Dead Hand Walking - American Mahjong Dead Hand Breakdown! Tile Talk EP8

Tile Talk explains all the ways your hand can be rendered "dead" in American Mahjong. How can a hand die? Who can call a hand dead? When should you call a hand dead? How can you play the best defensive game if your hand is no longer with us! Lets get into an inevitable part of the game and elevate your DEAD play!

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-hormuz-sailors-ships-stranded-07f792a7

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Welcome to Tile Talk with Christina, Elizabeth, and Marshall.

SPEAKER_03 0:13

Your go-to podcast for all things Mahjong. We are gonna deep dive into all things Mahjong.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Let's go. Roll the dice. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

Hello. Hello. Welcome back. Welcome back to Tile Talk. We've got a really fun one today. As you can see, we're in mourning. What are we mourning, Elizabeth?

SPEAKER_04 0:36

Death. All the death. The death of your hand. Yes. Yeah. Or your or your or your friend's hand. Or your friend's hand. This one was really fun.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

I I had to restrain myself on not just like going full Halloween, but I'm also like, okay, we gotta plan the Halloween episode and really some things for another episode. That's right. Yeah. I think this is a really important episode because there's a lot of ways to die.

SPEAKER_03 1:00

That's right. We are gathered here today, you guys, um to discuss how your hand can die in American Mahjong and what to do if it happens. And if it happens to everybody, it will happen to you. Um when we play, I think a lot of times we um just brush over a dead hand and we say, Don't worry about it, let's just keep going. Right. You know, I think um it's hard to call somebody out on a dead hand. But what we have to remember is that it happens to everyone and it's just a part of the game. It is. Um, you need to be comfortable with somebody calling your hand dead and make sure you have a good attitude when it happens. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

And there's a great strategy around it. It's not necessarily always just a horrible thing. You know, you you can have some great strategy and really keep playing, keep having fun.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

Yeah, we can't wait to hear all about that. Before we get into it, let's see how everyone is doing. Yeah, how are you, buddy? I'm doing great. It's the end of the school year. We've got recitals this weekend. Bless it. Oh my god. Wrapped up softball. Um, my family is leaving for a trip to Italy. This will be my first time in Italy. And our family is going um, Nani family. Oh my gosh. Um, back to their old stomping grounds. So I'm excited for that. But it's like school ends and then we're off. So still go, go, go. But once I get there, I'm gonna relax. Yeah, I drink so much wine and eat all the basta.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Yes, and the bread and the cheese and the olive oil. And oh, I will drink the olive oil.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Where are you going in Italy?

SPEAKER_03 2:31

So we'll do half the time in Rome and half the time in Florence, and then we'll sort of venture out and do day trips from there. But that's kind of where the Nani family is from. Um, it's on my husband's side, it's his father, and so they're in like the Tuscany area. Oh my gosh. Y'all are gonna have the best time.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

And I love Mark's brothers and his parents. Yeah, it's a great time. I bet Lynn's done a great job planning. Oh, yes. She's just gonna be in Cloud9 with all her boys and her people together.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

All the grandkids. Yeah, the whole family. Is Violet excited? Oh, she's so excited. And I got her these really cool scavenger hunt books. Um, I found them on Amazon, and it's basically scavenger hunts for kids when you're in Rome and Florence. What a great idea! Yeah, so they can kind of like locate and learn about these cool different websites.

SPEAKER_04 3:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

What a great idea. Yeah. Oh my gosh, we can't wait.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

I'm just living through you on this one. I want you to send all the pictures. You go in September. I know, October. My mom, I know. Me and mom are going. That's really cool. Yeah, I'm so you gotta tell me all the pro tips. I will give you all of the tips what to do.

SPEAKER_04 3:35

You won't shut me up, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

I won't. I will not shut you up. Yeah. What's going on with you? Same man. I'm just trying to make it through this end of the school year. Sports are not done yet. What's that about? I I mean, still, we're still here. I've got I've got baseball every night. We had a band ceremony last night and baseball. You know, it's just, it's a lot. And then summer, I'm so excited about summer, but I feel unprepared. Unprepared. Yeah. But um, bring it. I'm I'm I'm so excited. The boys have done great. We've had a great year. It's just, I'll I'll that first week of summer. I'm just gonna wallow in doing not much. So I'm excited. It's yeah, we but we were gonna go um to see all of our cousins up in South Carolina, and we've got a family wedding the weekend after memorial. Oh, I love a family wedding. So excited. I know, and it's one of my favorite cousins. And yo, he's marrying this girl that they've been dating since like seventh grade. Oh, that's awesome! It's she's amazing, the family's amazing, it's just great. Um, he grade graduated law school, and um he and Clint go to the Clemson FSU game together every single year. So sweet.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

Oh, I love that tradition. I know. Yes, I remember you telling me about that.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

I know. So I've got lots to look forward to, and I'm excited. But I had so much fun prepping this episode. And yeah, I okay, I did too bad. Well, I I drunk crafted last night making us some I got up the glue gun. Like Clint was like, What are you doing? I'm like, I think this is my new episode, Clint. Get with it. But and then and then this morning I was um I was cutting the magnolias for our flowers, and um we didn't I didn't have quite enough in my own yard, so I had to go across the street in the park and steal magnolias.

SPEAKER_04 5:19

Did you steal magnolias? I did. I steal magnolias.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

How dare she? I know, right? Well, perfect because they smell amazing. Oh my gosh, they do smell.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Yeah, I mark you did that for the pun, right? I did. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

And I really did, but um, I really dare steal them. I really did. Well, that's a federal party. I'm just walking my doll. Yeah, you might be on the most wanted list now. Yeah, I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

The magic listen, this isn't the first time she's done that.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

Oh my god, when those um the pine cone gingers come up in the fall, I y'all, it's bad. I should I should say, listen, I'm used to it.

SPEAKER_03 5:59

This doesn't faze me at all. My dad walks around with like a baggie with a wet paper to actually, I kind of showed him how to do this because he would just we would go to the zoo or anything, and he would start, he'd take out his pocket knife and he would be walking out of there with just bushes and flowers coming out of all of his pockets. He has no shame. I've seen him do it like in the mall in the airport, and he'll go home and he propagates it and then plants it. Like my entire house is like comes from like mall plants and zoo plants.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

So we should not introduce them to my mom.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

Yeah, they would be last time we went to the alligator farm in St. Augustine. I packed him a Ziploc bag with like a wet paper towel in there. So now he's got his move. He gets oh my god. I'm like, now you now it's not just sticking out everywhere, and then they like die in the car.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Just bring a big jacket back there.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

No, he has no shame. You don't even need a jacket. He's just in front of, he's like cutting off a branch at the zoo.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

I also love that he's admiring and noticing these beautiful things. There's an engineering firm right around the corner that has a ton of pine cone gingers. They don't even know they have them, they have no idea.

SPEAKER_03 7:09

My neighbors are growing from under the fence and now grow spreading into my yards. Yeah, nice, yeah, yeah, yeah. Very nice. And I think you can make shampoo with it. Oh, yeah. It suns us, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:22

I've read it has a lot of healing qualities too. Anyway, we've got on such a tangent. Marshall, what is going on in your beautiful world? Wait, I saw something on Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Maud had a birthday. Oh, how old is this old lady?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Three.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

She just turned three. She's adorable. She is, and she's spunky as hell, I swear. Oh my gosh. We've been uh we've been battling some battles with her. Um, but she had an incredible birthday. She was so excited. She was literally talking about it two months leading up. She's like, is it my birthday? You know, it's like my birthday. And then now she's like, it's my birthday.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Such a good age. Oh yeah, it really is. Three can be wild.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

It is, definitely.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

Um it says two, but mm-mm, not three. Yeah, I think they're right. Little people, she was still they've they're finding their voice, their motives, testing all those boundaries.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

And then oh my gosh. But um, yeah, same thing. I mean, birthdays, and uh my grandfather just turned 90 on Saturday. So it was really fun. We had family over and we were all playing cards, hanging out. Um, the girls were awful. It was crazy because it was raining, and so they're all just cooped up and we'd have cousins over, and I think they were really just hangry, and then they finally ate something, and then they're like, oh, okay, everything's fine. And then they started. Exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 8:42

You're learning, man. I know. I tell you what, I used to love a rainy day, and now I'm just like, oh my gosh, please, my kids got to go outside.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

I know, but we it's raining today, and it feels very uh its own brand for us. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

It was disgusting this morning. What else? Aiden, you know, she is she's pregnant and still, you know, I think she's coming up on six and a half months, seven months. So late July is the due date. So what are we having? Girl, another girl, March.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Oh, ladies. So perfect. Three sisters. Oh man, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

The Moyle girls are gonna be. I don't when people say, Oh, there go the Moyle girls. I don't know if it's good, bad, whatever, but it's gonna be something great.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Great. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

I'm excited for it.

SPEAKER_03 9:29

That's sweet. That's fantastic. I love a sister. I know sister gang. Oh, that's precious.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

All right. Well, we've we have definitely already touched on our kind of theme of the day, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

Okay, so we have got these really cool um black tiles, so on theme. And these are from um Gustaria or Gusteria, I'm not sure how to pronounce it. Um, they're the black ones, they're on Amazon, and they're only like 46 bucks, and they're such a fun set.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

They're really cool.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

Yeah, they've got um pink and blues and whites, but the entire tile is black, and they really pop on this Soho mat by Oh My Mahjong. Listen, do I even have to say it? My iridescent opal rack by Miss Mahjong. Um you can pry them from my cold dead hands if you want me to switch it up. Um and then what what about our drink today?

SPEAKER_02 10:25

We have, well, we're filming a little bit early today, so we asked Hayward House if we could do kind of a morning jam, and they suggested the classic mimosa, which they serve. And we did our fun glasses today. Let's try this out of the channel. Cheers. So mimosa, just um brute champagne, fresh greased O'J, some dried citrus, and mint. The mint makes it delicious. I'm gonna start doing that at home.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

I like smelling the mint as I sip. Like I don't even know if I'm tasting it.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

But it I love mint. Ugh. It's just it makes it that much crispier.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah, that's something easy to grow. It's invasive.

SPEAKER_04 11:01

Yeah, speak for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

I have faith you could grow mint.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

You know what I do? If I came to my house, you would think I could, but I just buy a new plant every time I'm at Trader Joe's and Mark is always trying to recoup them. It looks like a plant, honestly, like a plant like mortuary in my backyard. And he's he's still watering them. I'm like, babe, you miss that. Go, Mark. You miss the mark on that. Oh man.

unknown 11:26

Yeah, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

And we do, I talked about the ham, we have the magnolias today that they're they're almost done. And you know, they only last for like two or three days, and then they're they get brown.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

You mean if you cut them or on the tree?

SPEAKER_02 11:39

Even on the tree, they're just but there's so many you can kind of just you have to get like a fresh one every other day, which perfect. I know, but it smells like that. Don't mind if I do. I did raid my Halloween decor for some of the Are those fake flowers? This is the only time you will ever, ever see me use fake flowers, is in Halloween decor. It is a I and it for other people it's fine. I'm no no judgment here. Yeah, but for me personally, it makes my skin crawl. I cannot have fake flowers in my home.

