Curriculum · 49 / 50
Formal tenpai (keishiki tenpai)
At the exhaustive draw, tenpai players collect a noten penalty from unready players, so even a yakuless formal tenpai pays off.
The principle
When the live wall is exhausted without a win, the hand ends in an exhaustive draw. Tenhou automatically determines the tenpai hands. At a physical table, WRC 2025 has each player reveal or decline to reveal tenpai in East, South, West, North order; a riichi hand must be revealed.
Rule and example
The draw is not neutral: tenpai players are paid by noten players through the noten penalty (noten bappu), a fixed pool of 3000 points. With one player tenpai, that player collects 3000 (1000 from each of the three others); with two tenpai, each receives 1500; with three tenpai, each receives 1000 from the single noten player. If everyone is tenpai or everyone is noten, no points change hands.
What changes
Under Tenhou, formal tenpai requires no yaku and may recognize certain theoretical waits on a fifth copy when all four copies are not in the concealed part of the hand. WRC 2025 requires a completing tile to exist among the four copies, even if every copy is already discarded, locked in hands, or in the dead wall.
Mistake to avoid
This is why players often push for tenpai in the final draws even with a junk hand: the swing between collecting and paying can reach 3000 points, and a tenpai dealer keeps the dealership (renchan) with an added honba. The pitfall is over-pushing: forcing a yakuless tenpai by discarding dangerous tiles can deal into a big hand, turning a 1500-point gain into a far larger loss. Always weigh the penalty against the risk before you chase it.
Rules references
- Tenhou rulesReference profile used for game mechanics and scoring.
- WRC Rules 2025International rules compared whenever their options differ from Tenhou.