Poker Hand Nicknames

The Game's Coolest and Worst Starting Hand Nicks

From Bullets to Ducks

Enjoy Your Poker Play With Some Slang!

Wanna Talk Poker?

It's no gag! Poker players everywhere, professional and amateur alike, spend way too much time on the felt NOT to at least attempt to have a little fun along the way! To those ends, over the years, the poker playing community has developed a variety of nicknames for every starting hand you can imagine! This compendium is offered for your edification and enjoyment. Try to remember a few to lighten the mood of the table next time you take the felt!

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Two Pips

A pip is a mark indicating the suit or numerical value of a playing card

Alan Alda

An alliteration, Alan Alda was the star of the TV version of M*A*S*H

Banditerna (A♠ A♣)

Swedish for "the Bandits"

Bullets

Looks like bullets, possibly a reference to the Dead Man's Hand, two pair of aces and eights, suggesting that Wild Bill drew a third bullet in the back, which filled his hand in death

Flying Nazis

Probably because an A looks like a plane, and the Nazis had the most successful flying "aces" in their air force

Pocket Rockets

Looks like rockets

Batteries

AA like a AA battery commonly used in portable electronic devices

Snake Eyes

From dice snake eyes is the outcome of rolling the dice in a game of craps and getting only one pip on each die

Admiral Ackbar

Star Wars character and internet meme. Used when player holding the Aces is 'trapping' an opponent.

Squirrel

Sticks

Looks like sticks

Sharp Tops

Sharp on top, see also A4

Eyes

Probably from snake eyes in dice

American Airlines (A♥ A♦)

So called due to the commercial airline's acronym, AA

Eyes of Texas

From the song, probably an elaboration on dice

Needles

Looks like needles

Joe Louis (A♠ A♣)

Two black eyes, what you will get in the ring if you fight Joe Louis

Rocky Mountains

Looks like mountains, from Mat Rampson

Teepees

Looks like teepees

Visine (A♥ A♦)

Two red eyes, it gets the red out

Albert Anastasia

An alliteration, first mob boss killed gangland style in 1957

Big Slick

It is a slippery hand that one can easily lose a fortune over

Korean Airlines

Named after the South Korean Airline

Barry Greenstein(A♦ K♦)

From 5th annual Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica MS, as per Hooter Huon

Big Ugly (offsuit)

Imitating Big Slick, but "Ugly" if offsuit

Mike Haven (A♦ K♦)

Mike played two pre-flops all-in in a row with these cards to win the final table, coming from behind

Salt Lake Pair

No explanation found. The "pair" refers to the cards being well matched, rather than of equal value.

Anna Kournikova

Initials, Also looks good, but never wins.

Exxon Valdez (A♠ K♠)

Since it has a lot of black in it.

Santa Barbara

Due to a big oil spill off Santa Barbara

Kalashnikov

Due to the name of a gun designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, AK-47.

Walking Back to Houston

Gamblers who played this hand too strongly were often left with no getaway money.

King Arthur

Named after the legendary British leader.

Big Slut

Imitating Big Slick (AK). Hands involving Queens are often derogatory, especially if they don't win.

Rocket Queen

A song made popular from Guns N'Roses

Antony & Cleopatra

A for Antony and Cleopatra his queen. Named after the famous lovers and Shakespearian works

Mrs Slick

Imitating Big Slick (AK)

Little Slick

Imitating Big Slick (AK)

Doyle Brunson

In his book, Doyle said he would never play AQ, and busted out of the 2008 WSOP Main Event holding AQ offsuit.

Big Chick

Imitating Big Slick(AK)

Blackjack

Named after the card game in which AJ (Or an Ace with a picture card or 10) is the highest possible hand

Trapasso

Likely to be named after the American Football player A.J.Trapasso

Armani Jeans

AJ is the acronym used by the brand Armani Jeans

Hijack

As in "High-Jack"

Ajax

Named after the foam cleaner due to the phonetic similarity between "Ajax" and "Ace-Jack", or "A-Jacks"

The Unrare

n/a

Jackass

Imitative of "Jack-Ace"

Apple Jacks

Backronym of AJ

Foamy Cleanser

Ajax

Johnny Moss

It's speculated that Johnny Moss is associated with this hand because he began playing poker at the age of 10

Bookends

2 ends of the highest straight

Jesus (Chris Ferguson)

Chris Ferguson beat TJ Cloutier at the final hand of the 2000 WSOP Championship event holding A9 against TJ's AQ

Gimp Hand

Because it's so much weaker than Ace-Ten.

