Tilebird

What a dead hand can and can't do

A hand was declared dead. What can that player still do?

Dead hands More about dead hands

Question 1 of up to 1

Has another player actually declared the hand dead — not just the player themselves saying so?

Read every possible ruling for this situation

Dead sits out

Sits out quietly; earlier valid exposures stay

Standard rule
The dead player stops playing for the rest of this hand: no picking, no discarding, no calling discards, no Joker exchanges, and no declaring Mah Jongg. They also stay silent — they may not call another hand dead or comment on the play. Tiles exposed by the mistake go back into the sloped part of their rack; earlier valid exposures stay up, and the other players may still exchange those Jokers. Their concealed tiles stay concealed — nobody is owed a look. If the dead player had just called a discard, their turn ends without a discard and play continues with the player to their right; if someone else needs that called tile for Mah Jongg, they may take it. The dead player is dealt into the next hand as usual.
Why
A dead hand is out of the game but still at the table, so the rules keep what was legitimately public and remove the rest without giving the dead player any influence.
Common house rules
Some groups let a dead player keep drawing and discarding to use up the wall, or ask them to show their tiles. Neither is the standard; agree on it before play.

If your table agreed on a house rule before the game, that rule wins.

Under review by instructors

Sources consulted: Mahj Life Rules Wiki, Article 34 (Disqualified Player to Remain Silent); Mahj Life Rules Wiki, Article 26 (You Cannot Disqualify Yourself — what happens after disqualification); Mahj Life Rules Wiki, Article 24 (Reasons to Disqualify Another Player — procedure); Tom Sloper, Mah-Jongg FAQ 19 (American rules): “I was called dead. Now what?” (series) and “Who plays next after erroneous mahj?”; AMJA, The Complete American Mah Jongg Rulebook, FAQ: responding to a Dead Hand Challenge; Mahjcon Mahjpedia ID105 (Disqualified Player Must Remain Silent)

Not dead yet

Not dead yet — keep playing until another player calls it

Standard rule
Then the hand is not dead. A player cannot declare their own hand dead, and a mention of it does not count until another player confirms, from the tiles visible to everyone, that the hand cannot be won. Until that happens the player keeps picking and discarding — the right play is to go defensive and aim for a wall game — and any Jokers in their exposures remain available for exchange. If another player can show it is dead, that player should say so, and the dead player stops from then on.
Why
Letting players kill their own hands would give the others extra draws and an easy way to dodge a risky discard.
Common house rules
Some friendly tables let a player fold a hopeless hand on their own. The standard does not allow it.

If your table agreed on a house rule before the game, that rule wins.

Under review by instructors

Sources consulted: Mahj Life Rules Wiki, Article 26 (You Cannot Disqualify Yourself); Mahj Life Rules Wiki, Article 180 (Exchanging Jokers from an Undeclared-Dead Hand); Tom Sloper, Mah-Jongg FAQ 19 (American rules): “Can I call myself dead? If I know I'm dead, do I have to call myself dead?”; AMJA, The Complete American Mah Jongg Rulebook, FAQ: responding to a Dead Hand Challenge

All rules