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Pung, Chi, Kong – How mahjong is played.

Open Meld / Calling Tiles

While open melds are effective in advancing your hand quickly, they come with both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

• Speeds up hand development
• Increases opportunities to complete sets

Disadvantages

• Makes your strategy more predictable
• Weakens your defense
• Disables Riichi, Ippatsu, and Ura-Dora bonuses

Although there are more disadvantages than advantages, the primary advantage of advancing your hand quickly is significant when aiming to win. Therefore, open melds are not inherently bad. Deciding whether to meld or not requires experience and situational judgment. Start by learning the rules thoroughly!

Pon

Pon is an open meld that converts a pair in your hand into a triplet by claiming a discarded tile. A pair is two identical tiles, while a triplet is three identical tiles.

For example, in the scenario below, a pair of tiles is converted into a triplet through Pon. To perform a Pon, you declare "Pon" immediately after a relevant tile is discarded (in this case, ), claim the tile, and place the resulting triplet on the table for everyone to see.

Before Pon

Pair of Middle Tiles

After Pon

Triplet of Middle Tiles

Four Conditions for Pon

1. You have a pair in your hand
2. You are not in Riichi (Declared Ready Hand)
3. You declare Pon immediately after the relevant tile is discarded (before the next player draws)
4. The tile is not used for a Ron (Winning on a discard)

Ron refers to declaring a win by claiming a discarded tile. If another player declares Ron, the game ends, and you cannot perform Pon.

Pon Procedure

1. A relevant tile is discarded
2. The player declaring Pon says "Pon"
3. The pair in hand is revealed
4. The discarded tile is added to the revealed set
5. Discard a tile from your hand

Exposing Tiles

Once you declare Pon, place the triplet face-up at the right edge of your space on the table for everyone to see. This is called "exposing" the tiles. One of the tiles in the triplet is rotated horizontally to indicate the player who discarded the tile.

Pon from the Player to Your Left

Pon from the Opposite Player

Pon from the Player to Your Right

Chi

Chi is an open meld that allows you to complete a sequence by claiming a discarded tile from the player to your left. A sequence is three consecutive tiles of the same suit.

For example, in the scenario below, and can form a sequence with the discarded tile . To perform a Chi, declare "Chi" immediately after the relevant tile is discarded, claim the tile, and place the resulting sequence on the table for everyone to see.

Before Chi

Partial Sequence

After Chi

Completed Sequence

Four Conditions for Chi

1. You have two tiles that can form a sequence with the discarded tile
2. The discarded tile comes from the player to your left
3. You declare Chi immediately after the relevant tile is discarded
4. The tile is not used for a Ron (Winning on a discard)

Chi Procedure

1. A relevant tile is discarded by the player to your left
2. The player declaring Chi says "Chi"
3. The two tiles in your hand are revealed
4. The discarded tile is added to the revealed set
5. Discard a tile from your hand

Exposing Tiles

Once you declare Chi, place the sequence face-up at the right edge of your space on the table for everyone to see. One of the tiles in the sequence is rotated horizontally to indicate the player who discarded the tile.

Example of Exposed Chi

Kan

Kan is an open meld where an Anko (triplet) becomes a Kantsu (quad). A Kantsu is a set of four identical tiles.

Before Kan

Triplet

After Kan

Kantsu

Point

When you declare Kan, the number of tiles in your hand increases to 14 (15 including a draw).

Three Types of Kan

Kan is broadly divided into two types: Closed Kan (Ankan) and Open Kan (Minkan). Furthermore, Minkan is split into Daiminkan (Big Open Kan) and Shouminkan (Small Open Kan), making a total of three types. Each has slightly different conditions and procedures.

• Closed Kan (Ankan)
• Big Open Kan (Daiminkan)
• Small Open Kan (Shouminkan) / Also known as Added Kan (Kakan)

Kan Dora

Declaring Kan allows you to reveal a Kan Dora indicator tile. While this guide doesn't cover Dora in detail, holding Dora tiles increases your score when you win.