Rounders Hand

From the movie

McDerment (A♣ 9♣)

A corruption of the last name of Mike McDermott, the character played by Matt Damon in the movie Rounders, whose fortune rode heavily on this hand.

Dead Man's Hand

See Dead man's hand

Asterix and Obelix

Inspired by characters from Ren? Goscinny's The Adventures of Asterix. Asterix represents the Ace due to the matching initial with Obelix representing the 8 due to their similar shape.

The Sonnert

Named after poker player Bengt Sonnert for his success with it in the World Series of Poker Europe 2008

Slapshot

Nicknamed Slapshot as a hockey reference as sevens are sometimes called hockey sticks and aces are bullets

Tennessee Ernie Ford

Singer famous for the song Sixteen Tons

Mile High Club

Airplane and sex (Aces are often nicknamed after planes due to their shape, "six" in German is pronounced as sechs similar to "sex")

High Five

An Ace is high, combined with a five gives us a high five

Transvestite

The disappointment inherent in seeing an Ace, then seeing the top half of the four and assuming it is another Ace. The unhappy surprise occurs when the player realizes he does not have two Aces.

Stu Ungar

Ungar won the last of his three World Series of Poker Main Event titles in 1997 with this hand, making a straight.

Plane Crash

Aces are synonymous with flying (E.g. 'Flying Nazis', 'Pocket Rockets' and 'American Airlines') probably due to the shape of the 'A', a '4' is like an 'A', but with a missing 'wing', hence Plane Crash

Ashtray

Imitates Ace-trey

Baskin-Robbins

Nicknamed Baskin-Robbins because of their 31 different flavors of ice cream.

Thrace

A portmanteau of "Three" and "Ace", also named after the historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Thrace

Acey-Deucey

From the game Acey Deucy

Little Slick

Riewoldt

Playing number of St. Kilda Captain, Nick Riewoldt (12)

Hunting Season

Aces are known as bullets and twos are known as ducks, hence hunting season

Ace Magnets

Ace Magnets because the ace is the only card you don't want to see

Brokeback

Named after the film that depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two cowboys (KK also being called "Cowboys")

Elvis Presley

Named after the "King" of Rock and Roll

Gorillas

From King Kong

Butchers of Baghdad

Reference to 2003 invasion of Iraq and the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards

Gorillas in the Mist

From the movie starring Sigourney Weaver,

King Kenny

An alliteration; the nickname of former Liverpool player Kenny Dalglish, who would soon be manager of Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United

Kangaroos

Kangaroos are used on children's alphabet cards to illustrate a K

Kevin Keegan

An alliteration

Cowboys

No explanation found. The nickname is probably given for a number of reasons, including the association between cowboys and playing poker, the similarity between the "K" of "King" and the "C" of "Cowboys" and both characters are male.

Kinkerbells

Courtesy of Vince Van Patten on Celebrity Poker

King Kong

An alliteration

Krispy Kreme

An alliteration

Knights

An association with the feudal king images on the cards

King of Queens

Popular American Sitcom starring Kevin James and Leah Remini.

Lucy and Ricky

The King and Queen of TV

Marriage (suited)

If it wins, comes from the game Pinochle

Ferdinand and Isabella

A Spanish King and Queen

Othello (offsuit)

This is reference to Othello and Desdemona, the fated couple from William Shakespeare's play Othello. Possibly also a reference to 'Mixed Marriage'

Royal Couple

A King and Queen!

Divorce (suited)

If it loses

Valentine's Day (K♥ Q♥)

A matched couple, both showing their hearts

Mixed Marriage (offsuit)

Comes from the game Pinochle

Starsky and Hutch

Kojak

Mimics KJack,

Joking

'Jo' referring to the Jack

Bachelor's Hand (offsuit)

"Jack-King-Off"

Jackie Kennedy

Wife of JFK

Ralph Perry

2002 WSOP Main Event finalist berated by Antanas Guoga for overplaying the hand

Tucson Monster

No explanation found

Just Kidding

Backronym of JK

King John

JK

Harry Potter

Written by J.K. Rowling

Jordy Kooistra

Initials of Dutch poker player

The Rookie

As said by Daniel Negreanu

Bill Fillmaff (offsuit)

The "signature hand" of "Bill Fillmaff", a character parodying poker professionals in general and Phil Hellmuth in particular, portrayed by Internet personality Kevin Bowen

Ken

A portmanteau of "King" and "Ten"

Ike Turner

Beats QT (Tina Turner - see below)

Woodcutter (offsuit)

Possibly from the Legend of King Edward and the Woodcutter

Katie

Imitation of K-T

Big Al

A reference to a Wisconsin poker player named "Big Al" Emerson

The Doctor Who

K-9, the Robotic Dog from the British Television Series Doctor Who

Canine

"K"-nine

Bow-wow

From canine

Rin Tin Tin

From Rin Tin Tin K9 cop

Fido

A derivative of canine

Mutt (offsuit)

From canine

Dogs

From canine

Pedigree (suited)

From canine

Sawmill

Byron 'Cowboy' Wolford says:Milton Butts and I were playing poker in Bryan, Texas, where they had a good game going on the weekends. We'd been playing for a couple of days when a hand came up in which I had a K-9. I made a pretty good hand with it, but lost the pot and went broke. As I was driving back home to Houston with Milton, feeling kind of disgusted about going broke with that K-9, we passed by a sawmill where a man was sawing logs in the lumberyard. "As hard as that guy works for his money, I'll bet he would never go broke with a K-9", I told Milton. And that's how K-9 got named "Sawmill." Some of those names are still going around - Doyle Brunson mentioned the sawmill hand in his book, Super/System

Mongrel (offsuit)

From canine

J-Ball

The term "J-Ball" came about in Austin when a player would self-promote that his favorite hand was K9. He would always be sure to point out to people that K9 would have been the nutz for that flop or when he won with it, he made sure everyone knew. Soon people started calling the hand "J-Ball" after the player because they associated the hand with him

Feast

What the 'King ate'

Kate

A portmanteau of "King" and "Eight"

Kokomo

Imitative

Kevin

Sounds like Kevin

Columbia River

The Columbia River is famous for its salmon runs. "King Seven" sounds like "King Salmon"

Kicks

Nicknamed "Kicks" (if Pig Latin is used) for phonetic reasons

Seattle Special

The nickname refers to Seattle's NBC affiliate, channel 5 with call letters KING Seattle TV channel 5 based in King County, Washington, United States

Knives

A combination of "King" and "Five"

Oppression of the Masses

The answer to the question: "What is a king for?"

Core

A portmanteau of "King" and "Four"

Fork Off (offsuit)

4K sounds like "Fork" plus "Off" for offsuit

Fork

4K sounds like "Fork"

Forking Idiot

From "Fork". Probably a suggestion that you would have to be an idiot to play the hand

Alaska Hand

From Alaskan King Crab

Commander Crab

A derivative of King Crab

Sizzler

The home of all-you-can-eat King Crab

Swedish Meatballs

SWEDES

King Crab

3 looks like a crab

Big Fritz (suited)

An unconfirmed reference to German poker player Andreas Fritz

Hand of the Night

A reference created by Chris Hinst during his weekly poker night. Named because he kept getting this same hand.Queen higher card

The Zepik

An unconfirmed reference to Canadian poker player Kevin Zepik. Named for the resemblance K2 has to the initials "KZ".

