Tonk: rules, drop odds and a points keeper
Tonk is a fast knock rummy with five-card hands: build spreads, add to anyone's spreads on the table, and drop when you think your hand is the lowest. Pagat quotes two members of Duke Ellington's orchestra on how much the band played it. Traditionally it is played for stakes; here it is played for points, and the keeper below works out who scores what after every hand, including the "caught" rule that causes most arguments.
Tonk in 30 seconds
- One deck, no jokers. Picture cards 10, Aces 1, others face value. Five cards each.
- Dealt 49 or 50? Show it: you win double at once (Pagat's main rules).
- Your turn: draw from the stock or the discard pile, lay down spreads (three or four of a kind, or three or more in a row in one suit, Ace low), add cards to any spread on the table, then discard.
- Out of cards without a final discard: a tonk, double. Out by discarding your last card: single.
- Or drop at the start of your turn: everyone shows, lowest count wins. Drop without being lowest and you are caught.
Tonk points keeper
How to play Tonk
Cards and deal
Use one standard 52-card deck without jokers. Cards count: Aces 1, 2 to 10 face value, Jacks, Queens and Kings 10. Cut for the first deal; high card deals. Deal five cards to each player, one at a time, turn the next card face up to start the discard pile and put the rest face down as the stock.
Before anyone plays, a player dealt exactly 49 or 50 shows their hand and wins double from everyone. If two players have one, the hand is a draw and is dealt again.
Spreads
A spread is a book of three or four cards of the same rank, or a run of three or more cards in a row in one suit. Aces are low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not. Once you draw, you may lay spreads face up in front of you, and you may "hit" any spread on the table, yours or anyone's, by adding a card that fits (a fourth Queen to three Queens, or the 8 to 5-6-7).
Your turn
Either drop (see below) at the very start of your turn, or draw: the top card of the stock or the top discard. Lay down spreads and hit spreads if you want to, then discard one card. Only the top discard may be seen; no looking back through the pile.
How a hand ends, and who scores
| What happened | Points (one stake = one point) |
|---|---|
| Dealt 49 or 50 | That player +2 from each other player |
| Tonk: no cards left and no final discard | The winner +2 from each other player |
| Out by discarding the last card | The winner +1 from each other player |
| Drop, and the dropper's count is lowest | The dropper +1 from each other player |
| Drop, but someone has the same or less: caught | The dropper gives 2 to each player with an equal or lower count; the lowest player also gets 1 from everyone else |
| The stock runs out | Lowest count +1 from each other player |
Example of a catch with four players: the dropper has 8, the others have 6, 8 and 20. The dropper is caught by the 6 and the other 8, and gives each of them 2. The player on 6 is lowest and also takes 1 from the player on 8 and 1 from the player on 20. Points this hand: -4, 4, 1, -1. They add up to zero, as every hand does.
How low is low enough to drop? The odds on the deal
The big decision in Tonk is the drop: you look at your five cards and wonder whether anyone is lower. We simulated 10 million Tonk deals (one deck, no jokers, Ace 1, picture cards 10) and counted how often a drop would be caught, meaning at least one opponent holds the same count or less. This is the first player's first turn, while everyone still has the five cards they were dealt. Pagat's rules allow a drop at the start of any turn, including that one.
