Tonk Card Game Rules: Spreads, Hits, Dropping and Tonking Out

Tonk is quick, loud and very easy to pick up. A hand can be over in two turns. Pagat.com traces it to the USA, where it was a favourite with jazz musicians in the 1930s and 1940s, and notes that two members of Duke Ellington's orchestra mentioned playing it. It's also a game where every group swears its own rules are the only real ones, so read this, then agree your house rules out loud.

Tonk card values and the five card deal

Detail	Standard tonk
Players	2 to 4 (pagat.com says two or three is best)
Deck	52 cards, no jokers
Cards each	5, dealt one at a time
Ace	1 point, and always low in runs
2 to 10	Face value
Jack, queen, king	10 points each
Start of play	Next card face up as the discard pile, the rest face down as the stock

Cut for the first deal: highest card deals. The dealer gives five cards each, clockwise, then turns the next card up to start the discard pile.

Spreads, books, runs and hits

A spread is any meld you put on the table. There are two kinds. A book is three or four cards of the same rank, like three queens. A run is three or more cards in a row in the same suit, like the 8, 9, 10 and jack of hearts. In tonk the ace sits next to the 2, never next to the king.

A hit is when you add a card to a spread that's already down, yours or someone else's. If there's a 5, 6, 7 on the table and you're holding the 4 or the 8, you can hit it. Hits only happen on your own turn, after you draw and before you discard.

Playing a turn of tonk

1. At the very start of your turn, decide whether to drop. If you drop, you lay your hand face up and the play stops.
2. If you don't drop, draw the top card of the stock or take the top card of the discard pile.
3. Put down any spread you've made, and hit any spreads already on the table.
4. If that empties your hand, you've won the hand.
5. Otherwise discard one card face up. If that was your last card, you win.
6. Play passes left. Only the top discard is visible: no flicking back through the pile.

Dropping: the risky call that ends the hand

Dropping (also called going out low or knocking) is a claim that your hand adds up to less than anyone else's. Everyone shows their cards and counts. If you really are lowest, you win the hand. If anyone ties or beats you, you've been caught, and pagat.com says the dropper pays a double penalty to everyone with an equal or lower count.

That makes the drop a judgement call, not a reflex. A hand of 6 points looks great until you notice the player opposite has put down two spreads and is holding one card.

Tonk on the deal: the 49 or 50 rule

Here's the rule most beginners have never heard of. If your first five cards add up to 49 or 50 points, you show them straight away and win the hand before anyone plays a card. That's the opening tonk, and pagat.com says it pays double. Five cards can only reach 50 with five tens or picture cards, so it's rare, but it happens.

The odd bit: once play starts, a big total is just a big total. It only counts as a tonk on the deal. If two players both hold 49 or 50, the hand is thrown in and the next player deals.

Keeping score with counters or points

Pagat.com describes tonk settled hand by hand. Here's that pattern with counters, so you can keep it friendly at a family table:

How the hand ends	Result
You empty your hand with no final discard (tonking out)	Double: two counters from each player
You go out by discarding your last card	One counter from each player
You drop and you're lowest	One counter from each player
You drop and someone ties or beats you (caught)	You give two counters to each player with an equal or lower count
The stock runs out	Lowest count takes one counter from each player

Bicycle's Tunk scores differently. Your unmatched cards count against you each hand, and if the tunker doesn't have the lowest count, they take double their count. Reach 100 and you're out. The last player standing wins. That's a lovely way to play tonk with no counters at all, just a pencil.

Tonk vs Tunk and other house rules

The two names cover two slightly different games. The tonk most people play today is the five card version above. Bicycle's Tunk deals seven cards, makes deuces wild, and lets you tunk (knock) when your unmatched cards total five or less, after which everyone else gets one last turn to lay off on your melds. If someone's teaching you, ask which one they mean.

• Waiting: put down a spread and you can't drop for your next three turns; get hit and you wait an extra turn.
• Low hand on the deal: some tables also pay out for a dealt hand of 15 or fewer points.
• Must lay spreads: some groups say you can't hold a complete spread in your hand.
• The 40 card game: pagat.com reports a Louisiana version with the 8s, 9s and 10s removed.

My take: who tonk suits and the mistake to avoid

Tonk is perfect for two or three people who want a quick game between other things, and it's a brilliant step up for teenagers who've outgrown Crazy Eights. I'd add the waiting rule from the start, because without it the first person to put down a spread can often drop on the next turn and win too easily. The mistake to avoid is dropping on a decent count without looking at the table. Count the cards your opponents are holding first. For more short games to play with one deck, my roundup of games with a deck of cards for two is a good next stop.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards do you get in tonk?

Each player is dealt five cards in standard tonk. Bicycle's Tunk version deals seven cards each.

What does tonk mean in the card game?

A tonk is a win worth double. You score one by holding 49 or 50 points on the deal, or by getting rid of all your cards without a final discard.

What is dropping in tonk?

Dropping means laying your hand down at the start of your turn to claim the lowest count. If anyone ties or beats you, you've been caught and pay a double penalty.

Is the ace high or low in tonk?

The ace is low. It counts 1 point and sits next to the 2 in runs, never next to the king.

Are tonk and tunk the same game?

They're close relatives. Tonk usually means the five card game with no wild cards, while Bicycle's Tunk deals seven cards and makes deuces wild.