Houtei

Conditions

• You must win by ron (claiming a discard) on the very last discard of the hand
• The last discard is the tile discarded by the player who drew the last tile from the wall (assuming they didn’t win with it)
• Your hand can be open or closed
• You cannot call kan on the last discard

Strategy Tips

• Like haitei, houtei is largely a matter of luck. The main thing you can do is stay tenpai heading into the final turn. If the last player discards a tile you’re waiting on, you pick up a free extra han.
• The player making the final discard has to be extra careful. If they drew the last tile and didn’t win (haitei), they must discard something — and that discard can be claimed as houtei by any tenpai player. This means the final discard is often a very safe tile.
• If you’re tenpai on the last turn and waiting on a common tile, your chances of houtei are decent since the final player has limited safe tile options. Uncommon waits, paradoxically, may also hit if the final player thinks rare tiles are safe to discard.