Riichi Stick Rules: The 1000-Point Bet and Its Fate
Sep 23, 2026 · 4 min read
Every time you declare riichi, you must pay 1000 points to the center of the table as a riichi stick (riichi bou). These points leave your score immediately -- it's not just a promise.
Where Riichi Sticks Go
Riichi sticks pile up in the center of the table until someone wins. Whoever wins that hand (via Ron or Tsumo) takes ALL the accumulated sticks, including the stick from their own riichi if they were the one who declared it.
If the Hand Ends in a Draw (Ryuukyoku)
If nobody wins, riichi sticks are NOT distributed -- they stay piled at the center of the table and get claimed by the winner of a later hand instead. This can make a single win suddenly worth far more than its usual fu/han calculation.
Because sticks carry over across hands, a session with several consecutive ryuukyoku can pile up 3000-4000+ points before a single winner finally claims them all.
Learn when it's actually a good time to declare riichi.
Read About the Riichi Yaku →