Be nice and don't thump the cards down on the table! (4,6)

'on the table' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adverbs.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'be nice and don't thump the cards down' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'down' could be 'd' and 'd' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?