Nickname Poker Hands
In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high games, like Texas hold 'em and seven-card stud, the highest-ranking hands win. High Card: In the event that nobody can make a poker hand, the player with the highest unique card wins the pot. Poker Hand Nicknames – Made Hands. Many made hands have slang terms. While these are not as prevalent as the nicknames given for starting hands, they are still worth knowing. Quads: This slang term is used for a 4 of a kind hand.
There are literally hundreds of names out there for the different kinds of poker hands a player can have. From crazy nicknames to mere representations, there is always something to call your hand. The following are some of the more widely recognized poker hand nicknames and their variations.
The first group of poker hand nicknames is that which is visually representative of something, meaning that when you write down the letters or numbers of your cards, they will assume a similar shape to either familiar objects or initials:
A, A – American Airlines, Bullets or Pocket Rockets
J, J – fish-hooks (or just hooks), Jay Birds
7, 7 – walking sticks, hockey sticks or mullets
8, 8 – snowmen or 2 fat ladies
5, 5 – speed limit
6, 6 – Route 66
2, 2 – Pocket Swans, Ducks
4, 4 – Sail Boat, Magnum
3, 3 – Crabs
J, 4 – flat tire
K, 9 – Canine
Nickname Poker Hands Chart
The second group of poker hand nicknames is one in which the names are representative of famous, people, couples, or personalities:
K, K – King Kong, 2 Kangaroos or Cowboys
Q, Q – Siegfried and Roy, Ladies, Jailhouse Rock, Double date, Canadian Aces or the Hilton sisters.
A, K – Anna Kournikova (not only because of the initials, but because of the fact that this hand looks good yet never wins – similar to the famous Tennis player herself), or the Big Slick (describing a massive oil spill that occurred in Santa Barbara).
K, Q – royalty, marriage
J, 5 – Jackson 5 or Motown.
9, 5 – Dolly Parton (based on the song / movie)
Q, 3 – a male waiter (3 is known is poker as “trey”, so this hand can be read as ‘queen with a tray’).
Q, 10 – Lady and the Tramp
Another poker hand nicknames group is that which is based on real life events, stories and legends.
7, 3 – Hachem – This poker hand is based on the famous Joe Hachem’s win at the 2005 World Series of Poker final table following his winning straight.
9 of clubs, 9 of clubs – Hellmuth – This poker hand is the same as the one used by poker player Phil Hellmuth in winning the 1989 World Series of Poker final table.
A, A, A – the Beatle’s reunion
A, 8 or (A, A, 8, 8) – Dead Man’s Hand – This hand is based on the famous story of Wild Bill Hickok – a poker player of America’s Old West, who was shot dead during a poker match. When shot, these were the cards he was holding.
7, 2 unsuited – the worst hand in poker – this is the worst possible hand statistically in a full game.
10, 2 – Brunson –Based on Doyle Brunson’s winning hands at both the 1976 and 1977 World Series of Poker final table, both of which he turned into a full house.
