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Basic
Poker Slang—Hand Nicknames
This is just a basic overview of hands. Many hands
have more than one nickname, and sometimes individual players will have
pet names for hands. Doyle Brunson once referred to A-K as the “Houston
hand,” because you either went back to Houston grinning ear to ear or
went back crying because you were broke. That particular nickname
hasn’t caught on, but these are some of the most common nicknames that
are generally used by the poker playing world.
A-A: “Pocket Rockets” or “Bullets”
A-K: “Big Slick”
A-Q: “Big Chick” or “Little Slick”
A-J: “Black Jack” or “Jack Ass”
A-8: “Dead Man’s Hand”—most famous nickname, after
the hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot in the back.
K-K: “King Kong” or “Cowboys”
K-Q: “Royalty” or “Old Married Couple”
K-J: “Kojack”
K-9: “Canine” (yeah, I know, extremely original) or
“Fido”
K-3: “King Crab”
Q-Q: “Ladies” or “Siegfried & Roy” or “Double Date”
Q-3: “Gay Waiter”
J-J: “Fish hooks” or “Hooks”
J-5: “Motown” or “Jackson Five”
J-4: “Flat Tire”
T-2: “Dolly Brunson” or “Texas Dolly”
T-4: “Good Buddy” or “Over and Out”
9-9: “Popeyes”
9-5: “Dolly Parton”
8-8: “Snowmen”
7-7: “Sunset Strip”
6-6: “Route 66”
5-5: “Speed Limit”
4-4: “Magnum” or “Sail Boats”
4-5: “Jesse James”
3-3: “Crabs”
2-2: “Ducks” or “Pocket Swans”
While there are other hands with nicknames, these
are the most common ones you’ll find. The aces and eights are the most
famous, and maybe even the first nickname since they date all the way
back to Wild Bill Hickok. He had paired both in a game of five card
draw, and so was holding two pair aces and eights, a hand with which he
won the pot, when he was shot in the back and killed. The other
nicknames generally aren’t nearly so violent a history, but they are
from gamblers, so don’t be surprised if you look up nicknames for
yourself and find some more “colorful” nicknames not mentioned here.
But now next time at the poker table when someone
talks about a flat tire facing a gay waiter, you won’t give away being a
newbie by gaping like someone who just fell into the twilight zone.
Have fun, and don’t give away too much.
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