Domino table words
What Is a Pollona?
One team reaches the target. The other never gets on the board. In Cuba that is a pollona — a match shutout, with no automatic points bonus.
2 min read
Published July 17, 2026
Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer
What Is a Pollona in Domino? A Match Shutout
In Cuba, a pollona is losing a game without scoring a point: a completed match in which the losing side is still on zero. It names the shutout itself; any extra award is a separate table rule.
Picture the final score at 104–0. The match is over, and one team never scored. In Cuban domino, that is the result people mean when they call it a pollona.
01.
It takes the whole match
A 30–0 lead is not a pollona yet because the other team still has time to score. One scoreless hand is not enough either. The match has to end with one side still at zero. Pagat’s Cuban rules describe it the same way: the winners reach 100 before the other team scores.
02.
Why our source says Cuba
The Dictionary of Americanisms, published by the Association of Spanish Language Academies (ASALE), lists this domino meaning as Cuban usage. That gives us a solid record of the word in Cuba. We found no source that it is used at Dominican tables.
03.
How FichaFlow treats it
Pollona is a Cuban word, not a Dominican bonus, so FichaFlow’s optional Pollona award starts at 0. If your table agrees on 25 extra, a 104–0 finish becomes 129–0. That 25 is your house rule, not part of the definition.
Bring this to the table
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Pollona describes a zero-point loss across the whole match, not one bad hand.
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The Dictionary of Americanisms records the domino meaning as Cuban usage. We found no source for the word at Dominican tables.
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FichaFlow starts the optional Pollona award at 0. Add a house bonus only when everyone agrees to it.
Questions from the table
Is pollona Dominican?
No. It is a Cuban term, recorded by the Dictionary of Americanisms and in Pagat’s Cuban rules. In FichaFlow it is an optional award that starts at 0.
Does a shutout require extra points?
No. The final zero makes it a shutout even when the bonus stays at 0.
Where this comes from
Want to check the details? These are the references we used.
- Pollona: Diccionario de americanismos
ASALE · Accessed October 15, 2026
The Association of Spanish Language Academies’ dictionary records pollona as Cuban domino vocabulary for losing a game without scoring.
- Cuban Dominoes
Pagat · Accessed October 15, 2026
Cuban rules: a pollona is when the winning team reaches 100 before the other team has scored.
