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Many of us learn how to play tonk during the summer in our early years. It’s a game that brings people together and helps strengthen old relationships and create new ones.
Tonk is a five-card variation of gin rummy and has its own rules and variations, depending on who you play with. Tonk is generally played with just two or three players, while some circles will allow you to play with four or more.
It’s also usually played at low stakes, with $1 being the default stake, and is absolutely a home-game style of card game.
How to Play Tonk
Players are dealt five cards, with the objective to get rid of their cards by making spreads. You are able to make spreads by collecting three or more cards of the same rank or three or more sequential cards of the same suit.
Players may also “hit” on other spreads by adding their own cards to existing spreads. Don’t worry, we will cover all the tonk card game rules, details, and strategies in upcoming sections.
Tonk Rules
- Generally played with 2-3 players, while some games allow more.
- Games are either played with a standard 52-card deck or a 54-card deck with two jokers, which are wild and can be used to substitute any card.
How to Win at Tonk
- Games that are played for money usually require a default stake that is paid to the winner by each losing player for every individual hand.
- Players win when they get rid of all their cards. This can be done via “tonk out” when you win via six-card discard or via “run out” when you spread or hit with five cards and discard your final card.
- A tonk out is the preferred way to win as the player either scores double the points or, if the game is being played for money, double payment is required from opponents.
- Some variations allow players to “drop” at any point in the game. When a drop occurs, all players turn their remaining cards face up and the player with the lowest count wins the game. If a player is “caught” or drops without having the lowest count, they must pay each player who has a lower count.
- Play can also end when the deck runs out of cards. A drop occurs and whoever has the lowest count is the winner.
- Some variations have an automatic win rule, where a player who is dealt cards that total 49 or 50 points wins the game before any action occurs. Some variations which have this rule consider aces to be worth 10 points.
Gameplay
- Players are dealt five cards, though some variations allow seven or nine cards to be dealt.
- During each turn, players may either select the top card on the discard pile or the top card of the face-down deck. They perform their actions and place a card face up on the discard pile to end their turn.
- Players may only get rid of cards by making spreads (three cards of the same rank or three sequential cards of the same suit) or hitting on other players’ spreads. Aces are low, though some variations allow aces to be high cards as well.
Tonk Strategies
Game Variations and Other Names for Tonk
There’s no difference between Tonk and Tunk except the spelling. It may be spelled differently depending on who and where you’re playing. While we’ve covered many of the house rules variations above, there are a couple different ways you can play.
Only Runs– In this style of play, you cannot hit on a three-of-a-kind. You may only add onto runs of three or more sequential cards of the same suit.
Double-Double– In this variation, if a player who tonks out can make another player use the rest of their cards with their final spread, they receive quadruple the regular stake.
For example, if you tonk out with 9? 10? J? and your opponent only has the 8? in their hand, it’s a double-double. Sometimes, a player will receive quadruple the stake from just that player while other games require all players to pay quadruple.
50/49– Players automatically win if they are dealt either 49 or 50 points. A 50-point hand is usually awarded double the stake while a 49-point deal is awarded the normal stake.
Drops– In some games, players may be able to drop at almost any point in the game. However, players in these games are not permitted to drop after hitting on another player’s spread.
Conclusion
Most games of Tonk are extremely casual and are played at low stakes. In many ways it’s similar to playing slots at online casinos, it’s very casual and can provide a lot of fun for small stakes.
If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced, exciting game to play for hours, especially amongst your high-energy friends, Tonk is the card game for you.
FAQs
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References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonk_(card_game) (Wikipedia)
- https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/tunk (Bicycle Cards)
- https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2647,00.html#:~:text=PLAYING%20cards%20were%20invented%20by,between%20words%2C%20shapes%20and%20concepts. (The Guardian)
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/history-of-playing-cards (Atlas Obscura)