Donald

A reference to Donald Duck, the "King" of ducks (since 2s are also known as "ducks")

Jailhouse Rock

Homosexuality in prison

Snowshoes

Probably because they're the shape of a traditional snowshoe

Canadian Rockets

Because Canadians revere the Queen of England

Pocket Tubmans (Q♠ Q♣)

Reference to Harriet Tubman

Four Tits

Vulgar

P-CO

The last two queens of England

Bitches

As obviously named as cowboys.

Canadian Aces

Because Canadians revere the Queen of England

Ladies

Because they're the only female cards. Queens tend to have derogatory names, especially when they lose, so Ladies is more likely to be used when they win.

Siegfried & Roy

Two Queens

Calamity Jane

No explanation found, but the nickname is likely to come from Cowgirls the female equivalent of Cowboys (KK). Calamity Jane was also a friend of Wild Bill Hickok, a gunfighter who died during a poker game.

San Francisco Wedding

A gay reference

Hilton Sisters

Jetset party girls Paris & Nicky Hilton

Pair of Wire Cutters

Dykes

JQuery

JQuery never loses

Hawaii

According to the pros if you don't play QJ for a year you'll save enough money to go there.

Oedipus

an allusion to Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the ancient Greek tragedy in which Oedipus (the "J" in this pairing) unwittingly kills his father and marries his mother, Jocasta (the "Q")

Quack

Combination of Queen and Jack

Pinochle (Q♠ J♦)

The big hand in the game Pinochle

Maverick

From the Maverick TV show theme song, "Livin' on jacks and queens. Maverick is a legend of the west

Goolsby

Named for Everett Goolsby, well known Texas gambler. Crony of Doyle Brunson, Cowboy Wolford and Benny Binion

Quint

Imitative

Cutie

For phonetic reasons

Robert Varkonyi

In the 2002 WSOP, Varkonyi knocked out Phil Hellmuth and eventually won the final event with this hand

Tina Turner

It always gets beat

Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino, a famous movie maker

Q-Tip

A backronym of QT. A Q-tip is a cotton swab.

Quinine

"Queen Nine" sounds like "Quinine", an early anti malarial drug,

Face Sitter

A vulgar reference to analingus, what the 'queen ate'

Snow and a Ho

8 is a snowman, Q is a ho

Kuwait

Nicknamed "Kuwait" for phonetic reasons

Bitch Called Hope

Tempting to try for a straight, but rarely succeeds

Computer Hand (offsuit)

From an apocryphal story that a computer proved that these were the most commonly occurring cards on the Flop.Nickname for the IBM Q7 (AN/FSQ-7) SAGE computer. This type of vacuum tube computer was physically the world's largest computer ever built.

Sad Ole Bess

A play on Queen Elizabeth I's other nickname, "The Virgin Queen," AKA the Cherry Queen

Arnold Palmer's ex-wife

Palmer was nicknamed the King.

Nesquik

No explanation found

Granny Mae

If both spades, an old-time player, Granny=Queen, Mae=5th Month, some say Q5 spades was her favorite

Housework

A joking response to the question, "What's a queen for?"

Prince Maker

A joking response to the question, "What's a queen for?"

Gay Waiter

'Queen' with a 'tray'

Windsor Waiter

'Queen' with a 'tray'

San Francisco Busboy

'Queen' with a 'tray'

Queen Liz

A reference to Queen Elizabeth IIJack higher card

Daisy

A reference to Daisy Duck, the "Queen" of ducks (since 2s are also known as "ducks"). See also "Donald" - K2

John Juanda

An alliteration, John Juanda is an American professional poker player

The Two Jakes

The movie sequel to Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel

Fishhooks

They look like them, and because fish get beat with overpairs

Bowers

Named after the Jacks from the card game Euchre where jacks are wild and called bowers.

