How do you build the wall and deal in American mahjong?

Last updated November 12, 2026

Each player builds a wall 19 tiles long and two tiles high, so the four walls hold all 152 tiles, and East rolls two dice to choose where to break it. Players take four tiles at a time, East first and then to the right, until everyone has 12; East takes two more and the others one each, so East starts with 14 and everyone else with 13.

Step by step

1. Mix. Turn every tile face down in the middle of the table and shuffle them around.
2. Build. Each player builds a wall 19 tiles long and two tiles high in front of their rack: 38 tiles each. Push the four walls together into a square.
3. Choose East. Each player rolls two dice. The highest roll is East.
4. Break the wall. East rolls two dice, counts that many stacks in from the right end of East's own wall, and separates the wall there.
5. Take tiles. East takes the first two stacks to the left of the break: four tiles. The player on East's right takes the next four, then the next player, and so on around until each player has 12.
6. Finish the deal. East takes two more tiles, and each other player takes one. East has 14 and everyone else 13.
7. Play. After the Charleston, East discards first without drawing.

Each player takes their own tiles. East does not hand them out.

How is the wall used during play?

Every draw comes from where the deal stopped, moving on around the square. As one wall runs low, its owner pushes the next stretch toward the middle so everyone can reach it. American mahjong has no dead wall: every tile can be drawn. If the wall runs out with no winner, it is a wall game and nobody pays.

Who deals the next hand?

The player on East's right becomes East after every hand, whether East won, someone else won, or the wall ran out.

Where tables play it differently

• Dice. Most tables roll two dice. Some roll three. With two dice the total is at most 12, so the break always lands in East's own wall.
• East's last two tiles. Many tables have East take the first and third tiles, the tops of the next two stacks. Others take the next two in order. Either way East ends with 14.
• Choosing the first East. Some groups skip the dice and let the host start.

A worked example

East rolls a 5 and a 3: eight. East counts eight stacks in from the right end of East's wall and splits it there. East takes the two stacks just left of the gap, South takes the next two, then West, then North. After three rounds everyone holds 12. East takes two more, the others one each, and the counts come out 14, 13, 13, 13. The eight stacks East counted off are the last tiles anyone will draw.