Rule variations

The rule of Ready – Ready on first turn

The declaration of Ready is also used if the scoring pattern Ready on first turn is enabled in the Winning section of the Scoring list (on the Sets and Patterns option page under the Scoring section of the category tree). In this case a player can declare Ready, if he has a ready hand at the time he makes his first discard. If the player subsequently goes out on the hand he had after making his first discard, the specified bonus is paid. This declaration is also known as Original Call.

In classical Chinese Mah Jong a player is allowed to make this declaration even if he has melded sets at the time of the declaration (i.e., after having claimed another player's first discard, or after having declared a concealed Kong), but you can prohibit this by using the No melds option (available when the Ready on first turn pattern in selected in the Scoring list). Many rules apply this prohibition since allowing melds puts players in unequal positions (North can utilize other players' discards better than the others and East can use only the original 14 tiles (or 17, when playing with 5 sets) he receives in the dealt hand).

You do not need to apply either of the actual ready rules (obligatory or voluntary) in order to enable payments for this pattern. (But if either of the ready hand rules are used, a declaration made because of having a ready dealt hand is otherwise considered a normal ready declaration and the same restrictions, if any, apply.)

Some rules may specify that if the ready declaration is made on the first turn, the hand cannot be changed, but Four Winds does not apply this rule, unless explicitly forced by using a specific ready rule option, which forbids changing of the hand after the declaration. If a player subsequently alters his hand, the bonus for the pattern is simply not paid.

Note: Four Winds automatically checks at the time of the declaration whether the hand qualifies for this bonus, but a player is not prohibited from making a faulty declaration, unless the Validate the declaration option is checked on the Ready rule option page (under the Rules section of the category tree).

Procedures:
Declaring Ready