Kid Dy-no-mite

Signature expression of the character JJ from the TV show Good Times

Brothers

Two similar looking males, E.g. brothers

Jaybirds

Starts with J

Jonatan Johansson

An alliteration, former Finnish footballer and Charlton Athletic forward, nicknamed 'JJ' by the fans

One Eyed Jacks (J♠ J♥)

Both side views

Rentboys

Two young men, similar to pocket queen's "Prostitutes" nickname

Colostomy Bag

Vulgar, from "Pocket Jacks", 'Jacks' being a UK/Irish slang term for a toilet

T.J. Hooker

After the '80s action drama starring William Shatner

Greek Passport

A Greek immigrant won with this to buy an Australian Residency

John Terry

Named after the England Football Captain.

Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake's initials

T.J. Cloutier (J♣ 9♣)

T.J. flopped three straight flushes with this hand in one year

Braggars

Jacks and nines are wild in the game of braggars

Jeffrey Dahmer

He 'ate Jack', serial killer who ate his victims

Jacket

Sounds like jacket

Jack Daniels

Named after Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee whiskey

Railroad

Say it rhythmically, jacks and sixes, jacks and sixes

Jackson Five

Michael Jackson's childhood group

Motown

Record label for Jackson Five

The New Motown

Motown was named for the Jackson Five, but now there's only four

Kid Grenade

After a poker dealer who when he played was "liable to go off at any moment"

Austin Squatty

Named after John "Austin Squatty" Jenkins due to his penchant for raising and reraising with this hand

Flat tire

What's a 'jack for'?

Minus Michael and Jermaine

Jackson 5 without two members, preferably clubs to resemble afros.

J Lo

As in "J-lo", "lo" meaning "low card" or perhaps the resemblance the 3 has to a derri?re

Lumberjack

A Tree and a Jack

Heckle and Jeckle

Nicknamed Heckle and Jeckle after twin cartoon jaybirds (2 Jays) that first appeared on television in 1946

The Prince and the Pauper (suited)

After the novel set in 1547, which tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. They end up changing places.

Jack Shit

Popular English phrase referring to "nothing", in this context referring to the fact there is a Jack with the worst possible kicker and also something widely regarded among poker players "nothing" hand.Ten higher card

Dynamite

Comes from T and T sounding like the explosive TNT

Tension

Imitative

Binary

In Binary, 1010 equal 10 (in decimal notation)

Dimes

A dime is a coin worth ten cents or one tenth of a United States dollar

TNT

Comes from T and T sounding like the explosive TNT

McDonald's

Named after the ten piece McNugget

Audi

Named after the famous Audi TT car

Bo Derek

Actress from movie 10

Countdown

Countdowns usually start at ten, nine...

Mobile Hand

Named after the "Text on 9 Keys" mode on mobile phones

Tetris

Imitative

Daniel Negreanu (suited)

His favorite hand

Split

A bowling reference, a seven-ten split

Bowling Hand

The difficult Seven-ten split

Sweet Sixteen

Six and Ten. Should be mumbled with sarcasm as you fold it

Woolworths

The Five and Dime store chain

Dime Store

From 5 & dime

Merfs

A draw poker game where tens and fives are wild

Five and Dime

From nickname "Dimes" as a dime is a United States coin worth 10 cents. A Five and Dime is a type of variety store.

Homosexual

A gay reference, as you cannot make a straight with a ten and a five in your hand.

Ex-Girlfriend

Named after a Las Vegas local's highschool girlfriend, because it sounds like the last name "fortin"

Over and Out

Two-way radio language for end of conversation, ten-four is radio language for OK

Broderick Crawford

From 50s "Highway Patrol", who said "10-4" into radio

Truckers' Hand

Following the CB radio craze of the '70s, for the same reasons as "Broderick Crawford"

CB Hand

Ten-four is CB radio language for OK

Convoy

From the old trucker song, ten-four good buddy

The Trucker

Good Buddy

Old trucker radio language, ten-four is CB language for OK

Roger That

Two-way radio language for OK, ten-four is also radio language for OK

Fast Connection

Refers to the T3 telecommunications connection

Kitchies

The T3 must be offsuit; refer to Dipthrong's kitchen for origin

Hot Waitress

Ten with a tray (trey)

Whirlygig

Contemporary

Doyle Brunson (aka Texas Dolly)

Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson twice won the WSOP in 1976 and 1977 turning these hole cards into full

Terminator 2

T2 is abbreviation for Terminator II

Wayne Gretzky

Hockey player's uniform number

Pothooks

The 9 looks like a traditional pothook

German Virgin

What a German Virgin would say. Nein, nein!