SPEAKER_03 12:10

Well, luckily you can grow anything you want, sweetheart. I know. But the rest of us I don't actually have any. I should probably get some fake flowers.

SPEAKER_02 12:18

There's some really, I mean, there's some good ones. I just go filled like buy them again. You don't know, you don't know, but I don't know. I just can't do it. I can't do it. I hear you. Well, and my mom's thankful for it. Yes, I know, I know. And look at this beautiful what happened to the beautiful plant. I left it in your in your steed and it Yeah, she left it with it.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

Okay, you just you were getting ready for our theme. She left it with me and I themed it up. That's right. That's a dead one. It'd be dated.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

That's all right. That's all right. I'll be I'll be taking it home with me next time. Good luck. All right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:51

Um, perfect. So should we is it time to dive in? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Well, first we gotta see what is a blowing, a blowin' blowing in the wind. And this was really cool. This is crazy. And I I know that you know, we usually use Mahjong as an escape from our crazy extra news cycle this year. However, this does um does revolve around the the recent news, and this is you know, it's a big deal. So I think this was really cool. We had a friend of ours actually send us an article. Um, the article is called Trapped in the Strait. Where was it? It was on um Wall Street Journal. Yeah, and I think it came, it came out on May 8th. So it was just, it was recent, recently came out, and um, it basically describes crew members in the Strait of Hermuz, um, you know, but who were being trapped for for you know months. Because it's closed. Yeah, and it was it was an article just kind of just describing the the scene and the the boat captain discussing how they're getting through it, and it was um how they were using a mahjong to deal with the stress being surrounded by all these forces. Um, and it can I read the quote? I have the quote. You ready? Okay, all right. Drones were buzzing overhead, clotted ribbons of waste running past um from marooned vessels forced to toss rotting garbage overboard overboard. Downstairs in the dimly lighted recesses of the sprawling ship, his crewmates were playing nervous games of Mahjong or studying the latest statement from President Trump. Wow, can you just see that? I mean, and you know, it got me thinking like why we love this game, why people love this game, why why this game, among other games, resonates with people, and it is a great way to deal with stress, anxiety. Yes, you know, it and I was reading all these articles, and then I came across also um, you know, the VA really uh recommends board games, video games to um to our wounded soldiers and uh coming home, dealing with PTSD. So it's just an amazing tool for life. Um so it's not only just this fun thing. I thought it was really interesting that they were using mahjong as a way to stay connected and grounded and feel, you know, like you're home, also while dealing with the stress of not knowing what tomorrow will bring.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

Yeah, and I say this a lot too. Um, I like to compare playing mahjong to a form of like meditation. It does such a great job of clearing everything from your head except for what's right in front of you. Um, you know, you're searching the card, you're listening for discards, you are organizing your tiles, looking for pivots, and there's so much going on. Um, you're drawing and racking, and with all of that going on, it's hard to focus on anything else. And with meditation, that's something that's a huge component of it, is that you're really clearing your mind, right? And so it's a way, no matter what is urgent or stressing you out or what's going on outside of the game, you're really oblivious to it during that moment, right? During the time you're playing. So it makes sense for me for being in a high relief stress situation, yeah, and turning to a game like Mahjong. I mean, I don't think like Monopoly could relieve my stress the way you know.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

I mean, it's not as active as this game.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

Yeah, it's not as involved. You're not completely right.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

You have to watch every move and you have to be on your toe.

SPEAKER_03 16:19

You're listening, you're touching, you're thinking, you're it's all the things.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Yes, right. Well, and this quote from the VA says playing games helps during times of stress or war by providing a crucial cognitive escape, emotional release, and a sense of control for individuals experienced experiencing trauma or high anxiety. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

I mean, video games 100% in terms of reducing stress and for me competitive nature. Yes. You know, it's like, okay, I want to win. Same with games, mantra, everything. It's like you have, you know, this small window where you are either a winner or a loser, you know, and there's a there's a set outcome. Whereas life, it's all such a long ride. Yeah, I mean, so it's like you can have a set result in this. And I like your your meditation aspect because when you're meditating, it's like you're focused on doing nothing to clear your mind, but this is active meditation to where you still get to a similar spot by being obsessed with you know what's going on right now in a way it's clearing your mind in another way. So that's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

Yeah, very cool, really cool.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

Yeah, I love it to read. Yeah, I mean a heartbreaking situation for them, and I know how stressed they are, but it was cool to see Mahjong play a role in something other than just a fun event or you know exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

And I think that's why we talk about learning the rules and learning the etiquette and learning all this stuff so that you can play with anybody anywhere, you never know where you're gonna get stuck. And Mahjong can be a bridge to help anybody and meet new friends and deal with whatever life may throw at you. That's why you always want to keep a set in the trunk. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Can we just say though, that's probably the worst place to ever play a game of mahjong?

SPEAKER_03 17:59

Oh, yeah, that's would not be my favorite with drones flying vibe. I'm always thinking about them.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

All right, well, Marshall, will you take us out of the depths of the despair? And do you have any My Manly Minute? Manly Minutes.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

I guess Liz isn't gonna be.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

I haven't found my bark yet. I gotta work on that. Next time I'll be ready. Give it a go. Well, I have a beagle. Maybe I should do the Liz is all bite, no bark.

