List of playing-card nicknames

This list of playing card nicknames has the common nicknames for the playing cards in a 52-card deck, as used in some common card games, such as poker.

Single cards

The following is a list of nicknames used for playing cards used in most card games which use the standard 52-card pack. Such games usually require the revealing or announcement of held cards, at which point the nicknames may be used.

Card Name	Initial	Alternative Names	Collective Names
King	K	Cowboy,[1] K-Boy, Knight, Monarch,[2] Sergeant, Alexander (K♣),[3] Charlemagne (K♥),[3] Charles (K♥),[4] David (K♠),[3] Julius Caesar (K♦),[3] One-Eyed King (K♦),[5] the Man with the Ax (K♦),[6] Suicide King (K♥),[7] The Butcher of Baghdad (K♦)[8]	Coat Card,[9] Court Card,[10] Face Card, Figure, Liner, Paint,[11] Paintskin, Picture, Picture Card,[12] Redskin, Rembrandt,[13] Royal Cards, Picasso, Monkey			Broadway Cards,[14] Honor Card
Queen	Q	Cowgirl, Dame, Lady,[15] Girl, Hen, Joy Girl, Painted Lady, mop-squeezer, Bedpost Queen (Q♠), Argine (Q♣),[3] Black Maria (Q♠),[2] Calamity Jane (Q♠),[2] Helen of Troy (Q♥),[3] Judith (Q♥),[3] Molly Hogan (Q♠), Dirty Gertie (Q♠), Pallas Athena (Q♠),[3]Fanny Kaplan (Q♠),[3] Stenographer[2]
Jack	J	Boy,[2] Bower,[16] Fishhook,[17] Hook,[18] J-Bird, J-Boy, Jackal, Jackson,[2] Jacksonville, Jake,[2] John, Johnny,[2] Johnson, Knave, Valet,[2] Fish Hook, Eunuch (J♠), Hector (J♦),[3] Laughing Boy (J♦), Ogier (J♠),[3] La Hire (J♥),[3] Lancelot (J♣),[3] Pam (J♣), Roland (J♦)
10	T	Big Cassino (10♦),[2] Dime, Sawbuck, Bo Derek	Spotter	Whiteskin	N/A
9	9	Neener, Nina Ross, Niner, Curse of Scotland (9♦), Pothook,[2] Scourge of Scotland (9♦)				Pusher,[2] Spot[2]
8	8	Fat Lady, Ocho, Snowman, 8 Land, Race track, Time travel, Hog Nads
7	7	Beer Card (7♦),[19] Candy Cane, Hockey Stick, Mullet, Salmon,[20] Walking Stick
6	6	A Boot, Grace's Card (6♥), Loyalty at the Risk of Death (6♥), Sax, Sex				N/A
5	5	Five Spot, Nickel, Pedro, Fever			Wheelcard[21]
4	4	Boat, Four Spot, One Legged Ace, Broken Ace, Sailboat, Sharp Top, The Devil's Bedpost (4♣)[20]
3	3	Crab,[22] Butts, Trey[23]	No-Spotter
2	2	Deuce,[24] Dewey, Duck,[25] Little Cassino (2♠),[20] Swan, The Curse of Mexico (2♠)[20]
Ace	A	Alas, As-Nas, Clover (A♣) Blackberry (A♣),The Crispin(A♥), Bull,[2] Bullet,[26] Death Card (A♠),[27] Eyes, MasterCard, One Spot,[2] Pig's Eye (A♦),[20] Puppy Foot (A♣),[2] Rocket, Seed,[2] Sharp Top,[2] Spadille (A♠),[28] Spike, Spot, Tax Card (A♠)[2]				Broadway Cards,[14] Honor Card
Joker	★	Wildcard, Pagliacci, Old Maid, Trump Card, Imperial Bower, The Fool, The Fly, The Bird

One-eyed royals

The phrase one-eyed royals is jargon referring to the three face cards showing only one eye: the Jack of Spades (J♠), Jack of Hearts (J♥) and King of Diamonds (K♦). The terminology results from the depiction of the face on the card as being shown in profile, so only one eye is visible (all other face cards show two eyes). The jacks are also referred to, separately, as one-eyed jacks: Jack of Spades (J♠), Jack of Hearts (J♥).