Popeyes

Look like Popeye's arm muscles

Barbara Feldon

Played Agent 99 on Get Smart

Phil Hellmuth (9♣ 9♠)

He won the 1989 WSOP with this hand

Red Balloons (9♦ 9♥)

From the 80s song 99 Red Balloons by Nena

Hitlers

Nein, nein!

Oldsmobile

The Olds 98 car

Persian Carpet Ride

A term Antonio Esfandiari coined for his favorite hand, making joking reference to his Persian heritage. He used the term on Poker After Dark, apparently after his friends teased him about the hand, no further explanation given. However, Esfandiari also used the term on the commentary track of the World Poker Tour Season 2 DVD set, so the term dates back to at least 2004.

Big Love

69, sexual reference

Jaka Subic

Famous Slovenian improv comedian and poker player.

The Dirty

69, sexual reference

Mighty Meal

69, sexual reference, 96 suited, stronger than a Happy Meal (see above)

Good Lover

69, sexual reference

Joe Bernstein

A gambler from the 30s, a sharp road gambler. Joe was known as a dapper dresser at the poker table

Breakfast of Champions

69, sexual reference

Happy Meal

69, sexual reference

Prom Night (suited)

If suited because they wear a tux on prom night, 69 sexual reference

Big Lick

69, sexual reference to Big Slick

Dinner For Two

69, sexual reference

Percy (offsuit)

69, sexual reference

Betty Hutton

From a version of stud with nines & fives wild

Dolly Parton

From the movie 9 to 5

Hard Working Man

Works 9 to 5

San Francisco

49 refers to San Francisco's Football team, the 49ers, which in turn refers to men of the 1849 gold rush in the Sierra Nevada mountains east of San Francisco

Lost World Series

Refers to the lost baseball World Series of 1994. Could also refer to the fate of a player who plays these cards incorrectly.

Joe Montana

49ers quarterback, borrowed from 92 Montana Banana, when he was benched the joke was 49 unsuited

The Sandy

Sandy Dunlop became 2013 champion of the Black Cat Poker tournament with these hole cards

Jack Benny

For years Jack Benny claimed to be 39 years old

Montana Banana

It is a widely asserted myth that this nickname originates from the legalization of poker in Montana by Proposition 92. However, poker was legalized in Montana by the Card Games Act, 23-5-311.

Twiggy

From the 70's model's top measurement of 29

Dale Jr

Number 88 Car

Lindros

Eric Lindros wore Jersey #88

Dawg Balls/Doggie Balls

Looks like them

Ovechkin

A reference to the hockey player, #8 Alexander Ovechkin.

Lacey

Looks like shoe laces

Piano Keys

There are 88 keys on a piano

Pretzels

Looks like two pretzels

Wurlitzer

The number of keys on the Wurlitzer electric piano

Snowmen

Looks like two snowmen

Infinity on the side

Looks like two infinity symbols on their side

Rocket 88

Big was Olds 98, smaller car called Olds 88

Racetracks

Goes round and round like a race track

Time Travel

The time travel speed (88 mph) used in the Back to the Future trilogy

Two Fat Ladies

Tahoe

From the seven/8 variation of holdem

RPM

The very first record format was a 10 inch disc that spun 78 revolutions per minute

Crosby

A reference to the hockey player, #87 Sidney Crosby.

Maxwell Smart

From TV show Get Smart, Agent 86, see also 99

Eubie

If you play these, you be broke

Henry Bowen

A Texas gambler

Rick James

Named after Singer/Celeb Rick James, who died on 8/6.

Jagr

Named after hockey player Jaromir Jagr, who wore number 68 his entire career.

Pacheco Nuts (offsuit)

The California Grand, in Pacheco is right alongside Highway 680.

