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Mastering Mahjong
beginner 12 min read Chapter 5 of 10

Open Melds

Learn when and how to call tiles from opponents: pon, chi, and kan. Understand the trade-offs between open and closed hands.

One of mahjong’s most exciting mechanics is calling tiles from opponent discards to complete your melds. This chapter covers the three types of calls and, more importantly, when to use them.

The Three Types of Calls

1. Chi (チー): Sequence Call

Chi lets you claim a discarded tile to complete a sequence—but only from the player to your left (the player whose turn comes right before yours).

Requirements:

  • You have two tiles that form a sequence with the discarded tile
  • The discard came from the player to your left
  • You call “Chi!” immediately after the discard

Example:

  • Player to your left discards:
  • You have:
  • You call “Chi!” and reveal:

The called tile is placed sideways in your revealed meld to show which tile came from the discard.

After the call:

  • Your hand is now open (no longer closed)
  • You discard a tile from your remaining hand
  • Play continues from you

2. Pon (ポン): Triplet Call

Pon lets you claim a discarded tile to complete a triplet—from any opponent (not just the player to your left).

Requirements:

  • You have two identical tiles matching the discard
  • You call “Pon!” immediately after the discard

Example:

  • Any opponent discards:
  • You have:
  • You call “Pon!” and reveal:

After the call:

  • Your hand is now open
  • You discard a tile
  • Play continues from you (skipping anyone between you and the discarding player)

Chi vs. Pon priority: If two players want the same discard (one for chi, one for pon), pon takes priority. Pon also takes priority over chi regardless of seat order.

3. Kan (カン): Quad Call

Kan lets you call or declare a quad—four identical tiles. There are three types of kan:

Daiminkan (大明槓): Open Quad

Calling an opponent’s discard to make a quad:

  • You have three of a tile, opponent discards the fourth
  • You call “Kan!” and reveal all four
  • This makes your hand open
  • You draw a replacement tile from the dead wall
  • A new dora indicator is flipped

Example:

  • Opponent discards:
  • You have:
  • You call “Kan!” and reveal:

Shouminkan (小明槓): Added Open Quad

Adding a fourth tile to a triplet you already called (pon):

  • You previously called pon:
  • You draw the fourth 8s
  • On your turn, you declare “Kan!” and add it to your pon
  • Draw a replacement tile, flip a new dora

Important risk: This is the most dangerous kan. Opponents can rob your kan (chankan) to win if the tile you’re adding completes their hand. This is rare but legal.

Ankan (暗槓): Closed Quad

Declaring a quad from your closed hand:

  • You draw all four of a tile during normal play
  • On your turn, you declare “Kan!” and reveal all four (but tiles are placed face-down to indicate it’s a closed quad)
  • Draw a replacement tile, flip a new dora
  • Your hand remains closed (ankan doesn’t open your hand!)

Kan Benefits and Risks

Benefits:

  • +1 dora indicator revealed (more potential bonus points)
  • +1 tile drawn (replacement tile)
  • Certain yaku require or reward kan (sankantsu = three quads)

Risks:

  • Gives opponents more dora opportunities
  • Shouminkan can be robbed for chankan yaku
  • Reveals information about your hand
  • Four kans by different players can cause a rare draw (suu kan nagare)

Beginner advice: Don’t kan unless you have a good reason. The added dora helps everyone, not just you.

Open vs. Closed Hands: The Critical Trade-off

Here’s the most important concept in this chapter: Opening your hand costs you yaku.

What You Lose When Opening

These yaku become impossible when you call chi or pon:

Other yaku lose value:

What You Gain When Opening

The Math Rarely Favors Opening

Let’s compare two paths:

Path A - Closed Hand:

Path B - Open Hand:

Path A scores 2× more points despite being slower. And there’s no guarantee Path B actually wins first—opponents can also reach tenpai while you’re revealing your hand.

When to Call: Decision Framework

Call for Pon When:

  1. High-value triplet: Pon on dragons or your seat wind (yakuhai, 1 han guaranteed)
  2. Fast cheap hand: You’re going for a quick, low-scoring win (common in East 4 when you need any win)
  3. Already open: Your hand is already open from a previous call

Call for Chi When:

Almost never as a beginner. Chi is the weakest call because:

  • You can only call from one player (left)
  • It opens your hand (loses riichi, pinfu, etc.)
  • Sequences are easy to complete by drawing

Advanced players chi when going for specific open yaku (chanta, honitsu) or when playing ultra-fast tanyao strategies.

Call for Kan When:

  1. You’re in tenpai with a good wait: Extra dora can boost your score
  2. Ankan with a closed hand: Doesn’t open your hand, adds dora
  3. You have yakuhai and want to boost value: Only if you’re confident

Default Strategy: Stay Closed

As a beginner, your default should be: Don’t call tiles. Stay closed and go for riichi.

This strategy:

  • Maximizes your score potential
  • Simplifies decision-making
  • Lets you learn hand-reading without revealing information
  • Teaches you efficient hand development (you can’t rely on calls as a crutch)

Call Priority and Timing

When someone discards a tile, there’s a priority order:

  1. Ron (winning call): Always highest priority from any player
  2. Pon/Kan: Higher priority than chi, from any player
  3. Chi: Lowest priority, only from left player

If multiple people call ron on the same tile, all of them win (double ron or triple ron, depending on house rules—some allow it, some give the win to the player closest in turn order).

Digital Platform Calling

On platforms like Mahjong Soul or Tenhou:

  • Call buttons appear automatically when you can make a call
  • You have a few seconds to decide
  • Click the button or press the keyboard shortcut to call
  • The game handles revealing melds and tile arrangement

Settings tip: Most platforms have an “auto no-call” or “skip call prompts for chi” setting. Enable this to automatically pass on chi calls, speeding up your play and keeping you closed.

Reading Open Hands

When an opponent calls a tile, pay attention:

They called pon on 7z (Red Dragon):

  • They have yakuhai (at least 1 han)
  • They likely have other triplets or dragons (going for a triplet-heavy hand)
  • They’re probably not in tenpai yet (1 triplet ≠ complete hand)

They called chi on 4m to make 345m:

  • They’re building a sequence-based hand
  • They gave up riichi for this (weak hand or desperate)
  • They need characters (don’t discard 1-6m safely)

They called daiminkan on 6p:

  • They’re very confident or want dora
  • They likely have multiple complete melds already (kan is usually late-game)
  • New dora indicator appeared—check if it helps you or hurts you

Example: To Call or Not to Call?

Your hand:

Player to your left discards:

Should you chi?

You could call chi and reveal

, leaving you with:

But now:

  • You’re open (no riichi, no menzen tsumo, no pinfu)
  • You still need to decide: keep 234m or 567m? Keep 11z pair or hope for a different pair?
  • Your hand is revealed (opponents know you have sequences)

Better play: Discard 8s or 2m, stay closed. You have good tile acceptance and can draw into tenpai naturally while keeping riichi as an option.

Next: Winning Your Hand

You now understand calling tiles and the open vs. closed trade-off. In the next chapter, we’ll cover how to actually win—tsumo vs. ron, declaring victory, and the important furiten rule that prevents certain wins.

Ready to learn how to win? Click “Next”!

Beginner's Guide to Riichi Mahjong Chapter 5 of 10