Definition
A dead hand is one that can no longer legally win, for example because of exposures that match no card line, exposures that fit only a concealed line, or the wrong number of tiles.
A dead hand stops picking and discarding for the rest of the hand, cannot declare mahjong, and still pays the winner.
At the table
The avoidable kind starts with a call. A player claims a discard, exposes a set, and only then discovers the line they were picturing does not exist on this year's card. The habit that prevents it costs nothing. Before calling, name the exact card line you are building toward, and if you cannot name it, do not call.
Read the full guide: Dead Hands and Wrong Mahjong Calls: What Happens Next.
Lesson 7, The Play: Calling & Exposures, teaches this in its step "Dead hands, and what's next". It comes with the Club. See what Lesson 7 covers.
See it on real tiles. The AI coach reads a dealt hand, free, and names the direction it goes for, what to keep and what to pass, at the free read.
Want the coach on call? The Club adds the coach for your own tiles and for each morning’s hand, all 10 lessons, and every new NMJL card taught the week it lands, for $14.99 a month, cancel anytime. See what the Club includes.
Related: Wall game, Misdeal, Wall, Concealed hand. All 52 terms.