How Scoring Works in American Mahjong

Updated October 3, 2026: checked the payment chart and worked examples, and clarified the joker-exchange example.

You hold your 14th tile. You stare at your rack. You count once, count again, and there it is: a real, legal mahjong. You set the tiles down, say the word, and the table cheers. Then someone asks, “How much do we owe you?”

You do not have to work it out from scratch each time. Find the printed value, check how you won, and check whether the jokerless bonus applies. This guide covers standard NMJL scoring for a four-player American mahjong game. The numbers below are points; if your group uses chips or money, agree on what a point represents before playing.

American mahjong scoring chart: who pays whom?

Let V be the printed value of the winning hand. “Other players” means the three players who did not win. This chart keeps each player’s payment separate from the winner’s total.

Singles & Pairs exception: use one of the first two rows for those hands. They cannot contain jokers, so finishing them without jokers does not earn an extra jokerless bonus. A self-picked Singles & Pairs win still receives the self-pick bonus.

How to read the value on the NMJL card

Each line has a printed point value. On the 2026 card, the values are 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 75. Read the value for the exact hand you completed; do not estimate it from how difficult the hand felt.

The X or C beside the hand tells you whether exposures are permitted during play. X means the hand may be exposed; C means it must be played concealed until mahjong. The point value and the exposure requirement are separate information to read on the line.

There is no separate concealed-hand bonus. Use the printed value, then apply the self-pick and eligible jokerless bonuses. Keeping an X hand concealed during play does not create an extra multiplier.

If those symbols are still new, keep the guide to reading the NMJL card beside you.

Self-pick and jokerless bonuses

Self-pick: each other player pays double

When you pick the winning tile from the wall, each of the other three players pays twice the printed value. For a 25-point hand with no jokerless bonus, that is 50 from each player, or 150 total.

On a discard win with the same 25-point value and no jokerless bonus, the discarder pays 50 and the other two players each pay 25. The total is 100. There is no separate “self-pick without its bonus” calculation.

Does winning by a joker exchange count as self-picked?

Yes. If your final move is a legal joker exchange that completes mahjong, use the self-pick payment row. In a four-player game, each of the other three players pays double the printed value. For a 25-point hand containing a joker, that is 50 each, or 150 total. The player whose exposure supplied the joker does not pay a special extra amount.

Because the exchanged joker is now in the completed hand, this example does not receive the jokerless bonus. Mahj Life reproduces the League’s answers about wins by joker exchange. See the joker rules guide for the legal exchange order.

Jokerless: an extra double, with one important exception

A completed hand with no jokers receives the jokerless bonus unless it is in the Singles & Pairs section. Double the payments that would otherwise apply. That makes an eligible 25-point jokerless discard win 100 from the discarder and 50 from each other player, or 200 total.

With both self-pick and an eligible jokerless hand, each other player pays four times the printed value. For a 25-point hand, that is 100 each, or 300 total. Mahj Life reproduces the NMJL’s standard-scoring guidance in its jokerless payout reference.

Singles & Pairs still earns the self-pick bonus

These hands must already be jokerless, so they do not get another double for having no jokers. They do still get the self-pick bonus. The League confirms this distinction in its bulletin answers, reproduced in the Singles & Pairs scoring reference.

Three scoring examples, step by step

The simplest way to check your math is to write each player’s payment first, then add the three payments.

Example 1: A 25-point hand won from a discard

Your completed hand contains a joker, and another player discards your winning tile.

• Printed value: 25.
• Self-pick bonus: no. Jokerless bonus: no.
• The discarder pays 2 × 25 = 50.
• The other two players each pay 25.
• You collect 50 + 25 + 25 = 100.

Example 2: A 30-point concealed hand won from the wall

You complete a concealed hand by picking your winning tile. The hand contains a joker in a permitted group.

• Printed value: 30. There is no additional concealed-hand multiplier.
• Self-pick bonus: yes. Jokerless bonus: no.
• Each of the three other players pays 2 × 30 = 60.
• You collect 60 + 60 + 60 = 180.

Example 3: A 50-point Singles & Pairs hand won from the wall

You complete a 50-point hand from the Singles & Pairs section by picking your winning tile. As required, the hand contains no jokers.

• Printed value: 50.
• Self-pick bonus: yes.
• Jokerless bonus: no. Singles & Pairs is excluded from that bonus.
• Each of the three other players pays 2 × 50 = 100.
• You collect 100 + 100 + 100 = 300.

The key is the section of the card, not simply whether you can see a joker in the winning hand.

Wall games, dead hands, and mahjong in error

What happens in a wall game?

If the wall is exhausted with no winner, the game is a wall game. There is no winning-hand payment. Reset for the next deal according to your group’s normal rotation.

Does a player with a dead hand keep playing?

Once a player’s hand has been declared dead, that player stops picking and discarding. They may still owe a payment if another player wins. The NMJL bulletin answers reproduced in this disqualification reference confirm that play stops for the disqualified player.

What if someone calls mahjong incorrectly?

First, keep the other hands intact while the table checks the declared hand. A mahjong-in-error ruling depends on what happened, including whether other players exposed or threw in their tiles. There is no single “pay everyone” shortcut that covers every situation. Check the back of the current NMJL card and the League’s Mah Jongg Made Easy for the applicable ruling.

Common American mahjong scoring questions

Do concealed hands automatically pay double?

No. Start with the printed value. Concealment itself does not add a separate bonus.

Does a jokerless Singles & Pairs hand pay double?

It does not receive the jokerless bonus. If you self-pick the winning tile, each other player still pays double the printed value for self-pick.

How do you keep score without money?

Use points or chips and the same payment chart. Record the winning hand’s printed value, how it was completed, whether the jokerless bonus applies, and each player’s payment.

Should I pass up a winning discard to aim for self-pick?

The chart tells you the payment if you win; it does not guarantee another winning tile will arrive. Make that decision based on your hand and the game, not the larger payout alone.

A simple scoring routine for your next game

1. Verify the complete hand against the card.
2. Read its printed point value.
3. Identify self-pick or discard.
4. Check jokerless eligibility, remembering the Singles & Pairs exception.
5. Use the chart to calculate each payment and the total.

For the decisions that lead up to mahjong, continue with the American mahjong strategy guide. It brings together hand selection, the Charleston, jokers, switching, and defense so you can choose what to practice next.

Need a rule refresher? Read the full joker rules, look up a term in the mahjong glossary, or return to the beginner’s guide.

See you at the table.

Lara