the 1000 points. In case of multiple winners, the 1000 points are collected by the winner first
in order after the discarder. In case of a drawn game the riichi bet says on the table to be claimed by the
next player to win a hand.
A player who declared riichi can no longer change his hand. However, he may declare a concealed kong if a
tile is drawn that matches a concealed pung, if this does not change the waiting pattern and if the three
tiles to be konged can only be interpreted as a pung in the original riichi hand. (In case of three consecutive
pungs in the same suit, no kong may be declared, since the tiles can be interpreted as three identical chows).
It is permissible for a player who is furiten to declare riichi. A player who after declaring riichi, chooses
not to win on a discard that completes his hand, becomes furiten. A player who is furiten can still win on self-draw.
Riichi is a yaku. A player who wins in the first set of turns after the riichi declaration (including the player’s
next draw) can claim an additional yaku for ippatsu. The ippatsu chance is lost if the set of turns is broken by
claims for kong, pung or chow, including concealed kongs.
A player who wins after declaring riichi, reveals the tiles underneath the dora indicator and any kan dora indicators.
These tiles indicate ura dora which can be claimed only by players who declared riichi.
3.4 End of a hand
A hand can end in two ways: by exhaustive draw (no-one declares a win after the discard
after the last tile) or by one or more players declaring a win. Chombo results in a redeal and
does not count as a hand.
At the end of a hand players should never look at tiles in the wall.
3.4.1 Last tile
The last tile in the wall can only be claimed for a win, not for a kong, pung or chow. In case a
kong is declared at the second-to-last tile, the replacement tile becomes the last tile. It is not
allowed to declare a concealed kong on the last tile.
3.4.2 Exhaustive draw
An exhaustive draw occurs if no-one declares a win after the discard after the last tile. The 14 tiles
of the dead wall are not used. After an exhaustive draw the noten players (players who can’t or won’t
show a tenpai hand) pay a penalty to tenpai (waiting) players (players who show a tenpai (waiting) hand).
Players announce whether they are tenpai or noten in order: East declares first, then South, then West and
finally North. It is permissible to declare out of turn, but the announcement cannot be changed. Players
who have declared riichi are obliged to show their tenpai hands in case of an exhaustive draw.
The total noten penalty amounts to 3000 points. If three players are tenpai, the noten player pays
1000 to each. If two players are tenpai, they each received 1500 points from a noten player. If only
one player is tenpai he receives 1000 points from each of the noten players. If none or all players
are tenpai no points are exchanged.
After an exhaustive draw, a counter (100 point stick) is placed on the table at East’s right-hand side.
If the dealer rotates, the new East places the current number of sticks; e.g. if there were 2 sticks
before the draw the 3 sticks are placed by the new East.
3.4.3 Abortive draw
Abortive draws are no longer used in EMA riichi rules.
3.4.4 Handling riichi bets after drawn games
In case of a drawn game, any riichi bets stay on the table to be claimed by the next player who declares a win.
3.4.5 Furiten
If a waiting player can form a mahjong hand using one of his previous discards, he is furiten and is not
allowed to claim a win on a discard.
A player who is furiten can choose to change his hand to avoid being furiten (except if he has declared riichi).
A player who is furiten, can still win on a self-drawn tile. A player who fails to claim a win on a discard
that completes a mahjong hand, is temporarily furiten, even if the passed tile gives him no yaku, and he cannot
claim a win on a discard in the current set of turns. The state of temporary furiten ends next time the player
draws or claims a tile. However, if the player has declared riichi he remains temporarily furiten until the end
of the hand. A player is never considered furiten on a self-drawn tile.
Furiten – example 1
If a waiting player can form a mahjong hand using one of his
previous discards, he is furiten and is not allowed to claim a win on a discard, even if the
hand completed with the previous discard is without a yaku.
Consider a player with the following hand:
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