Dominican domino terms
What Is a Pollona in Domino? The Shutout Every Table Fears
Reaching the target while your rivals sit at zero — that is a pollona, the most humiliating scoreline in Dominican domino. Here is how it happens and what it pays.
4 min read
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Updated 2026-07-17
Direct answer
Short answer
A pollona is a shutout: one team reaches the winning target while the opposing team has scored zero points the entire game. Many tables give it extra weight — counting it as a double win in a series, doubling the stakes, or simply making it a story told for years.
Key takeaways
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Pollona = winning the full game while the rivals score zero points.
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Common house treatments: double win in a series, doubled stakes, eternal bragging rights.
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Escaping one — scoring any points at all — is itself a small victory at the table.
Guide map
Every Dominican player knows the special silence that falls when one team is closing on 200 and the other side of the scoresheet is still blank. The word for what is about to happen is pollona — and no table lets you forget one.
01.
What counts as a pollona
The definition is strict: the losing team must finish the entire game with zero points. One scored hand — even a 7-point scrap — breaks it. That is what separates a pollona from merely losing badly.
Because a game to 200 takes eight or more hands, a pollona means losing every single hand along the way, or scoring in none of the ones you won pips in. It is rare, which is exactly why it carries so much weight.
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Zero points across the whole game — one scored hand cancels it.
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Rarity is the point: it takes a full game of one-sided hands.
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Some tables use the same word for a single hand won before the rivals play a tile — ask your table.
02.
What tables award for a pollona
There is no universal payout — like most Dominican domino stakes, it is a house rule. In series play, the most common treatment is counting the pollona as two wins. Where there is money or drinks on the table, doubling the stake is standard.
Even where nothing extra is paid, the pollona is its own reward: the winning side narrates it for weeks, and the losing side hears about it every time they sit down. Some crews keep a running pollona tally for the year.
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Series play: a pollona commonly counts as two wins.
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Stakes on the table: the bet typically doubles.
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The permanent award is narrative: a pollona never gets forgotten.
03.
Playing to escape the pollona
When the score is lopsided, the trailing team's goal quietly changes: before winning the game, break the zero. Experienced pairs will take a small guaranteed hand — even a cheap domino — over a risky play for a big score, purely to get on the board.
The leading team plays the mirror image: near the target, they stop chasing bonus points and play suffocating, low-risk domino to close the game before the rivals score. A pollona is rarely an accident at the end — both sides know exactly what is in play.
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Trailing: take any scored hand you can get — breaking zero is the win.
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Leading: close fast and low-risk; do not gift a scoring hand near the end.
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The last hands of a potential pollona are the tensest domino gets.
FAQ
What is a pollona in Dominican domino?
A shutout: one team reaches the game target — usually 200 — while the other team has scored zero points all game. A single scored hand by the losing team cancels it.
What does a pollona pay?
It is a house rule. Common treatments are counting it as a double win in a series or doubling whatever stake is on the table. At minimum it pays in permanent bragging rights.
Is a pollona the same as a skunk?
Conceptually yes — it is the domino equivalent of a skunk in other games: a win where the opponent never scores. The Dominican table just celebrates it louder.
More domino guides
Put it into practice
Once you finish the guide, take it to the table with a quick practice match or a real game night so the lesson turns into muscle memory.