Dealer

Dealer

Dealer (東家, tojia in Chinese; also called Oya 親 in Japanese) is the player occupying the East seat who initiates each round of mahjong and holds special privileges and responsibilities regarding payment and position retention.

Detailed Explanation

Position and Role

The Dealer is always the player in the East seat (東, dong) at the start of a hand. This position rotates through the four players based on specific conditions. The Dealer draws first, discards first, and has the right of first refusal on certain tile combinations. In gameplay, the Dealer’s position provides strategic advantages, particularly regarding timing and information gathering from other players’ discards.

Payment Structure

The Dealer’s most significant distinction involves the payment system. When a Dealer wins a hand (achieves agari), they receive payments at 1.5 times the standard rate from non-dealers:

• Dealer win from discard: Receives 1.5× the base point value from the discarder
• Dealer win from self-draw: Receives 1.5× the base point value from each player
• Non-dealer win: Receives standard point values

Conversely, when a non-dealer wins against the Dealer, the Dealer pays the standard amount. This asymmetry means the Dealer position carries both greater reward potential and greater risk.

Position Retention

The Dealer retains their position under two specific conditions:

1. Winning the hand (renchan): If the Dealer wins, they remain Dealer for the next hand and the round counter does not advance.

2. Hand ends in draw with Dealer in tenpai: If the hand ends without anyone winning and the Dealer is one tile away from winning (tenpai), they retain the Dealer position. Non-dealers in tenpai do not retain their position.

If the Dealer loses or the hand ends without the Dealer being in tenpai, the Dealer position rotates clockwise to the next player (South, West, then North).

Honba Counter

When the Dealer retains their position through winning or tenpai draws, the honba (本場, continuation counter) increases by one. This counter adds bonus points to the next hand: each honba adds 300 points to winning payments and 100 points to losing payments when the hand ends. The honba resets to zero when the Dealer position changes.

Usage Example

In a game of four-player mahjong, Player A starts as Dealer in the East seat. Player A draws and discards first. If Player A wins this hand by collecting a winning combination, they receive 1.5 times the normal payment from the discarder, retain the Dealer position, and the honba counter increases to one. Player A remains Dealer for the next hand with the increased point values from the honba bonus.

Alternatively, if Player A does not win but ends the hand in tenpai (one tile away from winning) when the hand concludes in a draw, Player A retains the Dealer position despite not winning. The honba increases, and play continues with Player A as Dealer.

If Player A loses to another player or fails to be in tenpai when a draw occurs, the Dealer position rotates to the next player, the honba resets, and the round counter advances.

Related Terms

• East (東, dong): The compass direction and seat position of the Dealer
• Oya (親): Japanese term for Dealer, literally meaning “parent”
• Renchan (連荘): Consecutive Dealer wins that extend the Dealer’s tenure
• Honba (本場): The continuation counter that increases bonus points during consecutive Dealer hands
• Agari (上がり): Winning a hand; achieving the winning combination
• Tenpai (聴牌): Being one tile away from a winning hand