Dead Man's Hand in Poker

To the uninitiated, revealing a dead man's hand in poker can sound rather ominous and in fact, the card hand really does live up to its name. In Peter Arnold's book, How to Play Poker, Arnold describes the dead man's hand as "one of poker's best known legends" and he wouldn't be incorrect in thinking so.

What is a dead man's hand in poker?

The story goes that in 1876, Wild Bill Hickok, a famous gunslinger of the old Wild West and notorious gambler, became engaged in a game of poker in Nuttal & Mann's saloon, located in Deadwood. Hickok always preferred to sit in the corner, in order to protect himself from anyone with a vendetta who might try to shoot him from behind, but unfortunately, all the corner seats were taken on that faithful day in the saloon. Apparently, the other poker players at the table hired a crooked gambler called Jack McCall to kill Hickok, because of fears that he would be made marshal of Deadwood and challenge the tenuously legal nature of their poker games. McCall entered the saloon and shot Hickok from behind, just like Hickok had feared when he first sat in that unlucky seat.

At the time, Hickok was clutching a poker hand made up of two Ace's and two 8's, as well as either a Queen or Jack of Diamonds. A poker hand made up of pairs of Aces and 8's was henceforth known as a dead man's hand in poker and if you reveal this hand, it's regarded as both an unlucky and lucky sign, depending on who you play with...If you do uncover this hand, we recommend you face the door as quickly as you can...Just in case.