Origin of tonk card game

The topmost card is placed face up to initiate the discard pile, next to the draw pile. As far as the history of the tonk card game, nobody knows for sure who came up with the game or when it originated. Tonk, or tunk is a matching card game, which combines features of knock rummy and conquian. Like many popular card games, its origin is a bit of a mystery. The player that draws the lowest card aces high gets to cut the deck. This game is known to have been a favorite of many of the musicians in jazz great duke ellington's band.

Tonk is a relatively fast game that can be played during brief periods of time by varying numbers of players. In some places it is a popular pastime for workers on their lunch break. The players pick up their cards, study them, and then total up the points in their hand.

The objective of the game is to finish with the smallest number of points, like golf. Tonk is a fun rummy game that is played somewhat like conquian. Because of the wide variety of rules and that it is not a house rake game, tonk never really took hold in casinos. A turn gives two options:.

Only the top card of the discard should be visible, players are not allowed to rummage through the discard. A spread is made of three or more cards that no longer count toward your hand. There are two kinds of spreads:. Adding a card to a spread is called hitting. If you have a spread of Clubs and you have a 4 of clubs in hand, you may add that to the spread during your turn before discard. If you use all cards in hand during a turn, the play ends and you have won that hand.

If not, complete your turn by discarding. If after discarding you are left with no cards, you win. If play does not end with someone playing all their cards or knocking, play until the stock runs out dry and players play all the cards they can within their hand.

The play ends when a player does not wish to take from the discard but rather the empty stock. If a player runs out of cards after discarding, the player with the empty hand collects the basic stake from each player.

If someone knocks, each player exposes their hand and sums the total of cards held. If the stock runs dry, the player with the lowest sum receives the basic stake from each player. After the deal, there is no discard pile formed, the first player draws from the stock and the discard pile begins with their first discard.

It is illegal to hold a spread in hand, if you have a spread you must place it down. There is an exception, in which three Aces may be held in hand. To play Tonk, you need to create melds to get rid of your cards. This can be done in two different ways, either through a set or a run. These are terms Rummy players are already familiar with.

A set is three or more cards of the same value, for example, three Kings. A run is three or more cards in a sequence; however, the cards also need to be of the same suit,. Throughout the game, other players can use cards that have already been put down to build melds.

Before starting their turn, players must discard a card or take one from either the stock or discard pile. Once you have made your move, you must also always discard a card too. This gameplay loop continues till one player uses all their cards. The player who does this first will win the game, and you can then start a new round. However, there is another way the game could end. During the game, a player can drop this means they place all their cards face-up on the table.

If one player does this, all other players must follow, and the player with the lowest value hand will win. The King, Queen, and Jack cards are worth ten points, the aces are worth one point, while numbered cards have their face value. There is one more special rule worth knowing about in the Tonk card game, though. One particular rule often used in Tonk is the 50 points rule. If the value of your first-hand equals precisely 50 points, you can immediately drop and win the game!

This is very rare but can instantly win you the game. You still win even if a player has a lower value hand.