# Dead Man's Hand **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 2, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-mans-hand/355087 "2006-05-02T12:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![arcticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@arcticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arcticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-mans-hand/355087/1 "2006-05-02T12:26:55Z")
On a websearch I found Cecil Adams answer to what a Dead Man’s Hand was. According to him the fifth card was the deuce of spades. This is highly debatable. We may never really know what the fifth card was, however there are at least three differing accounts on the matter. First, the supposed actual hand is on display in Deadwood after being moved from the Stardust Hotel Casino in Las Vegas some time ago. It shows the fifth card as being the 5 of diamonds. Reported indepedant accounts at the game stated it was the 9 of diamonds. Ripely’s Believe it or not states it’s the Queen of Clubs. I suspect that it’s much more likely to be the one on display. Despite the propensity of marketing, it would be more consistant with the independant reports since both cards could bear a resemblance to each other, and would be easily misidentified in the heat of a serious moment. The Ripley’s report probably is simply trying to capture the symbolism of the black queen which could represent broken nose Jack McCall’s prostitute mother. I’d be interest in hearing what Mr. Adams based his answer on. GJ ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-mans-hand/355087/2 "2006-05-02T14:27:08Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, arcticbear. A link to the column is appreciated. Providing one can be as simple as pasting the URL into your post, making sure to leave a blank space on either side of it. Like so: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_307.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_307.html) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dead-mans-hand/355087/3 "2006-05-02T16:05:28Z")
As a guest you can’t search, but this question has been discussed several times here. > **[The Dead Man's Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305671)** > > http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_307.html In the column it is stated that Wild Bill was holding “black aces and eights” but no mention of the actual suit. I am presuming that seeing as somebody took the trouble to note that the fifth card was... > **[unlucky hands of poker](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=291677)** > > I was playing poker over thanksgiving break and I made a comment about a dead man’s hand. Now I know that there is a hand in poker, perhaps not known as a deadman’s hand, but something; I just can’t think of what it is. The guys around the table... > **[Dead Man's Hand](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=49578)** > > Sorry if this duplicates anything…I looked, but couldn’t find it. My question is, in poker, what is a “dead man’s hand”, and where does the reference come from? I know that it’s refered to as “Aces and Eights”, but I’m not sure if it’s referring to... Our resident language search expert, **samclem** , reports that there are no contemporary sources that give the fifth card. > [@samclem](#): > > Sorry to disappoint everyone(including Cecil), but there is absolutely NO proof about any of the cards in Wild Bill’s hand. None. Not about any of the cards. > > There are NO contemporary accounts concerning the shooting that mention the cards. Hickock’s biographer, Rosa, said in his 1974 book something to the effect of “the identity of the cards is in dispute.” Cecil wrote his column before Rosa’s book. > > Hickock was killed in 1876. The oldest print reference to " a dead man’s hand" in cards is in 1888, and it indeed said “aces and eights” but said nothing about the origin of the phrase. If you’ve found an actual contemporary independent account that would be big news. Could you please cite it?