Poker is undoubtedly the most popular card game in the world. It incorporates memory, strategy, and attentiveness. It develops your logical thinking and teaches you to switch off emotions and engage consciousness and alertness.
Moreover, poker is a highly unpredictable game. You never know what poker hand you are up to this day or another. That’s why it makes your organism release tons of adrenaline while playing. By the way, have you heard that, according to some studies, playing poker might reduce your chances of developing brain-related diseases like Alzheimer’s by over 50%? All those games of Texas Hold'em you’ve been playing might be more beneficial than you think!
Whether you are a poker legend or a novice, you may not be familiar with some famous poker hand names. Before talking about the most recognisable poker hand nicknames, most of which refer to the starting hands from Texas Hold 'em, we would like to begin with the most popular, highest-ranking, and rarest poker hand.
Royal Flush
Yes, you are right. This is a Royal Flush. It's a magical appearance of an Ace, a King, a Queen, a Jack, and a Ten from the same suit in your hands. Holding this combination means that nobody can beat you. Every poker player dreams of having this fortune in his or her hands. Can you imagine this feeling? Lucky strike!
Pocket Aces
In such games as Texas Hold 'em, pocket aces are the most fortunate hand you may get at the starting point. Be 80% sure that no hand could beat you before the flop!
What do you call two aces?
American Airlines. Yes, the acronym is definitely a match here! In addition, check out the logo of American Airlines and find some similarities with the poker hand.
Pocket Rockets. Someone's imagination works pretty well. So, aces really resemble rockets, and they are in your pocket. That's why this hand is called the pocket rockets in poker.
Bullets. The same story as with the rockets. Aces also resemble bullets. Having bullets in your hands makes you a ruthless killer.
Apollo 11 and Batteries are two more recognisable poker hand nicknames for a pair of aces.
Pocket Kings
In the poker pairs' top pockets, kings are in the second place of honour. Let's have a look at the popular poker hand nicknames for this pair.
Ace Magnets. What an irony. Having this pair in your hand, you automatically become a magnet for flipping aces, as this is the only pair that can beat you. Are you sure you are ready for such an encounter?
Elvis Presley. What comes to your mind first when you hear Elvis Presley's name? Of course, this is the fact that he is the king of Rock and Roll! Be proud to have Elvis Presley in your pocket.
There are some more popular nicknames for pocket kings, such as King Kong (or Gorillas) and Cowboys.
Pocket Queens
Ladies. These are the only female cards in the deck, so we won't go into the nitty-gritty details here. Two ladies in the pocket may eventually bring you much luck.
Calamity Jane. This name belongs to the American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and raconteur, who is also known for her friendship with a prominent poker player Bill Hickok.
Pocket Jacks
Brothers. This name is pretty easy to remember. Two male cards that stand together like brothers.
Hooks. The letter "J" actually resembles a fishhook. Use this hook to catch the best poker chips in the lake.
Pocket Tens
Dimes. In the United States, the value of a dime is 10 cents. Play the hand properly to earn a few dimes at the poker table.
Dynamite. Everything is easy. This slang refers to the pronunciation of Ten-Ten, which sounds like TNT.
Binary. This funny poker hand nickname comes from math calculations. 1010 in the binary system looks like two tens.
Pocket Eights
Snowmen: The poker hand nickname that's given to a pocket pair of eights due to their shape resembling snowmen.
Pocket Sevens
Hockey Sticks. A pair of 7s is called hockey sticks because 7 looks like a stick used to play hockey.
Walking Sticks. 7s are also commonly referred to as walking sticks because they look like the kind of stick used by your grandpa for walking.
Candy Canes. You probably get the idea here with the shape again.
More Poker Hand Nicknames
Do you know that there are 169 different starting hands, and when you take suits into account, you get 1326 possible combinations. With so many poker hands, it's practically impossible to cover them all in one article.
You have already learned some of the most popular pocket pairs nicknames, but it's impossible to be that lucky and pick such combinations every time you play poker. Let's go on with some more intriguing and unusual nicknames when you get a hand with other card combinations.
Ace-King
Kalashnikov. This combination comes from the Russian inventor of the AK-47 weapon Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Walking back to Houston. Old but gold! One of the most notable poker hand nicknames comes after an expression that T.J. Cloutier once used to describe the Ace-King combination. This tricky hand leaves so many players in Las Vegas with nothing that they end up so broke and just go back to Houston.
Big Slick. One more extremely popular slang name refers to the Ace-King combination. The Big Slick poker hand will lead you to whether a big win or complete loss.
Anna Kournikova. This is another nickname for an Ace-King combination, AK being the initials of Anna Kournikova the famous Russian tennis player.