| Your count | 1 opponent | 2 opponents | 3 opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| 13 | under 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| 14 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| 15 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| 16 | 0.3% | 0.7% | 1.0% |
| 17 | 0.5% | 1.1% | 1.7% |
| 18 | 0.9% | 1.9% | 2.8% |
| 19 | 1.5% | 3.0% | 4.5% |
| 20 | 2.3% | 4.6% | 6.9% |
| 21 | 3.4% | 6.7% | 10.0% |
| 22 | 4.9% | 9.7% | 14.3% |
| 23 | 6.7% | 13.2% | 19.4% |
| 24 | 9.2% | 17.6% | 25.8% |
| 25 | 12.0% | 23.1% | 33.3% |
| 26 | 15.6% | 29.5% | 41.7% |
| 27 | 19.7% | 36.5% | 50.6% |
| 28 | 24.4% | 44.1% | 59.8% |
| 29 | 29.7% | 52.0% | 68.5% |
| 30 | 35.2% | 59.6% | 76.2% |
| 31 | 41.2% | 67.3% | 83.0% |
| 32 | 47.5% | 74.4% | 88.6% |
What the numbers say: a count of 22 or less is caught less than 1 time in 10 against two opponents. Against one opponent, 24 is caught 9.2% of the time, but against three it is 25.8%. The risk climbs fast in the high 20s: at 28, three opponents catch you 59.8% of the time.
Two limits. The figures average every hand with that count; if your own five cards are low ones, fewer low cards are left for the others and your risk is a little lower. The hand counter in the keeper above works that out exactly for your cards against one opponent. And once play starts, opponents draw, spread and hit, so their counts fall: treat these numbers as the best case for a drop on the deal; later in the hand the same count is caught more often.
Where sources differ
Tonk has more house rules than most games, and Pagat lists dozens. The ones that change scoring:
- 49 or 50 on the deal. A main rule in Pagat; a house rule in Wikipedia. Some pay only 50 double and 49 single; some add low hands (11, 13 or 15 and under) as instant wins.
- Getting caught. Pagat: double to everyone with an equal or lower count, plus a single to the lowest from everyone else. Wikipedia: the dropper pays each player with a lower count, everyone pays the winner, and a tie with the dropper means the dropper pays double. Pagat lists five more ways.
- Stock runs out with a tie. Pagat does not say; Wikipedia calls it a draw. Our keeper scores it as a draw.
- Jokers. Wikipedia's version adds two jokers as wild cards. Pagat's typical game has none.
- Hand size. Five cards in Pagat's typical game; Wikipedia gives five, seven or nine depending on players.
- Waiting. Many play that after you lay down a spread you cannot drop for three turns, and that being hit stops you dropping on your next turn. Pagat describes this in detail.
House rules in the keeper: push-ups scoring, the points target and a hand limit. Stakes and side bets are left out on purpose.
Tips for Tonk
- Count your hand every turn. A drop is safest early, before the others have laid down spreads and while they may still hold picture cards; later, a hand that has spread twice may be close to zero. The drop odds table shows how fast the risk climbs with your count.
- Dump picture cards. A King costs 10 if someone drops; a 2 costs 2. Discard high cards you cannot spread.
- Hit to block a drop. If your table plays waiting, hitting a player's spread stops them dropping next turn.
- Watch the spreads on the table. Any card that fits someone's spread is a card you can get rid of without a pair of its own.
Play Tonk online or at home
Play at home: one standard deck without jokers, two to four players, and the points keeper above. No money needed.
Tonk questions
How do you play Tonk?
Deal five cards each and turn one up to start the discard pile. On your turn, draw from the stock or the discard pile, lay down any spreads (three or four of a kind, or three or more in a row in one suit), add cards to spreads already on the table, then discard. Get rid of every card to win, or "drop" at the start of your turn if you think your cards add up to the lowest count.
What does tonk mean in the card game?
Going out by laying down or adding every card in your hand without a final discard is called a tonk, or tonking out, and wins double. Pagat's main rules also give a double win to a player dealt 49 or 50 points, sometimes also called a tonk.
What happens if you drop and do not have the lowest count?
You are "caught". Under Pagat's main rules you pay double to everyone whose count is equal to or lower than yours, and the lowest player also collects a single from everyone else. Ties with the dropper count against the dropper.
Is Tonk a gambling game?
It is traditionally played for small stakes. You do not need money to play it: keep score in points instead. Our keeper turns every payment into points that add up to zero, as some groups Pagat describes already do on paper.
How many people can play Tonk?
Pagat says it is best for two or three, perhaps four. Wikipedia says two to four. Our keeper takes two to six.