SPEAKER_03 18:39

Tristan tracks Hallet at the moon. She thinks it's uh Halloween. Yeah, there we go.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Uh depths of despair. Yes, let's pull you guys out. Um, I mean, my favorite topic. I don't know if you guys were paying attention, but the Department of War um released a whole bunch of UFO file. I did. I was hoping you were gonna and um, I mean, I haven't combed through all of them. They released a ton of them, but people have been using um like Claude to put together a really cool searchable um database, essentially, where they just upload everything and then you can easily search it. Um some crazy stuff. I mean, essentially just confirming that the government has been looking into this and keeping tabs and you know, crash retrieval programs and essentially gas.

SPEAKER_02 19:26

I would hope so.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Yeah, so but a crazy video just released yesterday from a Ukrainian drone that was 800 meters up in the air, which is I guess half a mile. They're the A game. And I'm gonna turn my computer around and show you guys because it is definitely one of the craziest. Oh my gosh. And I was like, whoa, that's pretty unsettling.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

We'll have to put this on.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Can you put it on the Marshall?

SPEAKER_02 19:52

I saw this this week and I was like, oh, I can't wait to ask Marshall about this.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

That's my favorite subject.

SPEAKER_02 19:57

Oh my gosh. What's going on? Where is where are they?

SPEAKER_04 20:02

Over in Ukraine?

SPEAKER_00 20:03

They're over in Ukraine. They're up in the sky. And then you'll see this thing.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

Oh, oh, oh.

unknown 20:14

What?

SPEAKER_02 20:14

That looks like a little sus. That looks like it's from a Marvel movie. Not in a good, not in the middle. Why does the camera turn away? Not the good guys. Oh, high word.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

He's super high up in the air, and it's like the tough thing with the drones is you know the control up there. Right. Um, I think he was also on a mission in terms of surveillance. Yeah, and people on Reddit like slowed it down frame by frame, and it like snaps. Like it's like looking that way, and then when the camera faces it, it like snaps at it.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

I see it.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

So this thing is like fresh, and everybody's dissecting it right now. And I I mean, I you know, is it AI? I I don't think so at all. Like the Ukrainian defense minister released this. So I mean, I I you know, people will run it through their programs and everything, but that's definitely one of the craziest ones I've seen.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

That's insane.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

And yeah, um that looks apparently we're supposed to be getting more this week of like full color and HD and all this stuff. Because I do agree, like, all this stuff is grainy and thermal imaging and all this stuff, and it's like we know we have 4K cameras, like Department of Defense. Like, you guys have Marshall's like, I can help you guys out. Yeah, come on, strap one of these cameras up.

SPEAKER_03 21:31

That's a very bigfoot video right there, right? But good God.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

I I don't know. Um, so yeah, that's that's been very fun. Um, Manly Minute, let's see, playoffs are going on. Um San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves in a really good series. Um New York Knicks look unbeatable, honestly. Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

So we if we're we're saying we we get the Knicks look great. Yeah, so on a drop.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Yeah, man, Knicks look great, they look prominent. To win a championship. How about that Jalen Bronson, huh? Okay. And then Wemby for the San Antonio Spurs. The guy's like, man, it looks like it's gonna be Spurs Knicks. That's gonna be a great matchup. Okay. Spurs Knicks.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Spurs and Knicks.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Spurs Knicks. Hockey. Honestly, don't know too much about hockey. Yeah. Lightning got eliminated, so I'm just gonna baseball's cool. And we're about to get College World Series, which will be fun. Yes. So that's heating up. And oh, live golf tour.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

Yes. Yeah. Karma is a bitch. Wait, what happened?

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Karma is a bitch. Amen. Saudis essentially pulled their funding and they're like, we're not doing this anymore. There's been no return. They've been losing money each year.

SPEAKER_02 22:44

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

And so all the people who went to live on this essentially blood money payout.

SPEAKER_02 22:48

Maybe the Saudis would now like the sponsor tournaments instead of live.

SPEAKER_03 22:53

Well, because once they go, they can't come back, right? Wasn't that a good thing? Well, yes, there's a very hard path back.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Yeah. There's been no set path, really. Um, you know, I think uh Kepka, Brooks Kepka is like the only one who I think has uh a path back, but everybody else. He's an FSU guy. Yeah, and Bryson DeChambeau is like, maybe I'll just do YouTube full time. Which I will say his YouTube videos.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

Yeah, he's done kind of a 180 with his image, but yeah, he's definitely a never forget big jerk at the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Um I have no idea what you're talking about. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

So, yes, that's that's a manly minute.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Go right on. Thank you so much. Thank you. Woo woo woo. I'll work on my bark. All right, let's get into it because I am just ready to dive in. I was just preface one little preface. I was telling Clint about this, and he was like, Well, like, is that really a whole episode? And I'm like, Do you know how many ways that you can die? Like, and he was so I started listening and he was like, Oh, okay. Two episodes, and I was like, see? It's a whole thing. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

All right, let's do it. Let's do it. Okay, so what is a dead hand, right? It's a hand you can no longer win with. Um, once a hand is declared dead, the player stops playing and only previously exposed tiles remain exposed while concealed tiles stay hidden and you are out. Um, and you keep those previously exposed tiles out so not to penalize the other players. Um, they can still see what you had exposed so they can play strategically and maybe um steal a joker that you had exposed. So that's nice that they don't get punished for somebody else's dead hand. Right. But really, um something cool to think about is that since somebody else has to declare your hand dead, not you, um, that means that they have to be able to see what's going on. So really, only if you're going for an exposed hand and you have some exposures can they have any insight into whether or not you actually have a dead hand. So remember that when you're exposing to, you're giving away a lot about your hand. And that could be one of the things you're giving away. Right. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:04

And, you know, it's always a little tricky and you want to be tactful when you're calling somebody out on anything, but especially a dead hand. So um Christina did a really good job and found some clever ways to um clever ways to let somebody know to tell your friend that your shit did. So and I think it's well, it does, because you don't want to be, you know, a bee and be like, girl.

