Nickname Poker Hands

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

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

Nicknames for Texas Hold’em Poker Hands The worst statistical starting hand in Hold’em with its tongue-in-cheek nickname of “The Hammer” With the literal poker explosion in the last several years and millions of new players flocking the the game, poker hand nicknames have become more prevalent and popular than ever. Provided to YouTube by CDBaby Poker Hand Nicknames Costaki Economopoulos The Economonologues ℗ 2009 Costaki Economopoulos Released on: 2009-09-20 Auto-generated by YouTube. Poker Hand Nicknames - Duration: 4:09. Constaki Economopoulos - Topic 478 views. What to do When You Are Card Dead at the Poker Table - Duration: 5:23. SchoolofCards 64,958 views. This is a discussion on Best Poker Nicknames within the online poker forums, in the General Poker section; Hi all,Oneybiggs here. Tell us the best or most amusing nicknames you've seen or thought.

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.

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If you've ever played poker, you know that each hand has a name, such as a flush, for five cards of the same suit. A royal flush is the best hand in regular poker: making a straight-flush with the royal family (Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten) of one suit. Those names have been around for centuries.

Texas Hold'em hasn't been around that long, although it sometimes seems those old Texas Boys like Salior Roberts, Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim and the like had been playing the game for centuries, the way they dominated the early years of the WSOP! And, they seemed to have a particular way of talking, which included plenty of colorful names for the individual two-card Hold'em starting hands.

Over the years, some of the names like Broderick Crawford, for 10-4, have come and gone out of fashion. When it was first used, Broderick Crawford was the star of a TV show called Highway Patrol, and, you guessed it, he used a CB-like transmitter to talk to the other officers and headquarters. At the end of a transmission, he said '10-4.'

A number of other hands got their names from 1960's TV shows, like 77 (77 Sunset Strip) and 99 (Agent 99, played by Barbara Feldman in Get Smart). Another one, 95, is called Dolly Parton. Not because of her bust size, but because of the Movie 9 to 5 and the hit song she sang Workin' 9 to 5.Jus to help you out, the hands 29 and 38 do have to do with the moniker's bust size, but that's another preoccupation with poker players: women and sex, so there are several references (like bitches) that you'll probably hear, and be able to figure out for yourself.

As for other names, who knows. Where did 'old blocky' come from with regard to 6-3? Was that a fellow player called Blocky who won a big pot with the hand? How about 'Big Slick' for A-K? Some people say that you've got to be real slick to win with Ace-King, and others say the name comes from the 'A' looking like an oil derrick, and oil is slick and the hand comes with a King. Well, your guess is as good as ours. Enjoy!

Nickname Poker Hands Game

AA: Pocket Rockets; Bullets; American Airlines
KK: Cowboys; King Kong
QQ: Ladies, Whores, Siegfried & Roy
JJ: Fishhooks; hooks
TT: Dimes
99: German Virgin; Barbara Feldon (Get Smart Agent 99)
88: Snowmen; Dog Balls; Piano Keys
77: Sunset Strip
66: Route 66
55: Speed Limit
44: Magnum; Sailboats
33: Crabs
22: Ducks

AK: Big Slick; Santa Barbara
AQ: Big Chick; Walking Back to Houston
AJ: Ajax
A8: Dead Man’s hand
KQ suited Marriage
KQ offsuit Mixed Marriage
KJ: Kojak
K9: Fido Canine What a Dog
K3: Commander Crab; King Crab
QJ: Maverick
QT: Quint; Varkony
Q7:Computer hand
Q3: Gay Waiter; San Francisco Busboy (queen with a tray)
J5: Motown; Jackson Five
J4: Flat ties (what’s a jack for?)
T5: Woolworth's; Five and Dime
T4: Broderick Crawford; Convoy; Good Buddy
T2: Texas Dolly
98: Oldsmobile
69: Big Lick; Dinner for Two
95: Dolly Parton
92: Montana Banana
76: Union Oil
57: Heinz
45: Jessie James; Jane Russell
39: Jack Benny
38: Raquel Welch
29: Twiggy

Nickname Poker Hands Worksheet

Until next time, remember:
'Luck comes and goes...Knowledge Stays Forever.'