Borderline Mahjong Riichi Rules: Exactly 1,000 Pts, Unclaimed Deposits, and Missed Wins

When you are just learning mahjong, the most dependable yaku is riichi. The conditions to call riichi are having a closed hand in tenpai, possessing 1,000 points or more, and having at least 4 remaining draws in the wall. Declaring it requires putting up a 1,000-point deposit. In actual games, however, borderline situations can cause confusion, such as having exactly 1,000 points left, seeing the hand end in an exhaustive draw after declaring, or missing a winning tile.

In this article, we focus on these 3 easily misunderstood scenarios and clarify the rules surrounding riichi.

Declaring Riichi with Exactly 1,000 Points

In this diagram, the 5 and 6 of characters form a two-sided wait ready to win if a 4 or 7 of characters arrives. Because it is a closed hand with no calls, you can declare riichi as long as your points and the remaining tiles in the wall are sufficient.

Because the score requirement is having 1,000 points or more, you can declare riichi even if you have exactly 1,000 points. As soon as you declare, you place 1,000 points into the deposit, leaving your score at 0 points. If you win, the deposit returns to you along with your winning points, but if someone else wins, your 1,000-point deposit goes to them.

When your score is below 1,000 points, you cannot declare riichi even if your hand is in tenpai. Keep in mind that in this situation, you cannot win on a discard with ron unless your hand has another yaku. If you draw the winning tile yourself while remaining closed, you can win by tsumo because you earn the 1-han yaku Menzenchin Tsumohou.

When points are low, deciding whether to riichi depends on how many winning tiles seem to remain and how many draws are left. Riichi never guarantees a win, so before declaring, inspect your own discard pond and those of your opponents to count how many of your winning tiles have already appeared.

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What Happens to the Deposit on an Exhaustive Draw

The 1,000-point deposit placed for riichi is collected by whoever wins that hand. If you win, it returns to you, but if another player wins, it is added to their score.

When a hand ends in an exhaustive draw with no winner, the standard rule is that the deposit belongs to nobody and stays on the table to carry over into the next hand. The carried-over deposit is collected all at once by whoever wins next.

For example, suppose you declare riichi in East 2 and the hand ends in a draw, and then in East 3 someone else calls riichi and that hand also draws out. At this stage, 2,000 points of deposits have accumulated, so whoever wins in East 4 receives those 2,000 points on top of their hand score. When deposits pile up, winning that hand becomes significantly more rewarding. Note that rules can vary across venues regarding unclaimed deposits remaining at the match end.

Missed Winning Tiles After Riichi and Furiten

In this diagram, the player draws the 9 of circles after declaring riichi. Because the wait is on the 1 and 4 of characters, the 9 of circles is not a winning tile and must be discarded immediately as tsumogiri. After declaring riichi, you cannot alter your hand structure, so missing a winning tile has serious consequences.

For instance, imagine someone discards the 1 of characters and you pass without declaring ron. Under standard rules, passing on a winning tile puts you into furiten, meaning you cannot win by ron. With an undeclared hand, furiten clears as soon as you discard your next tile, but after riichi you cannot change your hand, so you cannot win via ron on either the 1 or 4 of characters for the rest of that hand.

Furiten also occurs if even 1 of your waiting tiles is present in your own discard pond. In this hand, if you had previously discarded a 1 or 4 of characters, you could not win via ron even prior to declaring riichi. Checking your own discard pond before calling riichi helps prevent unwanted surprises.

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Even when in furiten, you can still win if you draw your winning tile yourself with tsumo. Always confirm your waits before calling riichi and build a habit of checking each tile discarded to the table to avoid missing winning chances.

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Gather around the table with historical heroes and journey toward national supremacy in the mahjong RPG Jankokushi to put your learned yaku and riichi tactics to the test.

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