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I was taught and play that a winning player would only collect Riichi bets if they had also Riichi. Is this a local rule as most research just says the next winning player collects the Riichi bets to include Riichi bets that hadn't previously been claimed. Thank you for any input on this.

Hi and welcome.

The standard and widespread rule is that the next player to win a hand claims all the Riichi stakes on the table - from the current hand and any left unclaimed from previous hands - regardless of whether they themselves declared Riichi or not. (However only a player that made a Riichi declaration can claim it as a Yaku in the points calculation of their winning hand, along with potential Ippatsu, Ura Dora and Kan Ura Dora.)

If the rule-set allows Double Ron or Triple Ron (ouch), it is only the hand winner seated closest to the discarder's right that gets the sticks.

If a match ends with Riichi stakes on the table, these usually go to the match winner (so the final placings are not affected). There is a rule option called Riichibō Modoshi where the unclaimed stakes are returned to the players that placed them.

Of course in a private match (not bound by the fixed rules of a parlour, tournament or video-game) you're free to use whatever local rules you wish - as long as these are agreed clearly with all players in advance. There are dozens of possible rules and optional Yaku/Yakuman that can be applied.

Bart

Update! I was just looking back on my guide for Mahjong Haoh: Dankyuu Battle 3 (PS3 game) which has a huge range of rule options.

It lets you choose whether the reach sticks are taken on any win or only on a Riichi win. (Otherwise still rare though!)

Thanks for this info!