Houtei
河底撈魚 | houtei raoyui
Win by claiming the very last discard of the hand before the game ends in a draw.
By Kenji Tanaka · Updated
Overview
Houtei, fully houtei raoyui (catching the fish from the river bottom), is a 1-han yaku for winning on the very last discard of a hand, the tile thrown right before the wall would otherwise be exhausted. Because it is won off a discard, houtei must be a ron; the self-draw equivalent on the final wall tile is the companion yaku haitei. Like haitei it is a chance bonus that cannot be planned for, awarded simply for completing your hand on the last possible tile, and it stacks with any other yaku the hand holds. Since only one tile is the final discard each hand, houtei is rare. As the wall empties, a tenpai player stays alert for that last discard, but whether the needed tile appears is up to the flow of the hand. Together, haitei and houtei reward winning at the very end of an otherwise drawn hand.
Example Hand
1m 2m 3m 5m 6m 7m 4p 4p 4p 8s 8s 3s 4s 5s
Conditions
- You must win by ron (claiming a discard) on the very last discard of the hand
- The last discard is the tile discarded by the player who drew the last tile from the wall (assuming they didn’t win with it)
- Your hand can be open or closed
- You cannot call kan on the last discard
Strategy Tips
- Like haitei, houtei is largely a matter of luck. The main thing you can do is stay tenpai heading into the final turn. If the last player discards a tile you’re waiting on, you pick up a free extra han.
- The player making the final discard has to be extra careful. If they drew the last tile and didn’t win (haitei), they must discard something — and that discard can be claimed as houtei by any tenpai player. This means the final discard is often a very safe tile.
- If you’re tenpai on the last turn and waiting on a common tile, your chances of houtei are decent since the final player has limited safe tile options. Uncommon waits, paradoxically, may also hit if the final player thinks rare tiles are safe to discard.