Dead Hand and Invalid Situations
When a hand is dead and mistakes can no longer be repaired.
A hand is dead as soon as the player can no longer form a valid winning hand within the current round.
In view
See also Dead hand illustrated for the most common mistakes, the point at which correction becomes too late, and the path of invalid tjok.
When a hand is dead
According to the source, a hand is in any case dead in these situations:
- the player has more or fewer than
13hand tiles during play - a flower is not replaced immediately and the count therefore no longer matches
- an incorrect straight, poeng, or kong remains in place after play has already continued
Incorrect counting
The most common cause of a dead hand is an error in the number of tiles. That can happen:
- directly after the deal
- after forgetting to replace a flower
- after incorrectly claiming a tile
Too late to repair
As soon as play has visibly continued, an old mistake is no longer simply undone. If the next player has already drawn or an action has already been completed, a late correction is in principle over.
Invalid tjok
Invalid tjok occurs when a player thinks they have won, places the hand open, and it then turns out that the combination is incorrect.
Examples:
- an invalid straight
- a missing final pair
- a hand that does not close on
14tiles
East wind
South wind
West windThe specific penalty payment is listed separately under the penalty rules. For the game rule itself, the main consequence now is: the win is invalid, play in the round stops immediately, the player with invalid tjok pays the maximum penalty to the other players with double outcome for jongh, and after that the other 3 players may still settle their current hands among themselves.
Effect at the table
A dead player can no longer validly win in that round. Fast checking is therefore important after:
- the deal
- a flower replacement
- each opened combination that was taken from the table
Quick check
| Situation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Too few or too many hand tiles | hand is dead |
| Flower not replaced | hand is dead as soon as the count is no longer correct |
| Incorrect claim, discovered too late | hand is dead |
| Invalid tjok | no valid win; play stops, maximum penalty follows, after that the other 3 players still settle |
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