A PLAYER THINKING THEY ARE EAST DISCARDS FIRST (Article 161)

Commentary: A player who thinks they are East discards to start the game by mistake. If the error is caught immediately, the player can retrieve the tile to make their hand whole, and the true East can discard. If it’s noticed later in the game that one or more players have the wrong number of tiles, those hands should be declared dead.

Question from a player: If someone other than East discards to start the game, is their hand dead?

Answer from the NMJL: The game does not officially begin until East throws the first tile. If a player other than East discards the first tile, they may take it back and East then proceeds to throw the first tile and begin the game. However, if a player other than East picks from the wall and discards the first tile, play cannot continue. The tiles are thrown in and a new game has begun.

Source: Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024 page 14, Other Tips and Rules for the Charleston bullet 9)