Have you ever heard about the Dead Man’s Hand in poker? This term might seem a little bit morbid, but the fact is that this is one of the most famous poker hands of all time. Of course, there are many other poker hands with interesting nicknames, but this is definitely among the most intriguing ones.
Before we go into details and start explaining what the Dead Man’s Hand is all about, let us mention that this particular poker hand includes two pairs of cards (four cards in total). Generally speaking, poker hands that gave nicknames consist of three or more cards. If you want to find out more about this special poker hand, you should follow our guide.
- Discover the story behind the Dead Man’s Hand
- Find out the value of this specific hand in poker
- Learn more about the legacy of this hand
Wild Bill’s Last Deal Artist Andy Thomas captured Wild Bill Hickok unknowingly playing his last poker hand as his killer creeps up behind him. Wild Bill’s Last Deal hammered down at the C.M. Russell Museum’s benefit auction last year for $80,000. – Courtesy The Russell –. The Death of Wild Bill Hickok, by D. There are a number of poker hands that are famous for one reason or another, but perhaps the most sinister is the Dead Man's Hand, so named because it was the hand held by James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok when he met his untimely demise.
- In this account, Hickok’s hand was A ♦ A♣ 8 ♥ 8♠ Q ♥ and included a drop of the deceased gunfighter’s blood. Although there is some doubt about the actual dead man’s hand’s fifth card, the consensus was—and remains—that Hickok died holding two pair of aces and eights. Voila, the dead man’s hand was born.
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We’ve conducted research, consulted experts and found all the things that players would probably want to know about the Dead Man’s Hand. Keep reading this guide to unravel some interesting facts.
The story behind the famous Dead Man’s Hand
There are many legends and stories about the origin of this poker hand, but according to experts, the Dead Man’s Hand was named after a hand held by James Butler Hickok. Many of you will probably recognize this gentleman as Wild Bill Hickok, a folk hero of the American Old West. He was a man of many talents and a passionate poker player.
So, Wild Bill Hickok was playing five-card stud poker with Jack McCall and a few other players in Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon at Deadwood, Dakota back in August 1876. McCall decided to kill Hickok at one point and shot him in the back of his head. It turned out that the final poker hand held by Hickok consisted of a pair of black aces and black eights. This poker hand became known as the Dead Man’s Hand.
Due to the fact that he was a folk hero, the story about his death has spread across the country. A visitor took the cards and wrote a book about the event. Some experts claim that it’s impossible to tell whether the poker hand included the cards we’ve mentioned before, but nonetheless, people today know this combination as the Dead Man’s hand.
- This poker hand got its name in honor of James Butler (Wild Bill) Hickok
- He was killed while playing five-card stud poker
- There are many stories about this game of poker
The legend continues
It’s interesting that even though the term Dead Man’s Hand was used at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, there’s no written record that can confirm that this hand was named after Wild Bill Hickok. It was in the 1920s when the situation has changed.
Namely, in 1926, Frank J. Wilstach wrote a biography about Wild Bill Hickok and he used this story in his book. The author has spent a lot of time researching the life of this folk hero and we can consider him to be a relevant source. Regardless of the authenticity of the story, most people consider the last poker hand held by Wild Bill Hickok to be the Dead Man’s Hand.
It’s worth mentioning that there are a few other things that might have led to the creation of this term. For example, in an Encyclopedia that was published in 1903, the Dead Man’s Hand is described as a combination of a pair of jacks and a pair of sevens. An article in the Grand Forks Daily Herald from 1886, describes this poker hand like a full house that includes a pair of tens and three jacks.
- This term was used since the 19th century
- In 1926 it was associated with Wild Bill Hickok for the first time
- There are descriptions of the Dead Man’s Hand in a few other books before 1926
The Dead Man’s Hand is popular even today
It seems that the tale about the cursed and bad poker hand has grabbed the attention of many people since it was released for the first time in the 1920s. We can see many references to this famous poker hand in the last few decades.
References in movies and on TV
The Untouchables was a very popular TV series in the early 1990s. In one of the episodes, there’s a shootout between the members of the Italian and Irish mafia while the Irish mafiosos are playing poker. When the detectives come to the scene to investigate the incident, one of the players has Aces and eights in his hands.
Even the famous The X-Files TV series has mentioned the famous Dead Man’s Hand. In one of the episodes, one of the episode’s main characters is playing poker with Agent Dana Scully. The camera is focused on the character’s poker hand – a full house that includes three aces and two eights. The American science-fiction TV series known as Quantum Leap has an even more direct reference to this poker hand. Namely, in the first episode of this TV show, when a player wants to rig a poker game by dealing black aces and eights to another player, one of the main characters says that they have recognized the Dead Man’s Hand.
