Rule variations

Draw rules – Pass deal on draw

In Japanese rules the deal is often passed after a draw. Because of defensive aspects (much explained by the fact that the discarder of the winning tile must pay for all losers) draws are quite common in Japanese games, and not passing the deal would make a complete game session significantly longer. In Chinese and Western rules the deal is normally not passed after a draw, but there are exceptions, especially if the rules are difficult and accordingly increase the number of deals that end in a draw.

To specify whether the deal passes on draw:

  1. Choose Preferences on the File menu.
  2. From the Rule Presets list, choose a customized rule preset.
  3. Choose Winning & Draw under the Rules section of the category tree.
  4. Click the Pass deal check box to enable of disable passing of the deal after draw.

The rule is sometimes modified to allow exceptions to passing of the deal. To specify details for the rule, click the Options button beside the Pass deal check box. The dialog box displayed lets you specify following options separately for the East round and other rounds:

Note: When a ready state is involved in condition for passing of the deal, Four Winds always takes into account structural restrictions for the winning hand, when it determines whether a hand is ready or not. These include the prohibition of mixed suits, limitation on a maximum number of Chows, and the Limit/Special hand requirement. If these options are used,  the ready hand (or more exactly the best possible winning hand that can be made out of the hand) must meet these requirements. As for the minimum point requirement, you can specify whether it is taken into account by using the Check true ready state of the hand option on the same option page.

Related topics:
Paying points after a draw
Nagashi Mangan
Playing a Goulash deal after a draw
Dead hand rules
Check true ready state of hand