Ace-Queen
Doyle Brunson. Doyle Brunson is a professional poker player known as the "Godfather of Poker." In his book, he said that never in his life will he play the Ace-Queen combination again. (He lost the 2008 WSOP Main Event holding A-Q off-suit).
Anthony and Cleopatra. If Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was a poker play, then Ace would play Anthony, and Queen would be Juliet. Great reference!
Rocket Queen. "Here I am, and you're a Rocket Queen!" Have you heard a good old song by Guns N' Roses?
Ace-Jack
Armani Jeans. These are the initials of the jeans brand by fashion house Giorgio Armani.
Blackjack. This poker hand name refers to the most widely played casino banking game in the world.
Ace-Nine
Jesus. A famous poker superstar Chris “Jesus” Ferguson won the 2000 WSOP Main Event off this winning hand here. Isn’t it fair to name this combination after him?
Two more well-known poker hand nicknames for this combination are Gimp and Rounders Hand.
Ace-Eight
Eights Dead Man’s Hand. This is the only name for the playing card combination that got its notoriety when Old West folk hero, lawman, and gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back of his head while holding this hand in a poker game.
King-Queen
Marriage/Divorce. This is the best name for this funny combination. As you have probably guessed, you may end up on cloud nine with your fortune or split your poker chips up.
Throne. This is obviously a proper name for the place where both the Queen and the King are sitting.
Valentine's Day. When your Queen and King are of hearts, you can easily use this poker hand name for such a combination.
King-Jack
Jackie Kennedy. As you see, many poker hand nicknames refer to celebrities' names. Jackie Kennedy is not an exception. This is a reference to the wife of John F. Kennedy, whose initials come out to JK.
Just Kidding. The nickname is a backronym of the combination.
Two more poker nicknames for this hand are Harry Potter and Kojak.
Queen-Ten
Quentin Tarantino. A legendary director and a very clear acronym.
Cutie. Doesn't this hand look pretty good when it's suited preflop?
Four-of-a-Kind Kings
Four Horsemen. This is a pretty fitting nickname, as it refers to four biblical riders of the apocalypse. Be sure that four-of-a-kind kings may put an end to your opponent's stack.
Ace-to-Five Straight
The Wheel. When you get a five-card straight that contains A, two, three, four, and five, you get the wheel. When you play ace-to-five lowball, this final hand is the best possible low-hand combination.
Three-of-a-kind Sevens.
Jackpot. This hand name comes from Las Vegas-style casino games. When you see three sevens lined up on a slot machine, it means you have just won a top prize or all the coins available for paying out.
Nine-Pair
German Virgin. As un-politically correct as it is, the German virgin gets its name from the German phrase 'nein-nein,' which is the same pronunciation as 'nine-nine.' We're guessing the sort of thing a shy German girl or guy might say when asked to go out on a date (to be polite!).
Phil Hellmuth. Funnily enough, this hand is nicknamed as so as it originates from Phil Hellmuth's favourite hand, with which he has won many big pots with it.
Wayne Gretzky. The legendary hockey player who wore the number 99 on his jersey. This nickname is a straightforward reference to his iconic number.
Nine-Five
Dolly Parton. This is not an official term, but more like a playful name used by players. The connection is mainly based on the numbers and Dolly Parton's famous song "9 to 5".
Seven-Two
Beer Hand. This one gets its name after something nearly everyone enjoys - beer! As you can imagine, this isn't the best starting hand that players are dealt preflop and should usually be folded. However, if there hasn't been much action at the table or the blinds are low enough, some players may choose to stay in and see what happens post-flop with this hand and then celebrate or, more likely, commiserate over a beer after the session.
Five-Four
Jesse James. Legend has it that the legendary outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back with a colt.45, an unlucky number for him but maybe a lucky one for you.
Chris Moneymaker. This is the very same hand that catapulted Chris Moneymaker to worldwide fame as he won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event, sparking a wave of poker popularity.
Luke Skywalker. A less common nickname, used mainly by players who enjoy pop culture references. In some circles, 4-4 is nicknamed the Luke Skywalker instead.
Ace-Two
Hunting Season. This is a clever one; if we take the nickname for pocket two's (Ducks) and couple it with the nickname for pocket Ace's (Bullets), put them together, and what do you have? Hunting Season!
Conclusion
All poker players must know the highest poker hand. The top ten are royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, pair, and high card. But what about other nicknames?
Whether you play poker at the real poker table or enjoy online poker more, this article will definitely enrich your game vocabulary. Try using these popular hand nicknames like 'big slick' and 'pocket jacks' the next time you’re playing.
And there's always room to get creative with your own nicknames; you might find your own hand nicknames making an impression at the poker tournaments.
[Last updated on 12th November 2024]
