How to Play Cuban Dominoes

El dominó is the national game of Cuba. It is not for children, it
is a complex and subtle contest requiring a keen memory and an agile
mind and is always played by two teams of two players, like bridge.
Books are written about it, tournaments and championships held
frequently and it is known and enjoyed by virtually the entire
population. Only chess comes close in popularity.

Equipment

Cuban dominoes are played with a set of 55 tiles, or fichas, each
marked with two numbers ranging from zero to nine. Every combination
of numbers occurs, but only once. so the smallest number of points is
none, for the 0/0 tile, the largest 18 for the 9/9. No two tiles are
alike. Ten of the tiles are double, that is, the same number is
printed into both ends. Double tiles are not special or unique, they
are equivalent to the others in how they are played. Some sets have
the numerals painted on them, but most are represented by black pips
on the tiles, much like those on dice. All else that is required is
a table, four chairs, and a paper and pencil to keep score. A
limitless supply of café solo and tabacos helps, but that is optional.

Play

The two teams sit so partners are across the table from each other
while they have an opposing team member on their right and left. The
first move is determined by chance, from then on play alternates to
either left or right, depending on prior agreement. The winner of
each hand, or data, (pronounced dah-tah) may initiate play for the
following hand, but sometimes it alternates around the table, like
the deal in poker. The word "data" is used exactly as the
English "hand" in card games; either as the deal for the whole table,
or a player's individual set of tiles. After they are shuffled, face
down, each player selects ten and places them so only he or she can
see them. The remaining ones are set aside and out of play until the
next hand when the set is recombined and reshuffled. So for every
hand, 15 tiles will be out of play, making guessing what your
opponents have that much harder. At the end of the hand, points are
added up and written down and another hand is played until some pre-
agreed-upon round number is reached (usually 200) which constitutes a
juego or game. The points for each team for that game are added up,
and usually, another game is started immediately. If a team wins a
game without their opponents scoring any points, i.e, they lose every
hand, it is called a pollona, or skunk, although the word is
literally best translated as "the big chicken". It is the ultimate
humiliation.

Play proceeds as in other variants of dominoes, after the first tile
is layed down, let's say the 3/5, the next player can play to either
one. For example, if he has a 3/7 he can place it on the three,
leaving either a 7 or 5 for the next player to try and match. If he
has 5/6 he can play the five side, leaving a 3 and 6 in play. Plays
can be made only at each end of the line, no matter how many tiles are
on the table, each player must play his turn at either one end or the
other. There are only two possibilities, and only one tile may be
played per player per turn. The line of tiles may snake around all
over the table, making turns to avoid going off the edge, but new
tiles can only be added at the ends. If a player cannot match either
number, he passes (se pasa) and indicates this to the others by
rapping on the table with his knuckles. Play continues until either
someone runs out of tiles ( a cry of "¡dominó!" announces the
victory) or until no one is able to match either number in play (el
tranque). In either case, the hand is over and the score is
calculated. A double tile is played just like the others, although it
is traditionally placed as a "T" across the line instead of end to
end. It just looks cooler that way. It is important to keep in mind
that playing a double tile gives the man who follows you the same
choice the man who preceded you left for you. The table does not
change. In general, there are usually two different numbers in play
on the table, but often you will see the situation where the same
number is at each end of the line, cutting the next player's chances
of finding a match in half. Both of these situations have strategic
importance. The object of the hand is to finish up with as few pips
as possible, so the basic strategy is to get rid of pips as much as
you can, and to prevent your opponents from doing the same.

It is forbidden to secretly communicate the contents of your hand to
your partner, although it is perfectly legal to do so by means of how
you play. Your opponents will see the same thing you do, and will
know exactly what you know. How this can be done legally will be
explained below. One more rule, if you are able to play a tile, you
must do so. You can't pass (for strategic reasons) if you're holding
a playable tile. Try it and you will be called out when the hand is
over, these guys keep track of every play, who has 'em and who
doesn't, you will never get away with it. If it's an honest mistake
you will be ridiculed mercilessly, if it is cheating you are in big
trouble. (Yes, you can gamble in dominoes!).

Scoring

Once a player plays his last tile, the hand is over and his team
wins. Their score for the hand is the total of pips their opponents
hold between them. It doesn't matter if the winner's partner is
still sitting on a pile of pips, they are not counted. If the losing
team has a total of only 1 pip (a 0/0 and a 0/1 tile), the winners
win a score of 1 point for the hand, no matter if they're holding a
large number of pips themselves.

If the hand ends because no one is able to play, that is, no one can
match either end of the line, then everyone flips over their remaining
tiles and the player who has the lowest number of pips defeats the
other team and all their pips become points for the winners. In
either case, it is possible for a team which collectively has more
pips than their opponents do, to win. The best player determines the
victory, but the whole other team pays the bill. After the score is
noted, the tiles are shuffled and another hand is played.

