Anyone know about TONK or TUNK?
soul...@apsicc.aps.edu
> There's a card game I grew up playing that we called Tunk (my friends
> from the north call it Tonk). It's a version of Gin Rummy that mostly
----- Euchre
> african-americans play.
>
> I recently played it over the Fourth of July holidays. We had major
> disagreements over the basic rules of the game.
>
> I have a few questions that I need answering:
>
> 1. Where did Tonk originate?
?
>
> 2. What's the correct spelling?
?
>
> 3. Are there any definitive rules or rulebook available?
never seen any specific references, but have played it
(many years back) and it seemed to conform to several of the variations
of Euchre, particularly when playing single-handed versions.
>
> 4. Where's the playing-cards FAQ?
?
>
>
> Any help or resources you can provide would be sincerely appreciated.
that's about all the help I can give on the subject, but you
might want to poke about for someone in the Buffalo NY area, which was
where I played it.
>
>
Gregg Seelhoff
Marcus Matthews <marcus....@turner.com> wrote:
>There's a card game I grew up playing that we called Tunk (my friends
>from the north call it Tonk). It's a version of Gin Rummy that mostly
Here are the rules to Tunk, according to the book _Hoyle's
Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games_, by Walter B. Gibson:
"TUNK: A cross between Gin and Knock Rummy with 'wild
deuces' representing any needed card. From two to four
players are each dealt seven cards, and the next is turned
up beside the pack. Each player in turn draws from the
pack or takes the upcard and then discards as in knock
rummy, but cannot knock until the count of his unmatched
cards is down to 5 points, as in gin. He then lays down
his hand, using deuces when needed to meld sequences of
three or more cards in one suit; or sets of three or four
of a kind, which must have two 'natural' cards (as J-J-2 or
9-9-2-2). After the knocker has discarded, each player has
one chance to draw, meld, and lay off on the knocker's
hand, unless he has matched it entirely. Each player's
unmatched cards are scored against him; and if anyone
undercuts the knocker, the knocker's count is doubled.
Deals continue in the usual order, and as each player
reaches 100, he is eliminated until only one remains and is
the winner. With five or more players, a double pack of
104 cards is used, with eight wild deuces."
I hope this helps answer at least some of your questions. Since this is the
second TUNK query I've answered (the other on Prodigy) this week, I think I'll
dig into my other resources for more information.
Have fun,
Gregg Seelhoff
Marcus Matthews
from the north call it Tonk). It's a version of Gin Rummy that mostly
african-americans play.
I recently played it over the Fourth of July holidays. We had major
disagreements over the basic rules of the game.
I have a few questions that I need answering:
1. Where did Tonk originate?
2. What's the correct spelling?
3. Are there any definitive rules or rulebook available?
4. Where's the playing-cards FAQ?
Marcus Matthews
>In article <3uf33l$8...@tbsnames.turner.com>,
> Marcus Matthews <marcus....@turner.com> wrote:
>>from the north call it Tonk). It's a version of Gin Rummy that mostly
>>african-americans play.
>
>
>Modern Encyclopedia of Card Games_, by Walter B. Gibson:
>
>"TUNK: A cross between Gin and Knock Rummy with 'wild
>deuces' representing any needed card.
>
Interesting, but sounds nothing like the game my friends taught me about
15 years ago. The version I've been playing has no wild deuces', has a
five card hand, and you can knock at anytime during the game. Also,
there's a rule that you can automatically win if you're dealt a hand
containing 49 or 50 points (five card hand). These basic Tonk rules are
consistent with games I've played with friends from LA, Ohio, Georgia,
Florida, and Washington, DC.
This is the version of Tunk (Tonk) I played last week and that others
players are playing for big money today. The variation in rules I
mentioned in the first note are minor technicalites between the version I
played in my neighborhood 15 years ago to the version I played two weeks
ago.
FYI: I read a basketball magazine's article recently that mentioned the
game Tonk. It appears that some of the Charlotte Hornets players play
the game during flights between cities. The magazine spelled it Tonk.
Philip E. Siepert
>seel...@sojourn.com (Gregg Seelhoff) wrote:
The magazine spelled it Tonk.
That's the way I heard it called in Oakland.
Donald Wynn
: the game during flights between cities. The magazine spelled it Tonk.
The version I learned was very similar to Gin Rummy, except:
- 5 card hands
- No wild cards
- Automatic wins with total of 49 or 50 on the deal
- You can lay down your hand if you think you have a lower point count
than anyone else (Ace is 1 point, Face Cards are 10, etc.)
- Winner is the first player out of cards, of course.
Part of this may be local rules (TN), but that's what we played long ago...
Donald