SPEAKER_03 25:29

But also, like we've said in the etiquette episode, know the room, right? Right. Um, know who you're playing with. Understand if like you need to be extremely respectful, if there are people who are a little bit more sensitive about their game, or if you're playing with your girlfriends and you guys like to tease back and forth. We are gonna give you some ways to call hands dead with those people you know the best. Um, when you are more unfamiliar with the players at your table, then you know, maybe just kindly say, uh, I believe you have a dead hand, or um Right, I mean, yeah, you know, just use your manners.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Yeah, and you know, read read the room, read your audience. Yeah. All right, so let's get into it. Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

All right, what qualifies as a dead hand? We are gonna go through all the ways. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

All right, um, the first one is really it happens so easily. So this one to me is one of the most, the easiest ways that you can get a dead hand. And it is if you have too few or too many tiles. And that's if you if you forgot to draw or if you forgot to discard on your turn, and then it gets back to you and you realize, oh snap, I have 14 tiles and I should only have 13. So technically you did some weird passing in the Charles story. Right. You didn't do a weird blind pass. But if you end up and it's your turn and you have the incorrect number of tiles technically.

SPEAKER_03 26:52

Because that hand is dead, baby. Yes, yes, yeah. So I sometimes it's hard to count people's tiles across, you know, across the mat. But if you so I mean, something kind of look and I'm like that's a lot of tiles, girl. What you doing? Yeah, you're not even East. Why you got so many tiles? Um, but yeah. Yep. All right, you got the next one? I do. Okay. Okay, how about an invalid joker exchange? What does that mean? It's making a joker exchange before you initiate your turn. How do you initiate your turn? You're gonna draw your tile and rack it. Once that is done, feel free to go ahead and make any joker exchanges that you want, and then you discard. What not to do is, you know, the person to your left discards and then you immediately initiate a joker exchange. If that happens, baby, that hand done crossed over. I can't help myself.

SPEAKER_02 27:51

So just be sure to draw that tile before you initiate the joker.

SPEAKER_03 27:56

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

All right. The next one is an incorrect exposure and exposing a single or a pair or just the wrong combination. Um, so that that happens a lot too. You just sometimes people miscount or they're looking at two different lines and then they they do the meld from the wrong line. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:18

So how somebody puts up news or 2026 or a single or a pair, and that happens a lot when you first learn how to play. Right. So typically when somebody's first learning to play, it's hard for me to say, look, sorry, dead hand. It's like, listen, I want that person to get experience and I let that one slide a lot with new players. If you've been playing a while and you know better, um, baby, that hand is given a state sale.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

I love that one. That's my favorite. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

Um, yeah. So, I mean, you know better. You don't call an expose for a single or a pair, right? All right, what's next? All right, so the next one is or is this one mine? Yeah, that's yours. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. No such hand. So your exposures don't represent a valid hand on the card. So if you see somebody throwing up like a pung and a Kong and you're looking on your card, where is that line? Um, I don't see where that Pung and that Kong go together anywhere. Good chance is that they are they have misx, you know, misread the line, misread the line and they have exposed something incorrectly. Um, at which point, you know, you want to confirm before you call them out, but you would let them know that uh they they not still you wait wait, not you still building on a corpse, girl. Not you still building on a corpse. Um yeah, you would want to let them know, mm-mm. Yep. That ain't it, girl. No, you you are not going for a valid hand. Not on this card, I'm playing with this card.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Yeah. All right. And yes, the next one is an unwinnable hand. If your exposures reveal that you need singles or pairs to win, which are now no longer available, which means they have they have also died on the table, um, those have either been discarded or they've been exposed on someone else's rack. So you you are now aware that you cannot achieve your goals.

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Yes. And so if Elizabeth has been exposing some of her tiles, and I know what she's going for, and all she needs is two norths to win, but I see that there are two discarded, and somebody has one exposed. She may have one, but there's no way she is getting two. Or there's no way I can use a joker. There's though it's there's just no way. There's just no way, baby. So what do you say?

SPEAKER_02 30:45

Um P O F Debbie.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

That hand flatlined three discards ago. Debbie. Debbie.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

Where do you guys get these names from? I you just think of it.

SPEAKER_03 30:59

It just gonna it just sounded right. Yeah, it sounded like something Debbie would do. Debbie would do. Yeah. All right, what about exposing when playing a concealed hand? Ooh, I hate this one. So last year's card, I did this once and I was mortified. But I was going for any like numbers, and it that I think it was like that bottom line was concealed, and for some reason it didn't stick early in the game. I I thought I had that line memorized. I was going for it. I started exposing. This year there's no concealed any like numbers, so you're all good, girl. Yeah, but once you notice somebody has exposed, and that only matches up with a concealed line, what's she gonna tell them?

SPEAKER_02 31:39

We are gonna tell them call the corner, Betsy. It's a corona, a gona.

SPEAKER_03 31:45

She's a gong. She's a gona.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

That's right. Betsy. Yeah. Sorry, Betsy. Sorry, but all right. All right, the next one is discarding without drawing first. And you know, this happens so often. I think, and this is so so one that we're like, oh, it's okay, it's okay, but it's really not. You know, if you're playing in a tournament or for money, it's not okay. You you're dead. Absolutely. So it's it is really hard to watch yourself.

