Domino is a family of flat-based tile games, also called dominoes, played with wooden playing pieces. Each domino consists of a flat rectangular tile with a curved line splitting it into two square corners. Each corner is marked by a number of empty or filled squares. Dominoes are divided in such a way that the entire play area is covered with the squares; therefore, they are also referred to as “smooth dominoes.”
Domino sets are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. The most common shape for domino sets is the “triple-twelve” set, which is the size most commonly associated with the game. Domino sets may be split into single-player and multi-player versions. Most of them have two to six randomly selected playing pieces (allowing four players to play). A Domino game is usually played in an empty board, with each player receiving five domino tiles. Dominoes are placed in a circular pattern around the playing surface.
Dominoes are played by flipping the domino chains, which start out flat and gradually curve toward the player’s side. The first player, in turn, places one tile onto the board, followed by two, three, four, and so on until all tiles are placed. A player may remove any time he wants, but only those on the board can be removed. This rule is commonly ignored, leading to several games being lost because of a lack of mutual understanding of the domino chain situation.
The dominoes have no corners, so a set may be divided into multiple parts, often for the sake of convenience. There are fifty-six domino designs, each consisting of a single half of a domino. The number of dominoes may be increased by adding extra tiles to the board. Two pairs of doubles and a single triangulation set are the most common domino set sizes. The sixes of the domino cards are placed on top of a half-dome shaped piece of the playing cards, following the domino sequence.
Once all dominoes are in place, the players are given four cards to refer to as the “jackpot,” and are dealt two at a time. A regular four-player game of dominoes, using only four dominoes, would use ten playing cards. In a Texas Hold’em mini-game, where the dealer will deal only three cards to the table, this reduces the possible winning hand to two. The dominoes allow for greater possibilities in multi-player games.
Dominoes are an object of desire in many different casino games. One popular way to play a hand against another player is to take turns and place all of your pips on the table. If the last person in the table has no pips, then the player with the lowest amount of pips at the end of the hand is the loser. Dominoes can also be used as a betting tool, although this can sometimes backfire. For example, in a multi-table poker game, if a player bets out and then wins all his pips, he loses his stake, and the other players to win their stake.