Concealed Hand

What Is Concealed Hand

A Concealed Hand is one in which all sets (chows, pungs, or kongs) are formed from your own drawn tiles rather than by claiming another player’s discard. In other words:

• You never call “chow” or “pung” from opponents’ discards to form an exposed meld.
• If you form a kong, it must be a concealed kong (you drew all four identical tiles yourself) or it must be upgraded from a concealed pung you already had in hand.

You can still win on a discard to complete your concealed hand, provided you have not used any discards to form melds up to that point. Thus, in MCR, “concealed” refers to how you assemble your sets—not necessarily how you claim your final winning tile.

The Tile Pattern of Concealed Hand

No Meld Calls from Opponents: All four sets (chows/pungs/kongs) are built solely from tiles you have drawn or concealed from the start.

Final Tile Can Come from the Wall or an Opponent

• In many rule sets, you may still declare Mahjong on a discard, as long as you have not made any prior meld calls.
• Alternatively, you might self-draw the winning tile (which can add an extra +1 fan under the “Self-Drawn” bonus, if applicable).

Meld Visibility: Because you do not expose any melds (unless you declare a concealed kong), your hand remains primarily hidden from opponents’ view, which can be an advantage strategically.

Fan Value of Concealed Hand

Self-Drawn is a separate 1-fan bonus. If your Concealed Hand also ends in a self-draw, you typically get 3 total fan (2 for Concealed Hand + 1 for Self-Draw). If you do claim a discard to win (a “discarded” final tile), you still earn 2 fan for Concealed Hand as long as you never melded earlier in the hand.

Strategies and Considerations of Concealed Hand

Higher Base Value: Gaining 2 fan for building everything yourself can significantly boost your final score, especially if you also incorporate other patterns (e.g., No Honors, One-Void Suit).

Reduced Information to Opponents: Because you do not expose melds, your opponents have less insight into which suits or sequences you are collecting. This makes your hand more difficult to read and defend against.

Potential Self-Draw Synergy: If you manage to self-draw your final tile, you add an additional +1 fan, making a concealed self-drawn hand effectively 3 fan. This can be very lucrative. Slower Progress: You cannot speed up your hand by claiming discards for sets (except for the winning tile), so you rely heavily on drawing tiles yourself. This can be riskier if others are racing to complete faster hands.

Fewer Opportunities for Kongs: While concealed kongs do exist (and can be declared if you draw the fourth tile yourself), you lose out on the possibility of melding a kong from someone else’s discard. Kongs can provide extra draws and fan bonuses in some rule sets, so it’s a trade-off.

Adapting Mid-Game: If you start concealed but decide you need a quick meld to catch up or prevent another player’s big hand, you sacrifice the 2-fan bonus from Concealed Hand. Tile Tracking: Keep track of how many of your key tiles are still unseen. If your waits look unfavorable, you might reconsider staying fully concealed—especially if you see a chance to complete a set by calling a discard.

Wait Selection: In a concealed approach, you often aim for flexible waits (two-sided or multiple waits) to maximize your odds of self-drawing or quickly picking up the needed tile. If you’re forced into a single-tile or closed wait, the risk of not completing on time grows.