Less than 15 years after the Dead Man’s Hand has been linked to Wild Bill Hickock, the Dead Man’s Hand is mentioned in a movie called Frontier Marshal where Wyatt Earp is in the main role (played by Randolph Scott). He has a poker hand that consists of aces and eights. A 2018 Western movie called The Ballad of Buster Scruggs by the Coen Brothers, the first vignette displays this poker hand. There are a few other Western movies where the Dead Man’s Hand is mentioned.
- The Dead Man’s Hand is mentioned in many TV series
- This poker hand was mentioned in many movies too
- Most of these movies are Western movies
References in books and novels
It turns out that the Dead Man’s Hand was fascinating for many book and novel authors too. For instance, Ken Kesey has a reference to the Dead Man’s Hand in his One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest novel. One of the main characters has a tattoo that features the poker hand on the shoulder. Wild Cards is a popular series of science fiction anthologies and one of the books that are part of this series is called Dead Man’s Hand. In one of the Batman R.I.P. comic books, the Joker himself sends a mysterious message to Batman by dealing cards that include a modified Dead Man’s Hand.
Thomas Pynchon, the popular American novelist, has mentioned the Dead Man’s Hand in his Inherent Vice novel. This time, the author decided to reveal the mysterious fifth card in the poker hand – a nine of diamonds. Final Destination is a popular movie, but there are a few novels based on this thriller/horror movie. The Dead Man’s Hand is the title of one of these novels.
- The Dead Man’s Hand was mentioned in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest novel
- There are references in a few other novels and books
- This popular poker hand was part of one of the novels inspired by Final Destination movie
References in video games
A few video games that belong to different genres include references to the Dead Man’s Hand too. For example, the popular racing video game Need For Speed: Carbon has the ace of spades and a black eight insignia used by one of the crews. What’s even more interesting is that in the Fallout: New Vegas video games, players that want to unlock one of the achievements have to collect black eights, black aces and the queen of spades in the ruins. Obviously, this is a reference to the Dead Man’s Hand. Even a Facebook game called Criminal Case has mentioned the Dead Man’s Hand. You must find two aces and eights in black color to finish one of the levels.
Wild Bill Hickok Poker Hand When Shot
The popular online collectible card game known as Hearthstone has a warrior character that holds the Dead Man’s Hand card. You can witness a game of poker where the character loses a hand even though he has a full house that consists of black aces and eights in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom video game. Additionally, you can also see a poker hand that includes black aces and black eights in the Walking Dead: A New Frontier video game. The man that has this hand is killed right after that.
- Need For Speed: Carbon is a racing game where the Dead Man’s Hand appears
- This poker hand appears in Hearthstone too
- You can find a reference to this poker hand in Criminal Case
Other references
It turns out that there are many famous songs that refer to the Dead Man’s Hand including Ace of Spades by Motorhead, Dead Man’s Hand by Ha Ha Tonka, Aces and Eights by Uncle Kracker and Rambling, Gambling Willie by Bob Dylan. The famous Australian alternative band known as The Church has a song named Deadman’s Hand.
It’s worth mentioning that there is a beer called Aces and Ates made by Big Boss Brewing in the USA. The LAPD CRASH squad has included the popular poker hand in their insignia. The same goes for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Division. These are just some of the many examples where this combination of playing cards appears.
- There are multiple songs that were inspired by the Dead Man’s Hand
- You can find a beer in the US named after this poker hand
- This specific combination of playing cards appears in LVPD’s homicide division
The value of the Dead Man’s Hand
Wild Bill Hickok Last Poker Hand
To be honest, a Dead Man’s Hand doesn’t have great value. After all, this is just another hand that counts as two pairs. The kicker from the story remains unknown, so it’s very likely that Wild Bill Hickok didn’t have a full house, just two black aces, and two eights. So, even a combo that consists of two aces and two jacks can beat this poker hand. Obviously, a poker hand that equals straight, flush or full house will be better than the Dead Man’s Hand.
So, when you get this poker hand, you should not get too excited because it’s usually considered to be a “cursed” hand that will lead you to loss (at least when it comes to that particular turn).
Bill Hickok Poker Hand
- The Dead Man’s Hand is not a very valuable poker hand
- Regardless of the type of poker you play, two pairs are worse than a full house, straight or flush