Pooch

Bill Puccio swears these cards win every time

The Hamilton

This hand is so named after a well known Scottish player. It is of course not a powerful hand but can on occasion make a well disguised straight. Its main function, though, is to tilt other players.

Chad

Football player Chad Ochocinco wears uniform number 85. Ochocinco, translated literally from Spanish, means "Eight Five."

Big Brother

From George Orwell's book titled 1984

Orwell

Author of the book titled 1984

Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch still claims to be 38

Most Feared Hand in Hold'em

A tongue in cheek reference to it being the third worst hand in poker

Tadpole

An answer to the statement, "What the duck ate."Seven higher card

Walking Sticks

Looks like them

Hockey Sticks

Looks like them

Sunset Strip

From 77 Sunset Strip a TV series that aired from '58-'64 starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr

Mullets

Because of the hair style, flat in front, long in back

Candy Canes

Looks like them

Len Goodman

Renowned judge from Strictly Come Dancing, known for his famous catchphrase, "Seven!"

Axes

Looks like them

Saturn

Saturn VII Rocket

Scythes

Seven look like a Scythe

Union Oil

Union 76 gas stations

Trombones

From the song 76 Trombones, from the musical The Music Man and its film adaptation

007 (7♠ 5♠)

Reference to James Bond's winning hand in the 2006 movie Casino Royale

Pickle Man

A reference to Heinz of 57 sauces fame

Heinz

The H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has 57 varieties of condiments, the most famous being ketchup

Assault Rifle

A reference to the famous assault rifle made by Fabrique Nationale the FN Five-seven

Vietnamese Slick

Year the Vietnam War ended

Double Down

Since there are more 10 point cards than any other, doubling down is most worthwhile on an 11-point hand, 7-4 being worth 11 points.

Kalashnikov

Most likely refers to the famous AK-47 and AK-74 assault rifles designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov

Cambodia Slick (offsuit)

Diamond Club, NYC. Some players are going 36 hours+. Players are a little delirious and talking crap. On the river, Heads up, Craig B. Swears to God "I have Big Slick"

Ghost Dog

Almost undoubtedley from the film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai starring Forest Whitaker, but no explanation found

Dutch Waiter

Sven with a Tray

Swedish Busboy

Sven with a Tray, see also San Francisco Busboy and Dutch Waiter

Joe Hachem

Joseph Hachem won the 2005 World Series main event holding 7♣ 3♠ when the flop came 4♦ 5♦ 6♥

Hammer (offsuit)

W.H.I.P. (offsuit)

Worst Hand In Poker

Beer Hand (offsuit)

It's called the Beer Hand because it's either time for a beer; or if you win with this you need to get other players a beer; or only a person full of beers would play this hand.

Jeremy Beadle

Bad Hand

Boots

Looks like boots

Kicks

Get your kicks on route 66

Route 66

The road from Chicago to LA

Cherries

Nicknamed because of similarity to the shape of the number 6

Bus Pass

Ken Warren

Won with this hand at World Series of Poker

Gilchrist

Named after the Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist for his ability to always hit 6's and 4's

Arlo

Royal Arlo if suited, named after Arlo Payne, a long time regular poster to the usenet newsgroup rec.gambling.poker

Billion Dollar Hand

In reference to The $64,000 Question

Blocky

Another nickname of Broomcorn from the story in Doyle Brunson's Super/System. He used to play 63 as an ambush hand

Spanish Inquisition

Nickname given to this starting hand by Iron Men of Poker. Refers to the fact that "Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition", a reference to the classic Monty Python quote.

Jimmy Summerfield (offsuit)

Kevin Larsen says:One time while playing with Jimmy, she

Aimsworth

Byron 'Cowboy' Wolford says:I was in San Antone playing a big no-limit game with Jack Straus, Sen. Red Berry, and a bunch of the old-time players. Jack was on top of you all the time, but in full ring games, he wasn't as tough as he was shorthanded or heads up. He had two aces and I took the flop with a 6-2. A deuce came on the flop, he made a bet, and I called him. Off came another deuce on the turn, he bet, and I called him. A third deuce came on the river and we got all in. When I showed him that 6-2, he said, "What the hell were you drawing at there, Cowboy?""Oh, I wasn't drawing at nothing", I answered. "Just aiming at another deuce. I guess I'm Aimsworth."

