is a few high trumps, the 5-5 and no crappy offs too much to ask?

Seriously...

I've been having the worst run of luck with dominoes lately. I can't manage to get a decent hand. Tonight was a perfect example. I won't bore you with the mundane details, but suffice it to say that I could not draw a decent hand of dominoes to save my life. The only decent hand I got, my partner overbid me, and decided to call trumps something which made my hand absolute crap.

This game is equal parts skill, luck, and lunacy. You can't be a good player without a little bit of all three. You can be the best player in the world, but if you can't get decent dominoes, there's only so far your skill can take you. Conversely, if you're not a very good player, and you get the best hand in the world, you can still F it up quite easily.

Normally, you can bid on mediocre hands by remembering that your partner has 7 dominoes too. However, the hands I've been getting are so bad, there's no clear trump suit. So, even if my partner has some dominoes to help me, the chances of him ALSO having the rest of the trump suit are not good. Alternatively, you can play a supportive role with a mediocre hand and feed points to your partner or catch tricks with your doubles. However, if you have no points or doubles, this is hard. The last thing you can do with an un-biddable hand, is to try to set the other team, should they get the bid. Now, I'm not the world's best 42 player, but I've played long enough to learn how to be a decent set player. However, in order to be able to set the other team, you've also got to have some points or doubles.

Now, I understand that almost half of this game is sheer luck of the dominoes you draw, and that it's inevitable that you'll occasionally run into a streak of bad luck. The flip side of this coin, you expect dry spells to come to an end, and you should start to get some better luck. I've experienced this ebb and flow a few times since I've started playing with the Austin 42 club.

This time, however, the tide has not turned!!!

I've been on a 6-7 week streak of bad luck. At least 6 weeks of BAD DOMINOES! Not mediocre dominoes, BAD ONES!!

Sorry, I'm just a little bitter. I'm sure my luck will change. 6 weeks of bad luck is frustrating though.