American Mahjong Scoring: Who Pays What, With Examples

In American Mahjong, only the winner scores. Each hand on the card has a point value, usually 25 or more. If you win on another player's discard, that player pays you double the value and the other two pay the value. If you draw the winning tile yourself, all three pay double. A hand with no jokers pays double again.

There are no bonus points for flowers, winds or the seat you sit in, as there are in some other styles.

Where the points come from

Every line on the card ends with a number. That is the hand's value. Harder hands are worth more. Values usually run from 25 to 50 points. You don't add anything up during play. You look at the card, find the line you won with, and read the number.

The payout table

The player who threw the winning tile pays extra because they gave you the game. Drawing your own tile is harder, so everyone pays more.

Worked examples

These use made-up hand values.

1. A 25-point hand on a discard. The discarder pays 50. The other two pay 25 each. You collect 100.
2. The same hand, self-drawn. All three pay 50. You collect 150.
3. A 30-point hand with no jokers, on a discard. The value doubles to 60. The discarder pays 120, and the other two pay 60 each. You collect 240.

Try your own:

The jokerless bonus

If your winning hand has no jokers in it at all, the value is doubled. It counts whether the jokers were never there or you swapped them all out.

There is one exception. Singles and pairs hands never get the bonus, because jokers can't be used in singles or pairs, so those hands are always jokerless.

When nobody pays

• Wall game. If the wall runs out and nobody wins, nobody pays. Mix the tiles and deal the next hand.
• Your hand is dead. A dead hand can't win, but you still pay the winner like everyone else. (What makes a hand dead.)

A wrong Mahjong

If you call Mahjong and your hand turns out not to match the card, tables handle it in different ways. If nobody has exposed their tiles yet, play usually continues. If other players have already laid their hands down because of your call, you may owe them. Agree on your table's rule before you start.

Playing for money or for points

Many groups settle up in coins, often at a cent or a nickel a point, so a 25-point hand on a discard costs the discarder 50 cents or $2.50. Other groups use chips, or keep a running score on paper. The math is the same either way.

Get the scoring into your head

You learn scoring fastest by winning a few hands. Our how-to-play guide covers the whole game, and the free daily hand shows you the payout every time you win.