Earthly Hand (地胡)
Earthly Hand — a non-dealer wins on the first discard before any other calls. Limit hand.
How Earthly Hand (地胡) works
Earthly Hand is a blessing hand where a non-dealer completes a winning hand on the very first tile available to them, before drawing or discarding in normal play.
In Sichuan rules it is typically scored when a non-dealer wins on their first draw, immediately after the dealer's opening discard and before any meld or kong has altered the round. Because it depends on the opening configuration of the hand, it cannot be engineered through play and is awarded automatically when the condition is met. It generally cannot coexist with the dealer's equivalent opening-win bonus, since one belongs to the dealer and the other to a non-dealer.
- •Sichuan mahjong has no honor tiles, so the winning hand is built entirely from the bamboo, character, and dot suits with one suit voided.
- •It is distinct from the dealer's first-turn win; only a non-dealer can claim the Earthly Hand.
- •Any meld, pung, or kong made before the win usually voids the condition, since the hand must complete on the earliest opportunity.
Earthly Hand (地胡) — FAQ
Can a dealer score Earthly Hand?
No. The Earthly Hand is reserved for a non-dealer who wins immediately; the dealer's opening win is counted as a separate heavenly-type pattern.
Does a called tile from another player still allow Earthly Hand?
Generally no, because forming a meld from a call interrupts the untouched opening sequence that the pattern requires.