Scoring
American mahjong scoring and payouts
Scoring in American mahjong is simpler than it looks. There's no adding up points for every tile. You look up one number, then apply a few rules about who pays.
It starts with the card
Every hand on this year's card from the National Mah Jongg League has a value printed at the end of its line. When you win, that number is the starting point for what everyone pays you. Harder hands are worth more, and concealed hands are usually worth more than similar exposed ones. Our guide to reading the card shows where to find the value.
Only the winner is paid. There are no points for coming close. The other three players each pay the winner, and that's the end of the hand.
Who pays what
| How you won | Who pays |
|---|---|
| On another player's discard | The player who discarded pays double the hand's value. The other two pay the value. |
| On a tile you drew from the wall ("self-pick") | All three players pay double. |
| With no jokers in your hand | All payments are doubled again (not for Singles and Pairs hands). |
| Wall game, no winner | No one pays. |
These are the same rules as on our how to play guide and the printable cheat sheet.
Winning on a discard
If you win by calling another player's discard, that player pays you double the hand's value. The other two players each pay the value.
This is why players get careful late in a hand. Throwing the winning tile costs more than just losing.
Self-pick: winning from the wall
If you complete your hand with a tile you drew from the wall yourself, no one discarded it, so all three players share the cost equally: each pays you double.
Jokerless hands
If your winning hand contains no jokers at all, all payments are doubled again. This rewards the harder job of building a hand with real tiles only.
There's one exception: Singles and Pairs hands. Jokers can never be used in those hands anyway, since they're made only of single tiles and pairs, so they don't get the jokerless bonus. Not sure why jokers can't go in pairs? Try the joker quiz.
Even one joker anywhere in your hand means it isn't jokerless.
Worked examples
Say you win with a hand worth 25. (This is just an example number, not a hand from any card.)
| Situation | Discarder pays | Each other player pays | You collect |
|---|---|---|---|
| On a discard | 50 | 25 | 100 |
| Self-pick | n/a | 50 | 150 |
| Jokerless, on a discard | 100 | 50 | 200 |
| Jokerless, self-pick | n/a | 100 | 300 |
Notice how self-pick and jokerless wins add up quickly. That's part of why many experienced players hold out for them when the odds look good.
Wall games
If the wall runs out and no one has declared mahjong, it's a wall game. No one pays anyone. The tiles are mixed, a new wall is built, and the deal passes to the next player.
Dead hands still pay
A hand can be declared dead during play, for example if a player's exposures don't match any hand on the card, or they call mahjong by mistake and expose their tiles. A player with a dead hand stops drawing and discarding for the rest of that hand.
But they're not off the hook. If someone else wins, the player with the dead hand still pays, just like the others. If the winner won on a discard, the discarder pays double as usual, and the dead-hand player pays the normal value.
For how to handle a dead hand gracefully, see mahjong etiquette.
Keeping score
Groups keep track in different ways. Pick whatever suits your table.
- Points on paper. Write each player's running total on a pad. Good for beginner tables and anyone who'd rather not play for money.
- Chips. Many sets include scoring chips or coins in a few colours, each worth a set amount. Everyone starts with the same pile, and chips change hands after each win.
- Small change. Some groups convert points into very small amounts of money, agreed in advance. Keeping the amounts small keeps the game friendly.
Whichever you choose, agree on it before the first hand. It's one of the house rules to settle when you host a mahjong night.
Using chips
If you play with chips, decide:
- What each colour is worth.
- How many chips each player starts with. A starting pile big enough to cover several expensive hands avoids running out early.
- What happens if a player runs out. Many groups simply let them buy more from the bank or borrow, and sort it out at the end.
Chips make paying fast. The winner announces how they won ("on a discard from Linda, jokerless"), and everyone works out their payment from the table above.
Settling up
At the end of the session, count everyone's chips or totals and compare them to the starting amount. Anyone above it has won that much. Anyone below has lost that much. If you play for money, pay the difference in cash or however your group agrees.
A few tips:
- Pay as you go during the game. Waiting until the end leads to confusion.
- Check the winning hand against the card before paying.
- If there's a disagreement, sort it out right away, calmly, while the tiles are still on the table.
A note on house rules
The payment rules above are the general rules most groups use. Some tables add their own extras or penalties, for things like calling mahjong in error. Agree on any extras at the start, and when in doubt, check the rules that come with the League's card.
Questions
Does East get paid extra?
Not under the general payment rules described here. Some groups have house rules about it, so ask your table.
If I win on a discard, do the other two pay double too?
No. Only the player who discarded the winning tile pays double. The other two pay the hand's value. Jokerless doubles everyone's payment.
Does a hand with a joker that I swapped out count as jokerless?
What counts is the hand you win with. If no jokers are in your final 14 tiles, including your exposures, it's jokerless.
Do we have to play for money?
Not at all. Plenty of groups play for points only. The scoring works exactly the same way.
New to the words used here? Look them up in the mahjong glossary.