dead man's hand
Aces and eights
Dead man's hand is a poker hand of two pairs—aces and eights—supposedly held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot dead in 1876.
The phrase now evokes bad luck or impending doom: He was dealt the dead man's hand and knew his luck had run out.
The fifth card in the original hand is disputed.
- DeadwoodOld mining boomtown
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- gunfightArmed combat with firearms
- shootoutArmed confrontation or tiebreaker
Old West · outlaw · gambler · assassination · tale · lore · American folklore · myth
Mounted cattle herder
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- outlawFugitive from justice
- gunfightArmed combat with firearms
- Wild WestAmerica's lawless frontier era
sheriff · frontier · desperado · bandit · gold rush · stagecoach · pioneer · prospector
Prophetic indicator
- curseInvoked harm through words
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- bad luckUnfavorable chance events
- portentSign of future calamity
ill-fated · jinx · harbinger · premonition · warning · unlucky · doomed · fateful
Wild Bill Hickok
- DeadwoodOld mining boomtown
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- gunfightArmed combat with firearms
shootout · Old West · outlaw · gambler · assassination · tale · lore · American folklore · myth · historical
cowboy
Mounted cattle herder
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
- outlawFugitive from justice
- gunfightArmed combat with firearms
Wild West · sheriff · frontier · desperado · bandit · gold rush · stagecoach · pioneer · prospector · cattle drive
omen
Prophetic indicator
- curseInvoked harm through words
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- bad luckUnfavorable chance events
portent · ill-fated · jinx · harbinger · premonition · warning · unlucky · doomed · fateful · sinister
Wild Bill Hickok
- hole cardsPlayer's concealed dealt cards
- showdownDecisive final confrontation
- bluffCalculated false front
all-in · fold · raise · call · pot · flop · river · turn · full house · hold'em
- card termsace, pair, flush, king of hearts, straight
dead man's handroyal flush
Top-ranking poker hand
straight flush · winning hand · four of a kind · full house · nuts
dead man's handlucky charm
Object thought to bring fortune
good omen · four-leaf clover · rabbit's foot · lucky streak · blessing
dead, hand, death, deadly, deaden, deadened, deadening, deathly, undead