PENALTY FOR USING THE WRONG DISCARD FOR AN EXPOSURE (Article 90)

Commentary: No rule stipulates the order of steps to complete an exposure after claiming a discard. The recommendation is to place the discard on the flat part of your rack first to ensure you have the right tile and then expose tiles from your rack. Doing it this way can avoid disqualification if the player misnames their discard.

This is an exception to another rule about changing an exposure. A player can change their exposure after claiming a discard as long as they have not discarded it per this rule, “A called tile should be placed on top of the rack and not in the rack. It is preferable to place the called tile on top of your rack before taking the tiles from your rack to make the exposure. Once an exposure has been made, a player may add to or take away from the exposure until the player has discarded it (Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024; page 15 para 2).”

A player should be disqualified if incorrect tiles are exposed after claiming a misnamed discard per this rule, “A tile cannot be claimed until correctly named. The correctly named tile may then be called for an exposure. If an exposure is made with an incorrectly named tile, the hand is “dead” Miscaller is not penalized However if Mah Jongg is called with the incorrectly named tile, the game ceases, and miscaller pays claimant four times the value of the hand. Others do not pay (Mah Jongg Made Easy (2024; page 16 #3).”

Question from a player:  A player called a Flower for exposure but picked up a 1 Bam in error.  None of the other players noticed her exposure and play continued, whereby that player then declared mah jongg.  It was then noticed that the player had three exposed.  Is that player dead?  
 
Answer from the NMJL:  “The hand is dead.  It is up to each individual player to pick up the correct discarded tile when making their exposure.  You are responsible for your own exposure.” 

Source:  National Mah Jongg League Bulletin Q&A 2012 

Other answers from the NMJL: 

“It is every player’s responsibility to see that their own exposure is correct.”   

“It is each individual player’s responsibility to pick up the correct tile when making an exposure.” 
 
“It is each individual player’s responsibility to pick up the correct tile when making an exposure.  The player had an incorrect exposure when they declared mah jongg and therefore, their hand was dead.”   

Sources for other answers: National Mah Jongg League Bulletin Q&A (1996 page 5, 1997 page 5, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2019) https://www.nationalmahjonggleague.org