Strategy

The point of the game is too unload as many pips as fast as you can,
but if you play this way against knowledgeable players you will
almost certainly lose. Besides, it would transform the contest into
a game of luck, not skill. Domino strategy is carried out not by
losing pips, but by preventing your opponents from playing, by
getting them to pass. The whole trick is to play as often as
possible and prevent them from doing so. Since you are part of a
team, one of you will have the lead (the team member who opens), and
his partner has the duty to get him to win by feeding him playable
tiles and preventing the opponents from blocking him and from dumping
pips by denying them opportunities to play. If it is a choice between
getting yourself into trouble and helping the lead, helping the lead
takes priority. Remember, if your partner plays all his tiles it
doesn't matter how many pips you're holding: he's won the hand. If
your partner is leading and has a bad hand, he will let you know by
the way he is playing, and you can take over the lead. How can all
this communication take place without cheating, say, hidden signals
etc.? Here's how.

After the shuffle, when the tiles are passed out, every player looks
at his hand carefully. As a rule, you will have many different
numbers, but the laws of chance dictate you will have more of
some numbers than you do of others. For example, you may note that
in the 20 numbers in your hand (two per tile) say half a dozen of
them are 7's. You have a lot of 7's so your opponents and partner
are probably short of 7's. A good hand will have many of one number,
the more the better. The best hands will have several runs of
several numbers. A bad hand will just have a random distribution of
numbers, with no preponderance of any one in particular. This means
if you can lay down a tile with a 7, your opponent following you may
have trouble finding one. And if you keep laying them down he will
run out before you do and probably have to pass (unless he is able to
play the other side of the table). As play progresses and people
play and pass, everybody starts to learn what the others have and
don't have, and they attempt to block their opponents and help their
partner if he has a shortage of some particular number. The trick is
to pass numbers to the man that follows you until he runs out, while
giving your partner an opportunity to play his tiles by blocking your
opponents' and by feeding him what he's got so he can unload and not
be forced to pass. Of course, everyone is trying to do this to
everyone else, and blind chance plays an enormous role in what
everyone has, so the situation is fluid, shifting, and extremely
complex. Dominoes is not really a board game, like chess, where
space is occupied, attacked or defended. It is numerical, it is
played in a multidimensional statistical space that is only partly
understood by the participants. It's like a chainsaw duel in the
dark.

Let's say you open, which of your tiles with a 7 do you play? You
play the one where the 7 is matched with a 4, because you have a lot
of 4's and you now have two runs going. Everyone on the table now
knows you're heavy with 4's and 7's, but they don't know which one
you're heaviest with. Your opponents will probably run out of 4's and
7's before you do. That's good. Your partner knows your strength so
he will avoid, whenever he can (it's not always possible) from
blocking either 4's or 7's with his plays. Your opponents will have
to block your 4's and 7's while trying to play their runs too, but
since you opened you control the game. At least, until you run out
of 4's and 7's or until you are forced to cover one of your own 4's
or 7's because you can't play another number (a fact which which will
be instantly be picked up on by everyone at the table, then they'll
know you are lacking what was at the other end of the line. Pretty
soon, by watching what people play and what they can't play, everyone
will be able to tell who has what, and who is lacking what, and who
has run out of what. For example, if the man following you runs out
of 4's (he passes or blocks one of his own or partner's numbers), you
can keep feeding him 4's and cut his chances of playing in half, and
force him to postpone his strategy and disrupt his partner's just to
stay in. Your partner, by the way, is doing everything he can to
help you do this, even if it means sabotaging his own game because
you have the lead. If you play and everyone else is passing, your
team wins eventually.

Doubles can be particularly diabolical, particularly if they are part
of your run. Normally, a double can be played only half as often as
other tiles, it is a liability, so it pays to get rid of it of as
soon as possible.The longer the hand goes, the more of a liability
doubles become because they're so hard to get rid of. However, if
your opponents are low on, let's say, 7's, and you have a 7 on the
table (maybe even two, one at each end!) placing a double 7 on an
existing 7 means they'll be hurting just as bad the next play too.
The ideal situation is to reduce your opponents' opportunities to
play, or force them to play tiles they don't want to, while you
unload all your tiles without interference.

So what happens if you don't have runs, or preponderances of any
number? Your partner will eventually pick up on this and take over
the lead, and you will be in a good position to help him out because
even though you won't be able to block your opponents effectively,
you're probably going to be able to avoid passing because you'll have
so many different numbers you can play and you'll be able to help
your partner by blocking his weak points. Eventually, you will be
down to so few tiles it may be very difficult to unload anything, and
you may be passing a lot, but if your opponents have been forced to
pass many times previously, you have a good chance of winding up with
less pips when el tranque locks up the table.

The strategy varies subtly between the lead and his partner, and for
the other team the strategy varies depending on whether they follow
or precede the leader. It is a cutthroat game of infinite finesse,
in which both chance and skill play a role, and where competition and
cooperation are inextricably linked. Just like life.