Glossary
5 Dominican Domino Terms to Know
If you understand the table language, you catch the mood and the score talk much faster. These are the words new players hear first.
4 min read
Published December 12, 2025
Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer
Which terms should you learn?
Capicúa, tranque, la mano, pase redondo (o corrido) and pase de salida. Pollona is a Cuban word and chuchazo a Puerto Rican finish; neither is a Dominican bonus.
Jump to a section
Dominican domino has its own table language, and it moves almost as fast as the fichas. If you know the words, you stop feeling like the room skipped a chapter without you.
01.
Your partner, la mano and the open ends
Partners sit facing each other, and each is the other's frente, as the linguist Roberto Guzmán explains in Acento. The player who puts down the first tile is la mano. If the mano makes the opponent on his right pass, the mano's partner becomes the manito.
A palo is the group of tiles sharing a number. Puntas are the two open ends. A forced pass in classic no-draw play rules out both open numbers for that player.
02.
Five table words you will hear often
These words come up constantly at the table. Their payouts change by table; their meaning stays.
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Capicúa: going out on a tile that fits both ends; many tables do not count a double.
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Tranque: closing the game on purpose so the tantos are counted.
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La mano: the player who puts down the first tile.
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Pase redondo (o corrido): the other three players all pass and the turn comes back to you.
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Pase de salida: the opening tile makes the next player pass.
03.
What some tiles are called
The columnist Aníbal de Castro, in Diario Libre, calls the double six the ficha de autoridad, the double blank la cajita or el muerto, and the double five la estrella. Wikipedia en español calls the double blank la caja.
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Double six: ficha de autoridad (Diario Libre).
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Double blank: la cajita or el muerto (Diario Libre); la caja (Wikipedia en español).
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Double five: la estrella (Diario Libre).
04.
Why the exact meaning can change
Wikipedia en español describes two ways of playing in the Dominican Republic, the regla general and the regla de patio, and they settle a tranque differently.
The safest move before a serious game is to confirm bonus names and values with everyone at the table.
05.
Confirm the scoring before the first hand
Ask which named plays earn extra points and how a tied tranque is settled. The vocabulary does not replace the table agreement.
In FichaFlow, set the agreed scoring rules at the start so every hand follows the same decision once play gets loud.
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Agree on bonus names and values.
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Confirm the target score and opening rule.
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Use the same ruling for the full game.
06.
Bonuses and regional differences
FichaFlow starts capicúa, pase de salida and pase redondo (o corrido) at 25. At the table they pay 25 or 30, depending on the table. Chuchazo is a Puerto Rican finish and pollona a Cuban word; both start at 0 in FichaFlow.
Bring this to the table
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Game terms describe what happened; bonus values still depend on the table.
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La mano is the player who puts down the first tile; your frente is your partner.
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Pollona is Cuban: losing a game without scoring a point.
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Confirm house-rule payouts before the first hand.
Questions from the table
Does pollona mean the same thing everywhere?
The Diccionario de americanismos (ASALE) marks pollona as Cuban: losing a game without scoring a point. It is not a Dominican term, and the word does not set a bonus.
Is tranque the same as capicua?
No. A tranque closes the game so the tantos are counted. Capicúa is a winning finish with a tile that fits both ends; many tables do not count a double as capicúa.
What is the manito?
If la mano, the player who put down the first tile, makes the opponent on his right pass, the mano's partner becomes the manito (Roberto Guzmán, Acento).
Do these terms automatically add points?
No. The play has a shared meaning, but any bonus is a house rule unless the tournament or table rules explicitly define it.
Where this comes from
Want to check the details? These are the references we used.
- Dominó (Roberto Guzmán, De palabra en palabra)
Acento · Accessed October 15, 2026
Linguist Roberto Guzmán: frente, la mano, the manito, trancar and capicúa.
- Tranque (Roberto Guzmán)
Acento · Accessed October 15, 2026
Trancar: closing the game to count the tantos.
- La república de las fichas (Aníbal de Castro)
Diario Libre · Accessed October 15, 2026
One column's tile nicknames: ficha de autoridad, la cajita, el muerto, la estrella.
- Dominó (Dominó de República Dominicana)
Wikipedia en español · Accessed October 15, 2026
La caja, regla general and regla de patio, a double is not capicúa, bonuses of 25 or 30.
- Cómo jugar al Dominó - Reglas del Dominó
Dominó: arte o ciencia · Accessed October 15, 2026
Pase de salida and pase redondo (o corrido), normally 25; a double is not capicúa.
- capicúa
ASALE · Accessed October 15, 2026
Diccionario de americanismos records capicúa for the Dominican Republic.
- pollona
ASALE · Accessed October 15, 2026
Pollona is Cuban: losing a game without scoring a point.
- Reglas del dominó boricua
mesa28 · Accessed October 15, 2026
Puerto Rican rules where the chuchazo is a finish on the double blank.
