Definition
A hot tile is a discard likely to complete an opponent's hand, judged from their exposures and from which tiles have not yet appeared on the table.
Every exposed set rules out the lines that cannot hold it, and the tiles the remaining lines still need are hot. Late in a hand, a tile nobody has discarded is hotter than one that has already gone round twice.
At the table
Naming the hot tiles in your head before each discard is where basic defence starts. The mistake is treating a tile as safe because it feels obscure. Check the table instead. A tile with three copies already showing is close to dead and completes little, and a tile nobody has seen all hand is the one to fear.
Also called dangerous tile.
Read the full guide: What Not to Discard: Defensive Play in American Mahjong.
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: Safe tile, Open rack, Table rules, Direction. All 52 terms.