Nicknames for Texas Hold'em Poker
Hands
written by BeatTheFish.com
...Fishy says, "Shouldn't we call
the 7-2o the TUNA?!"
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. With poker television
announcers spreading the word and old-time cardroom regulars passing
along the word like cultural oral tradition, new poker players might
feel lost amongst the jargon and lingo of seasoned veterans. With
the obscurity of some of these nicknames, who can blame them?
While some hand nicknames are fairly
transparent (American Airlines, Hooks, and Jackson Five), the newer
poker generation may have trouble with others (Broderick Crawford,
Dead Man's Hand, and Walking Back to Houston). Whether to add a bit
of humor and sociality to the game or just made out of boredom in
between deals, poker is one of the great purveyors of nicknames both
for its players and its hands. While Texas Hold'em starting cards
have inspired most of the two-card hand nicknames, some have their
roots way back in the Wild West draw poker days.
The following list contains most of the
popular poker hand nicknames:
Pocket Pairs
|
AA |
American Airlines
Rockets
Bullets
Snake Eyes |
|
KK |
Cowboys
King Kong |
|
QQ |
Ladies |
|
JJ |
Fishhooks or Hooks |
|
1010 |
Dimes |
|
99 |
Phil Hellmuth
(won the 1989 Main Event with
two black nines)
Wayne Gretzky (the
Great One's number) |
|
88 |
Snowmen
Piano Keys
(88 keys on a piano) |
|
77 |
Walking Sticks
Sunset Strip
(TV show title) |
|
66 |
Route 66
Boots
(for the slight resemblance of a
6) |
|
55 |
Speed Limit
Presto |
|
44 |
Magnum
(.44 Magnum pistol - Dirty
Harry's gun)
Sailboats |
|
33 |
Crabs
Treys |
|
22 |
Ducks
(the 2 is similar to a duck's
shape in water) |
Unpaired Starting Hands
|
AK |
Big Slick
Walking Back to Houston
(the old-time poker players
would play this hand so well that they'd leave their
opponents walking back to Houston) |
|
AQ |
Doyle Brunson
(the poker legend hates to play
AQ) |
|
AJ |
Ajax |
|
A10 |
Johnny Moss |
|
A8 |
Dead Man's Hand
(Wild Bill Hickok was holding
Aces and Eights when he was shot and killed) |
|
A3 |
Baskin-Robbins
(an Ace is also a 1, making 31
for 31 flavors) |
|
KQ |
Marriage |
|
KJ |
Kojak
Harry Potter
(J.K. Rowling) |
|
K9 |
Canine
Fido |
|
K3 |
King Crab or Commander Crab
(a 3 is often called a
"crab") |
|
QJ |
Maverick
(Jacks and Queens from the
"Maverick" theme song) |
|
Q7 |
Computer Hand
(statistically, this is the
average winning hand in hold'em) |
|
J6 |
Railroad Hand
(supposedly, repeating "Jacks
and sixes" sounds like a train on its tracks) |
|
J5 |
Jackson Five
Motown |
|
J4 |
Flat Tire
(what's a jack for?) |
|
10-5 |
Woolworth
(discount store chain) |
|
10-4 |
Broderick Crawford
(his catchphrase in "Highway
Patrol") |
|
10-2 |
Doyle Brunson or Texas Dolly
(he won both his WSOP
Championships with this modest holding) |
|
98 |
Oldsmobile
(the classiest model was the
98) |
|
93 |
Jack Benny
(always claimed to be 39
years old) |
|
76 |
Union Oil
(owns Union 76 gas stations) |
|
75 |
Heinz
(for Heinz' 57 flavor varieties) |
|
72 |
The Hammer |
|
63 |
Blocky
(from Doyle Brunson's Super
System) |
|
54 |
Jesse James
(he was allegedly killed with a
shot from a .45 pistol) |
Other Hands
|
AKQJT |
Broadway |
|
A2345 |
Wheel |
|
KKK |
Three Wise Men |
|
TTT |
Thirty Miles of Bad Road
(Gilroy to San Jose) |
|
QQKK |
Mommas and Poppas |
|
AK47 |
Assault Rifle
(named after the Russian machine
gun) |
|
222 |
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
(three famous "ducks") |
|
Unbeatable
Hand |
Nuts |
|
Four of a
Kind |
Quads |
|
Club Flush |
Golf Bag |
|
3 of a Kind |
Set
(using a pocket pair)
Trips
(using a pair on the board) |
|
Paint |
Any face card |
Back to
Poker Strategy
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