In the section of the tile wall called the Dead Wall, there is a Dora indicator tile. This tile determines which tiles are Dora.

The tile in the image below is a normal Dora indicator, revealed at the start of the game regardless of Kan. If the Dora indicator is , the actual Dora is . For numbered tiles, the next number is the Dora. If is the indicator, becomes Dora. For honor tiles, the order is ⇒⇒ for dragon tiles and ⇒⇒⇒ for wind tiles.

Draw from the Dead Wall

A Kan meld uses four tiles instead of the usual three, disrupting the four melds + one pair = 14 tiles required for a win. To compensate for this, you must draw a replacement tile from the Dead Wall.

Draw from the Dead Wall in this order:

Kan is Limited to Four Times

Kan can be declared up to four times in total across all players. If four Kans are declared, the player who declares the fourth Kan can choose to end the game (Ryuu Kyoku).

Closed Kan (Ankan)

A Closed Kan is formed using only tiles you have drawn yourself, without using discarded tiles from other players. A key feature of a Closed Kan is that it does not break your concealed hand (Menzen). It can only be declared during your turn.

Two Conditions for a Closed Kan

1. You have four identical tiles in your hand.
2. The total number of Kans declared in the game is fewer than four.

Point

The Closed Kan is the only type of meld allowed while you are in Riichi (Ready Hand).

Steps to Declare a Closed Kan

1. Wait for your turn.
2. Declare "Kan" out loud.
3. Reveal the four tiles from your hand to form the Kan.
4. Draw one tile from the Dead Wall.
5. Reveal the Kan Dora indicator tile.
6. Discard a tile.

How to Reveal Tiles

Flip two of the four tiles face-up, either the two in the middle or the two on the ends. First, reveal all four tiles face-up to allow other players to verify them, then flip the appropriate tiles face-down as a courtesy.

Big Open Kan (Daiminkan)

A Big Open Kan is declared when you have a triplet (Anko) in your hand and you use a discarded tile from another player to form a Kan.

Four Conditions for a Big Open Kan

1. You are not in Riichi (Ready Hand).
2. You have a triplet (Anko) in your hand.
3. The discarded tile is taken immediately (before the next player draws).
4. The total number of Kans declared in the game is fewer than four.

Steps to Declare a Big Open Kan

1. A target tile is discarded.
2. The player declaring Kan announces "Kan" out loud.
3. Reveal the three tiles from your hand to form a triplet.
4. Add the discarded tile to complete the Kan.
5. Draw one tile from the Dead Wall.
6. Discard a tile.
7. Reveal the Kan Dora indicator tile.

Point

Unlike a Closed Kan, the Kan Dora indicator is revealed after discarding a tile.

How to Reveal Tiles

Indicate which player provided the discarded tile by turning one of the tiles sideways.

From the Player to Your Left (Kamicha)

From the Player to Your Right (Shimocha)

From the Player Across (Toimen)

Small Open Kan (Shouminkan)

A Small Open Kan is declared by adding a tile you draw to a triplet (Minko) that was previously revealed through a Pong (Pon).

Three Conditions for a Small Open Kan

1. You have a revealed triplet (Minko) from a Pong.
2. You draw the tile needed to complete the Kan.
3. The total number of Kans declared in the game is fewer than four.

Steps to Declare a Small Open Kan

1. Draw the tile needed for the Kan on your turn.
2. Declare "Kan" out loud.
3. Add the drawn tile to the revealed triplet.
4. Draw one tile from the Dead Wall.
5. Discard a tile.
6. Reveal the Kan Dora indicator tile.

Point

Like a Big Open Kan, the Kan Dora indicator is revealed after discarding a tile.

How to Reveal Tiles

Stack the new tile horizontally on the sideways tile from the previously revealed triplet.

Conclusion

Beginners tend to rely heavily on open melds, but it’s important to consider both the advantages and disadvantages before making one.

It is often said that refraining from open melds and focusing on playing with a concealed hand (Menzen) is the fastest way to improve your skills.