SPEAKER_03 32:11

And honey, that hand is no longer with us. I love this one.

SPEAKER_02 32:15

Yes. Yeah. So don't, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:18

Yeah, don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

And then make sure that's the first one. Because you'll also have trouble with having the two fewer tiles. So just you gotta, you standard set of play, just always draw first. Just always draw.

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Right. So not only have you discarded without drawing, now you have too few tiles. So your hand is like double dead. Double dead. Yeah.

unknown 32:36

I like that.

SPEAKER_03 32:37

Double dead. All right. And this this is kind of similar too. Yeah, drawing out of turn. Um, yeah, it's not your turn, you're not paying attention. So it's dead. And the tile that you drew stays with your dead hand um if you've already racked it, right? So that sucks, Karen. Um that hand just went home to Jesus. That hand just went home to Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 33:03

That's a good one. I like that. Yeah. All right. Um, ooh, this is good too. Right? Drawing and racking a tile from the wrong end of the wall or from the wrong complete wall. Um, even if someone else has pushed out the wall, it's still on you to know that that's incorrect and to pull from the correct wall. And that goes in that, you know, it's we've touched on to have a tail or not a tail on a wall, and that does help indicate where you are. So some people some people don't like the tail, but that'll save you, buddy.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 33:32

Because that's another one.

SPEAKER_03 33:33

If you draw from the wrong wall, you're gonna need a moment of silence for Heather's hand. Pull Heather.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

Oh my God, I'm getting real southern here. All right.

SPEAKER_03 33:41

Okay, so listen, yes, give us a little more depth on this one. Right. So if the player who pushed the wall out did so before the previous wall was exhausted. So say you're just moving ahead of yourself, you know your wall is next, the other one's not fully exhausted, but you push it out, um, then your hand is dead as well. Yeah. Otherwise, there is no punishment for the pusher unless somebody wins mahjong on the wrong wall because you've pushed out the wrong wall, then the pusher will pay for the entire table. Wow. So if you're playing for monies, um that's when it really counts. The pusher will also be penalized, which is kind of good. I mean, it's your fault. That's right. Yeah. I mean, own it. That's right. Yeah. All right. Um, let's talk about mahjong and error, aka the faujong. So that is when somebody calls mahjong and they in fact do not have a mahjong. Um listen, Becky, this hand will need a closed casket service. Nobody loves a foj, but that will kill your hand. Um, listen, when that happens, your hand is dead unless the mistake is corrected or realized before any exposure is made by any player. So if you say hold for mahjong, but you haven't touched anything or racked anything or exposed anything, then you can say never mind. Okay. Right. And then continue. So it's not until you display. Yes. So if you say, all right, yes. Okay. If you say hold for mahjong and expose only the tile that you called, you haven't expo exposed your entire line. Um, and then you discover you don't actually have mahjong, you can actually switch that up to just a hold for exposure or a call for exposure. Yeah. So that also will not, you can change it as long as you haven't exposed anything else. Um, this is why it's really important to verify somebody's mahjong, though. So true. Yes. So true. I mean, so many times I'm like, did someone look at that? Not only, but verify it before you're exposing your tiles. It's so often that I see somebody say mahjong and they start exposing their tiles while other people start dissecting theirs. Um, they want to do the autopsy and talk about what they almost had and they were one away. So they start um exposing theirs as well. And if that person had a foj, guess what? I mean, your hand is dead as well. That's right. Yeah, and it's over. So basically verify before you flip your rack over or start exposing any of your tiles. Always very important.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

Yes. And don't feel bad about verifying. You know, even if it's like the best player you know wins everything. Everybody makes mistakes and it's yeah, it's part of the game.

SPEAKER_03 36:33

Yeah, it's part of the verify. You want to say, hey, what line was that? And you know, look and make sure they have.

SPEAKER_02 36:40

And congratulate them on their their hand win.

SPEAKER_03 36:44

But wait till you know until check it out. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Okay. Calling a hand dead. This is important. You cannot declare or call your own hand dead. So basically, what do you do if you discover that your hand is dead? Um, if you see your hand requires live support, um, it's time to start playing defensively. You want to shoot for a wall game. You want to make sure you are not discarding anything anybody else needs. A wall game is still going to give you points. Um, unless somebody calls your hand dead and calls you out, you can still earn some points, possibly. Yes. Um, or some money.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

Well, and I think, you know, this playing defensively is a whole different strategy of playing. And I think we focus so much on the rest of the game, but it is a very important piece that's gonna come up more than you think, especially in tournament play or competitive play. So it's something to really practice and and you know, keep up with.

SPEAKER_03 37:43

You may just want to try to. It's your job to do that. Nobody is gonna call their own hand dead, and you're gonna want to call someone's dead hand dead if you notice it, because that is going to give an advantage to the other players. The person with the dead hand no longer is drawing tiles. So that means your pool of tiles to choose from becomes larger without that person before. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 38:04

And that is why we do want to call someone's hand dead if we believe that it is, because then it takes that the that player out of play for our tile competition. So that that's why this this that's why we're here today. That's why we're here. Don't don't be scared to tell baby.

SPEAKER_03 38:21

Because that is a huge part of gameplay. Yeah. And how do you know if someone's hand is dead? Um, you'll know by what they have exposed and by the tiles that have already been discarded and exposed by other players. So basically, you can tell a lot of times with just one or two exposures what line they are potentially going for and what tiles they may need. And if you see all of those already out and used up, um chances are they could have a dead hand. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So that's some defensive playing.

