The Cards: Two Pair - Aces and Eights
The Legend: On August 2, 1876, Wild Bill Hickok, the famous gunman and gambler, sat down in a saloon in Deadwood for a game of five card draw. While he was playing, Jack McCall snuck up behind him and shot him in the back of the head. When Wild Bill's cards were investigated, it was revealed that he was holding two pair, black aces and black eights, in his dead hand. The fifth card in the hand is unknown and hotly debated. It may have been the jack of diamonds, five of diamonds, nine of diamonds, or queen of clubs. Or he may not have had a fifth card at all.
Today: It is widely considered that any two pair of aces and eights is a dead man's hand even if they aren't suited in black. Also, various references in pop culture have been made over the years. It has appeared in the movie Dick Tracy as well as in songs by Bob Dylan and Bob Seger. Finally, in 2005, Interpoker had a Halloween promotion where they awarded $50 to anyone who got the dead man's hand while playing on their site. Look for this promotion again next Halloween.
For more information, check out Wikipedia and GuideToPoker.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment