The Genii Forum

I wonder if there is someplace that records all the nicknames for different playing cards? I know of only a few and wonder if there are others?

• The Big Bullet ---- Ace of Spades
  
• The Curse Of Scotland --- Nine of Diamonds
  
• The Devil's Bedpost --- Four of Spades

Can anyone comtribute others or cite a reference for more?

thanks in advance.
b

I read somewhere long ago that the Jack of Clubs is called "Pam." Apparently this was well known to two magicians, one of whom had a penchant for saying things backwards. The two were driving somewhere and one said to the other "The Jack of Clubs," which the other correctly interpreted as a request for the map (pam backward).

This was at least 20 years ago that I read this. No idea how much before that it happened or when it was written or where. How helpful I am!

The Joker is often called "the Bug", due, I assume, to the appearance of a bumblebee on the Jokers in a BEE deck.

Less on point is the term "Dead Man's Hand", referring to a pair of Eights and a pair of Aces.

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

Originally posted by Thomas Wayne:
...Less on point is the term "Dead Man's Hand", referring to a pair of Eights and a pair of Aces.

I wonder if anyone can cite the exact contents of the Dead Man's hand? I thought that it was a full house with eights over aces. I dont' recall who the old west legend who was dealt it was... :confused:

Anyone?

Originally posted by Bill Duncan:


I wonder if anyone can cite the exact contents of the Dead Man's hand? I thought that it was a full house with eights over aces. I dont' recall who the old west legend who was dealt it was... :confused:

Anyone?

August 1876, Deadwood, South Dakota; "Wild Bill" (James Butler) Hickok was shot in the back of the head while playing poker in Saloon No. 10. His hand held the Aces of Spades and Clubs and the Eights of Spades and Clubs. The value of the fifth card is disputed to this day, but has never been thought to complete a full house; as I recall from research I did years ago, the most persuasive claim was a red Queen.

Hickok's killer, Jack McCall, claimed (falsely) that Hickok had killed his brother and was quickly released by a judge. A few months later, he was "re-tried" in another local, found guilty and hanged.

For a commissioned piece, I inlayed the butt of a pool cue with five Ivory playing cards representing the Dead Man's Hand. I created cards that were representative of the era - without corner pips or numbers - and on the fifth card I engraved a back pattern to represent the unknown filler.

For anyone familiar with the Bob Seger song 'Fire Lake', you now know the reference contained in the lyrics "...Who wants to play those eights and aces? Who wants a raise, who needs a stake? Who wants to take that long-shot gamble... and head out to Fire Lake?"

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

[ October 14, 2001: Message edited by: Thomas Wayne ]

[ October 14, 2001: Message edited by: Thomas Wayne ]

August 1876, Deadwood, South Dakota; "Wild Bill" (James Butler) Hickok was shot in the back of the head while playing poker...

THIS is why this forum rocks! Thanks Thomas.

I believe that the Ace of Spades is also refered to as the Death Card. On the bicycle AS there is a woman in the center of the pip. That supposedly spooked out the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war. That's why GI's used to have them pinned to their helmets.

Best regards,
Rich K

The King of Hearts is known as the "Suicide Card", obviously because on bicycle decks it looks as if he's stabbing himself in the head. However, I once saw pictures of some playing cards in their early stages and the knife wasn't actually being stabbed in the head, rather, it was raised as if the king was about to attack. I guess the drawing got redrawn over the years. Also, the king of hearts is the only king without a moustache, and again he did have one in the medieval times.

Weird,

Jeff Hinchliffe

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jeff Hinchliffe:
[QB]The King of Hearts is known as the "Suicide Card"[...]

I've heard both the red Kings refered to as the "Suicide Kings", the King of Hearts is obvious, since a sword seems to be sticking in the side of his head. The King of Diamonds is less convincing, but nevertheless has the blade of his hatchet/ax pointing toward himself, something a wise warrior would probably not do.

Incidentally, the KD is the only "one-eyed" King; one of the two one-eyed Jacks (Hearts) also has a hatchet/ax pointed toward his head. This Jack is the only one with a weapon....

Very little of which has to do with card's nicknames.

Regards,
Thomas Wayne

In his book "Poker: Bets, Bluffs and bad Beats, author, poet and card-player A. Alvarez lists some names professional poker players give to various hands. Alvarez, who lists himself as "perhaps the only published poet ever to participate in the World Championship of Poker (at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas), wrote a now out-of-print classic about the poker championships that, I understand, is a masterwork describing the people who populate the high-stakes games of Texas Hold-Em, "The Biggest Game In Town."

Some of his nicknamed hands include:

two aces: American Airlines
Three kings: Alabama Night Riders (K-K-K)
Broderick Crawford: ten-four
Gay Waiters: queens and treys
The Musical Group or Motown: jacks and fives
Hunting Season: ace-ace-two-two, bullets and ducks

brian :cool: