Concealed Hand
A winning hand where no exposures were made — all tiles were drawn from the wall. Worth double the hand value.
Definition
A concealed hand is a winning hand completed entirely from tiles drawn from the wall, with no exposures (no called discards used to form groups). On the NMJL card, concealed hands are marked with a "C." Because they are harder to achieve, concealed hands are worth double the listed point value.
How It Works in Gameplay
When playing a concealed hand, you cannot call any discards to form groups — you must draw every tile you need from the wall yourself. The only exception is the final winning tile, which may be claimed from a discard. Because you never expose tiles, opponents have very little information about what you're building, making concealed hands stealthy but slow. You're entirely dependent on luck of the draw for 13 of your 14 tiles.
Example
You decide to pursue a concealed hand from the Singles and Pairs category. Round after round, you draw from the wall and quietly discard tiles that don't fit. Other players have no idea what you're building because your rack shows no exposures. On the tenth turn, the player to your right discards the exact tile you need. You call "Mah Jongg" and reveal your concealed hand — earning double points.
Ready to put your knowledge to the test? Track your games with Bam Good Time →