How to play five-card Tonk at Pull Up & Deal

Know what your five cards are worth

Each player starts with five cards from a standard deck without jokers. Aces count as one, number cards count at face value, and jacks, queens, and kings count as ten. Only cards still in your hand contribute to your remaining point total.

A hand containing A♣, 4♦, 6♥, J♠, and K♣ totals 31. If you lay cards in a valid spread, those cards leave your hand and stop counting toward that total. A low total can help you drop, but clearing your hand is another way to win.

Draw, improve, and discard

At the start of your turn, decide whether to drop before drawing if you are eligible. Otherwise, draw one card from the deck or take the top discard. You may lay a spread or hit an existing spread. Those actions are optional.

Discard one card to finish your turn unless you have already emptied your hand. Before discarding a card, think about whether it could help an opponent extend a visible run or complete a set.

With the timer enabled, the whole turn shares one countdown: drawing, spreading, and hitting do not restart it. The default timer is off; hosts can enable a fifteen-second turn timer in the lobby.

Build a spread or hit the table

A set is three or four cards of the same rank, such as 7♣, 7♦, and 7♥. A run is three or more consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 4♠, 5♠, and 6♠. Mixed suits do not form a run.

Aces are low. A♥–2♥–3♥ is valid; Q♥–K♥–A♥ is not. A hit adds one card while keeping an existing spread valid. You could add 7♠ to the set of sevens, or 3♠ or 7♠ to the 4♠–5♠–6♠ run.

You may hit your own spread or another player’s. A hit can change drop eligibility, so clearing a card and being allowed to drop are separate questions.

Drop only when your total is strictly lowest

A drop compares the points remaining in everyone’s hand. You win a clean drop only if your total is strictly lower than every opponent’s. Equal is not enough. If another player has the same or a lower total, you are caught and the opponent with the lowest total wins.

Suppose you hold A♣ and 4♦ for five points. Against totals of eight and twelve, your eligible drop wins. Against an opponent also holding five points, it is caught. Do not assume a small total guarantees the win.

Third-round drop is on by default, so the opening wait ends on your third turn. Hosts can turn off that opening wait. Any additional wait caused by opponents hitting your spreads still has to finish.

Understand the hit wait: one hit, one extra round

Every time an opponent hits your spread, you must wait one more full round before dropping. Each hit adds another round, even if you are already waiting. A round means one trip around the players at the table; three hits add three rounds, with no cap.

Hitting your own spread adds no wait. Being hit limits dropping only: you may still draw, lay valid spreads, hit existing spreads, and Tonk Out by emptying your hand.

For example, another player extends your run twice while you are waiting. Both hits count; it is not a single shared cooldown. Watch the drop eligibility shown at the table rather than treating the opening third-turn rule as the only wait.

Know the different ways a hand ends

Opening Tonk is a starting hand worth 49 or 50 and wins double. If multiple players qualify, the first in turn order wins. Tonk Out means emptying your hand by laying a spread or hitting a spread and also wins double.

Discarding your final card is Last Card and wins a normal hand. A clean drop wins a normal hand. A caught drop awards a normal hand to the catcher; it is not double under this app’s casual rules.

After a hand, review the revealed hands and compare what you expected with what players actually held. Try a bot table to practice spread selection, discard decisions, and hit waits before playing unfamiliar opponents.

A useful beginner’s routine

First count your points, then look for sets and suited sequences. Keep a possible spread only when its benefit is worth holding those points. A pair of face cards carries twenty points while you wait for the third card.

Watch the visible spreads before selecting a discard. Recheck drop eligibility at the beginning of each turn. If you cannot drop because of a hit wait, continue improving your hand instead of trying to end the hand early.

The in-game Table Rules remain the reference for the table you joined. Use player reporting and blocking for inappropriate table talk, and send confusing rule behavior to support with the game type and a description of the hand.