SPEAKER_02 38:54

Yes. I also feel like um and it's it is really frustrating when you realize that you're not gonna be able to get your hand and there's probably no way that you're gonna mahjong.

SPEAKER_04 39:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:06

So that is a bit disp, you know, disparaging. But what I see people do often is start kind of bitching about it and being like, well, my hand's dead, so I'm just gonna do not announce that. Do not announce that.

SPEAKER_03 39:19

No.

SPEAKER_02 39:19

I'm guilty of that too. I, you know, I especially playing with friends, like I get it, but don't do that. That's a bad habit to get in and flip that around and start using it to your advantage to screw all your friends. That's you know, I just we have to we have to turn that mindset around for playing with a dead hand of don't be so here. I'm that I'm sorry. It's part of the game. That's right. That's right. So be a good sport. Certainly don't advertise that if your hand has has perished.

SPEAKER_03 39:43

All right. So what happens if somebody challenges your hand and says it's dead, but you disagree? Yeah. Yeah. So basically, um, you can continue playing if you disagree, but the matter has to be resolved after someone has declared mahjong. If the challenger, the person who said your hand was dead, is correct and your hand was in fact dead, then you would owe them 50 cents. Now, this is in terms of money, right? Or vice versa, whoever was wrong has to pay the other player 50 cents. Okay. Um, I don't, I mean 50 cents.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

I it doesn't it doesn't seem it doesn't seem like a 50 yeah. We need bigger penalty. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:25

50 bucks. Yeah. Yeah. I think it should be bump that thing up. Yeah. Right. I mean, also if somebody calls your hand dead and it's dead, well just.

SPEAKER_02 40:34

We also I do want to say, I don't think we've said this yet, is um make sure you're that you are not saying you are dead, that you're saying your hand is dead. Your hand is dead. You know, we don't we don't want to accuse anybody of leaving this earth. But um you know, you just their hand, not not them as a as a person. You're dead, Wendy.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Do you think someone has ever had a dead hand and then also died at the table the same time?

SPEAKER_02 40:58

Oh, Marshall, you're getting very morbid.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

This is a morbid episode, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 41:01

It is.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:03

I mean, odds are good. It's it's been around for quite some time.

SPEAKER_03 41:09

Well, geez, her hand was dead too. I know. As they're wheeling her out, checking out what she was going for.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Sorry, Betsy.

SPEAKER_03 41:18

Just wasn't her day. She'd gone to see Jesus. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:22

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Would that not be how you guys want to go out though?

SPEAKER_04 41:26

Oh, wait, the mahjong table? Yeah. Yeah. Not with a dead hand.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Okay, maybe like you go out with a wash. Yeah. Yeah. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 41:34

Oh, well, and and let's just go through too. My sister asked about this. Okay. Is when someone if you have said, Oh, Nancy, you're your your your hand has gone to heaven. Um what does Nancy then do? Well, she so she does not continue to draw and discard. No, she does. She does not. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:53

So yeah, whereas anything that she has exposed will remain exposed. Right. And that way the other players are not punished. They still have access to see all of that and um have access to her jokers. Um, anything that was still in her rack remains in her rack and she ceases to draw and discard, and she can no longer I mean, can I do that? Can she talk?

SPEAKER_02 42:14

That's what she said. Can I talk? But the house rules. I think you have to be silent.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

So and I think you need to go out with it dramatic.

SPEAKER_03 42:22

That is a I think it is. I think we talked about this during the lesser-known rules of Mahjong. So if you have a dead hand, you have to be quiet. Yes. And I think also we decided that um that person also becomes the bartender.

SPEAKER_00 42:37

They gotta go get a round of drinks.

SPEAKER_03 42:38

That's right. Um, Nancy, thanks for reminding us.

SPEAKER_02 42:42

That was her way of betting into our hand to become a bartender.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

But uh when was last time you guys had a dead hand called on you.

SPEAKER_02 42:51

Ooh, I have not had one called on me. I have had a dead hand several times and just have had to pivot to play defensively, but I have not had someone call me out on a dead hand. The the dead hands that I've had have have bit probably been, I haven't exposed anything. So they've been probably been concealed hands that I was then unable to I knew I wasn't gonna be able to get it. But um I haven't been called out yet, but I I have not been called out either.

SPEAKER_03 43:19

Um, and I'm surprised on a a couple of times, but it's not, it doesn't have you know, it's hard to call somebody's hand when you're so focused on your own. That's true. You're over here counting your own tiles and trying to pivot and do all the things, let alone I'm not gonna sit there and like count Nancy's.

SPEAKER_02 43:36

Well, and I think the majority of time that we're playing it's with friends and family, and you're you wouldn't, you'd be like, you wouldn't make them really quit. You know, it's like that it's more of a casual feel. And so and sometimes sometimes if they've got exposures and you're like, girl, you ain't even clean like you're you're out, you know, stop. But I think if you like, oh misdraw on your turn and be like, it's okay, you know, we'll we'll keep going.

SPEAKER_03 43:59

If I see that. They need what I need too. I'm gonna be more likely to call your hand dead so you can stop going for this tiles. It's like what are you doing? You can't win anyway. Like, stop stop hoarding my tiles that I need, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

So it's kind of a rare occurrence.

SPEAKER_03 44:17

Yeah. Yes. I would say it's rare, but it happens.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

Calling.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

The calling is rare.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

But internal dead hands happen a lot. Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

That's when you start playing.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Yeah, pivoting and I defensively.

