(I could not find this as a thread, so am submiiting as new)
See < http://www.homepoker.com/0812.html > for a discussion which seems to cast doubt that there is an answer to “what was the fifth card?”.
Regards
(edited to fix link)
[Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 09-21-2000 at 11:53 AM]
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment.
Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site.
To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL).
Cecil’s column can be found on-line at this link:
Was Wild Bill Hickok holding the “dead man’s hand” when he was slain?
The column can also be found on pages 307-308 of Cecil Adams’ book “The Straight Dope”.
moderator, «Comments on Cecil’s Columns»
Here’s the deal (haha):
In his column, Cecil Adams says that the fifth card in Wild Bill Hickok’s original «dead man’s hand» is the two of spades. The link kindly provided by sbh says the following:
The author of the page had suggested the two of spades, but says «my initial claim of the deuce of spades is the most laughable, embarrassing suggestion to date. I’m not even sure what I was thinking. All indications seem to point to the fact that the fifth card in a Dead Man’s Hand is a diamond, but everybody can’t agree on which one it was.» The author mentions that «I can’t remember where I read it (that the fifth card was the deuce of spades).» Maybe he read it in the Straight Dope column? I will e-mail him.