Speed Limit

55 MPH, the maximum speed limit in the US in the National Maximum Speed Law era

Nickels

Five cents per nickel

Presto

There is debate as to where this term originated. The most commonly accepted source of the nickname is that many years ago, before Rec.gambling

Snakes

Looks like two snakes

Sammy Hagar

After Hagar's song, "I Can't Drive 55"

Jesse James

Because the outlaw was rumored to have been shot by a .45

Colt 45

The gun, and the beer

Moneymaker

Winning hand of Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion

Bully Johnson

A poker player that Doyle Brunson described as being "laid back and quiet". He played this hand after being raised preflop and caught a straight on the flop to beat another guy's trip aces

Juggernaut

Well-known Magic: The Gathering artifact card with power of five and toughness of three.

Bomber

B-52 bomber

Safai

Named for a notorious (and costly) on-tilt play by amateur poker player Bob Safai. In fact there are two versions of the Safai: the "half Safai", where a player proceeds to fold his hole cards; and the "full Safai", where a player decides to play the hand (and loses).

Two Bits

25 cents

Ivey

Named for one of the greatest bluffs in the big game, when Phil Ivey raised pre-flop with a five-deuce offsuit, was re-raised by Lex Veldhuis with KJ suited, and then went all in causing Lex to fold his hand.Four higher card

Pick-up

As in 52 card pick up

Quarter

25 cents

Magnum

The .44 cal gun

Fourtale

n/a

The Harley (4♠ 4♣)

Favorite hand of BCP pro Harley Quin after flopping quads with these hole cards: "The Fours are strong with this one..."

Dark Force (4♠ 4♣)

Dark Side Of The Fours

Darth Vader (4♠ 4♣)

The two black fours are the "Dark Side of the Fours"

Midlife Crisis

Luke Skywalker

"May the Fours be with you." Usually referenced with one black four, and one red four.

Diana Dors

Her top measurement

Princess Leia (4♥ 4♦)

An extension of the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader reference

Sailboats

4's look like sails on a boat.

Waltz

In music, waltzes are always in 3/4 meter

Books

"What's a tree for ?"

Lumberman's Hand

A common piece of lumber is a two by four

The Principle

Canadian Politician, Steven Hicks Favorite hand. He always said he played it On Principle

Jack Bauer

The main character in 24

The Answer

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the computer decided that the answer to everything in the universe was 42

Crabs

Because a 3 looks like it has pincers

Treys

"Trey" dates back to the 14th century, and is a name for a card or a die showing three points; originally from Old French treis.

Pere Ghaf

Named after Mahdi Ghafghazi who called his rest with pocket 3 in hand while ace, King and queen and no three were on the table and lost it all in Mafi Tournament, He interestingly claimed that he has played very well

The Nut Low

In this instance 'nut' meaning 'most' rather than 'best', low hand (i.e. the lowest hand)

Michael Jordan

From his jersey number (23)

Crubs (if clubs)

From the card game Hearts

Polish Big Slick

A bad Polish joke mimicking AK Big Slick

Little Pete

No explanation found

Hooter Hand (suited)

Named after famous poker dealer Houth "Hooter" Houn who played this hand as aggressively as AK.

Can of Corn

Likely to be analogized due to the ease in which 32 is caught since it is the lowest possible non-hand (22 being a pair).

Quack Quack

Ducks

Richard Nixon

From the famous photo of Nixon getting on a helicopter giving two victory signs

Desmond

Named after Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Swans/Swarovskis

Looks like Swarovski Crystal swans
Poker Quotes!

Quack Quack

Ducks

Richard Nixon

From the famous photo of Nixon getting on a helicopter giving two victory signs

Desmond

Named after Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Swans/Swarovskis

Looks like Swarovski Crystal swans Join for Free! Click Here! This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of Playing Card Nicknames", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.