SPEAKER_02 44:31

I would almost say I think it'd be a good exercise to just even decide, hey, I'm going to play defensively this round. And just get a feeling because you do play differently. And it also really helps you learn how to watch other people's hands. I love that. And discards and really, you know, it's not a bad idea because it it you do kind of have to flip your brain a little bit because it's different, you're playing differently. So I think it should be a good exercise to be like, all right, I'm going to practice defensive play this this time. And don't tell anybody that that's what you're doing. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Would you have a chance at winning mahjong if you played defensively or no?

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Well, there's so much luck in Mahjong, you never know. If you're actively keeping tiles so that other people can't have them, then it it probably is going to be harder for you to get some kind of cohesive hand. But I mean it could happen for sure. Yeah. But if you're playing defensively, you're not you're totally it's you're all focused on screwing the other people around you, and you're not, you're not, you're not worried about what you're gonna achieve. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_03 45:33

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 45:33

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:35

Great episode. Yeah. Well, we still have my title tips.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

All right. So tell us, what are you thinking? What do we got? What you gonna learn us too? Well, this is just pretty straightforward, and I think we've talked about a lot of these things already. But we're talking about, you know, the dead hand. And uh so did some research and found the most common dead hands of the 2026. Oh, this is good. I mean, so um National Mahjong lead card of the 2026. The most frequent dead hands tend to involve misinterpreting the 2026 section because of the high structure and low flexibility of that section or misplaying the news section, which is a trap. It's a trap! You mean the Winds and Dragons section? Yeah, the news, yes. Um well, well, or when they have the singles news, the N-E-W-S together. It's a trap. It's a trap. Okay. Uh-huh. Um, because there's so there's so many few appearances of them, I say. Um, and also then mismanaging the high count flower hands, which there's 38 to 40% of and like miscounting, maybe. Yeah, and you know, having either not have having the, you know, not having the six and the three to the two threes separated, I think is what they were really referencing there.

SPEAKER_03 46:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 46:51

Um but also failing to use pairs of sixes, which are in 40% of the hands. And that's pairs of sixes are in 40% of the things. That's from that was from Mahjong That's It was talking about that's one of the most common pitfalls this year, is is not realizing that those pairs of sixes are are very crucial.

SPEAKER_03 47:13

But now, what is Mahjong That's It? Let's remind them. Oh, that's our Facebook group that we love. Yes. Mahjong That's it, the Facebook group, so much good information.

SPEAKER_02 47:22

Yes, yeah, it is, it really is. And and there's so many great people on there with such great, I mean, gosh, you could just deep dive for hours and days and months.

SPEAKER_03 47:30

Some of some of the members on that page have been playing for decades and decades. Yes. So you get so much information that you don't get from a lot of the newer players. And there are tons of page and groups to join, but that's for sure one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_02 47:48

Yes. And so they were really referencing the sixes and again the soaps every year, but those are so poachable because of the prevalency of them on the card this year. So if you're going for sixes, just be really careful. And if you see that other someone you think someone else is as well, just beware and be ready to be, you know, yeah, be ready to speaking of pivot.

SPEAKER_00 48:08

Um Liz, did they mention the six sevens?

SPEAKER_02 48:11

No, they didn't mention the six sevens. The six sevens are not not very special this year, but next year they will be. Yeah. True. Um, okay, yes. So unl in the 2026 section, um, they noted that it was just really complex this year. And unlike the consecutive runs, which are, you know, you can really pivot really well in the 2026, you really can't because of the certain melt. Yeah. So you know, I love a pivot. I'd love to pivot. But so beware of the sixes. All right.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

Beware of the sixes.

SPEAKER_02 48:41

The year of the sixes.

SPEAKER_03 48:42

Yes. Right. Love them, but beware.

SPEAKER_00 48:46

There we go. Just keeping you guys on your toes.

SPEAKER_03 48:48

Oh, well, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

What else can you do?

SPEAKER_00 48:49

Can you capture 10 on Spanish? In Spanish?

SPEAKER_02 48:54

Go grass. Ah, see.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

Muy bien.

SPEAKER_02 48:56

Yeah, gracias.

SPEAKER_00 48:58

In French? No.

SPEAKER_02 49:00

No.

SPEAKER_00 49:01

We read.

SPEAKER_03 49:02

Can you?

SPEAKER_00 49:03

No.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

Oh, that would have been great. If anybody wants to read more about Dead Hands, I got all of our information from the Mahjong Made Easy book by National Mahjong League. It's my Bible, it's my Mah'Bible, which you can get on the National Mahjong League website. I wouldn't buy anything from Amazon unless it's directly from the National Mahjong League. They now have um stuff available, but make sure they are the sellers on Amazon.

SPEAKER_02 49:30

Yes, definitely. Yeah. Oh, this was really fun. I know. This was great fun. All right, and I'm really pumped about doing a Halloween episode now, too. Like, all right, let me get through black lights and fog. And it's not fog.

SPEAKER_00 49:44

I was not tracking that this was like. So I walked in and I was like, You died.

SPEAKER_02 49:49

I'm gonna put my veil back over your hand, Barbara.

SPEAKER_04 49:53

I got the glue gun out for this shit.

SPEAKER_03 49:55

It's pretty good. Yeah, it looks good.

SPEAKER_04 49:56

I had to take mine off. It was sticking in my lashes. Oh, oh, because it's so beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 50:00

All right, well, oh, guys, that's the mahjong for today's tile talk. And thank you so much for joining us. Until next time, may your tiles be lucky and your table always be welcoming. That's right. Cheers. Cheers.

SPEAKER_00 50:15

Cheers. All right.

SPEAKER_02 50:16

Love you bye.

SPEAKER_00 50:17

Adios.

SPEAKER_02 50:18

Oh, I got it.