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 two pair, or a full house. I’ve heard some stories about how it got that name, but when a buddy asked I couldn’t remember them.
a pair of aces and a pair of eights.
It was the hand Wild Bill Hancock was holding when he was shot from behind.
Ammm
pepperlandgirl
That was Wild Bill Hickock
For whatever it’s worth, the guy’s name is Wild Bill Hickock (not Hancock), he was shot in Saloon #10 in Deadwood, South Dakota and he’s buried next to his sweetheart Calamity Jane in the town cemetary. Also, for accuracy sake, in addition to the two pair, I believe the 5th card was a queen (can’t remember the suit).
And it was specifically, black aces and black eights. Cecil covered it:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_307.html
He claims the fifth card was the deuce of spades - the red queen was the John Ford movie version.
Ace of Clubs
Ace of Spades
8 of Clubs
8 of Spades
2 of Spades
Cecil said so somewhere, but the search engine is producing inferior results.
%*^&#%$@#^ Simulpost!!! :mad:
I swear, I typed Hickock. Someone must have came and messed with my post, to make me look bad. 
Goes in search of the culprit
Oh, and according to my education, “X’s and Y’s” means two pair. A full house is “X’s OVER Y’s” distinguishing which you have three of.
I was drinking Black and Tan’s in this bar last weekend! They have the chair Wild Bill was sitting in, when he was shot, hanging above the entrance. salloon #10
The hand was black Aces and Eights, but the value of the 5th card is lost to history.
Just like poor Wild Bill is…well, thanks everyone for the info! I’m going to feel a lot better when I go to my poker game this weekend…that is, unless I draw black aces and eights…:eek:
I drank a sasparilla in that bar when I was 12.
–Tim
According to Lange, American Slang there is no contemporary evidence to indicate what his hand was. According to Hickock’s biographer, Rosa, “The actual cards are disputed.” So no proof, just ‘tradition’.
Someone shot Wildest Bill?
Was it with a BB gun?
::d&r::
not before time !! 
Hey, Danno! Welcome.
I’m also looking forward to a card game this weekend. It’s been too long! I’ll try to think about you oh, say 2 a.m. when we’re playing Blind Indian, Pimp Guts, or some such stupid crap!
Pimp Guts??? Jeezum Crow! I was just looking forward to a little 7-card stud, or some no-peekie! Ah, well. Maybe I’ll go nuts and call a wild card or two…
[correcting brain fart] Why I said “Lange” in my post above, I have no idea.[/unfart]
J E Lighter is the author of the wonderful Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang , not somebody named Lange.