They are frequently used in home games of draw poker as wildcards. Because the King of Diamonds is the only king card bearing an axe (the others show swords), a common phrase for the one-eyed royals is "One-eyed Jacks, the Man with the Axe". Another common phrase is "One-eyed Jacks and Suicide King" denoting the King of Hearts (K♥) bearing a sword through his head. These four cards are the only cards of differing rank and suit in a common deck that share an identifying trait.

Texas hold 'em pocket card nicknames

The following is a list of nicknames for pairs of two playing cards, usually hole cards, used in poker derivatives such as Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em poker. These nicknames are usually used by the player when announcing their hand or by spectators or commentators who are watching the game.

Ace higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
AA
	Alan Alda	An alliteration, Alan Alda was the star of the TV version of M*A*S*H[29]
	Albert Anastasia	An alliteration, first mob boss killed gangland style in 1957[30]
	American Airlines (A♥ A♦)	So called due to the commercial airline's acronym, AA[31]
	Banditerna (A♠ A♣)	Swedish for "the Bandits"[29]
	Batteries	AA like a AA battery commonly used in portable electronic devices
	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[29]
	Eyes	Probably from snake eyes in dice[29]
	Eyes of Texas	From the song, probably an elaboration on dice[29]
	Flying Nazis[32]	Probably because an A looks like a plane, and the Nazis had the most successful flying "aces" in their air force
	Joe Louis (A♠ A♣)	Two black eyes, what you will get in the ring if you fight Joe Louis[33]
	Pocket Rockets	Looks like rockets[29]
	Needles	Looks like needles[29]
	Rocky Mountains	Looks like mountains, from Mat Rampson[29]
	Sharp Tops	Sharp on top, see also A4[29]
	Snake Eyes	From dice[29] snake eyes is the outcome of rolling the dice in a game of craps and getting only one pip on each die
	Squirrel[34]	Probably named because the hand is "the nuts". Possibly also a reference to the phrase "Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while"[35]
	Sticks	Looks like sticks[29]
	Teepees	Looks like teepees[29]
	Two Pips[36]	A pip is a mark indicating the suit or numerical value of a playing card
	Visine (A♥ A♦)	Two red eyes, it gets the red out[37]
AK	Anna Kournikova	Initials; also looks good, but never wins.[38]
	Barry Greenstein(A♦ K♦)	From 5th annual Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica MS, as per Hooter Huon[29]
	Big Slick	It is a slippery hand that one can easily lose a fortune over[38]
	Kalashnikov	Due to the name of a gun designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, AK-47.
	Big Ugly (offsuit)[38]	Imitating Big Slick, but "Ugly" if offsuit
	Exxon Valdez (A♠ K♠)	Since it has a lot of black in it.[39]
	King Arthur[40]	Named after the legendary British leader.
	Korean Airlines[40]	Named after the South Korean Airline
	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[29]
	Salt Lake Pair[38]	No explanation found. The "pair" refers to the cards being well matched, rather than of equal value.
	Santa Barbara	Due to a big oil spill off Santa Barbara[29]
	Walking Back to Houston	Gamblers who played this hand too strongly were often left with no getaway money.[29] Although other sources state its name was derived because the old time poker players would play this hand so well that they'd leave their opponents walking back to Houston[38]
AQ	Antony & Cleopatra[29]	A for Antony and Cleopatra his queen. Named after the famous lovers and Shakespearian works
	Big Chick	Imitating Big Slick[29](AK)
	Big Slut[41]	Imitating Big Slick (AK). Hands involving Queens are often derogatory, especially if they don't win.
	Doyle Brunson	In his book, Doyle said he would never play AQ, and busted out of the 2008 WSOP Main Event holding AQ offsuit.
	Little Slick[41]	Imitating Big Slick (AK)
	Mrs Slick[42]	Imitating Big Slick (AK)
	Rocket Queen	A song made popular from Guns N'Roses
AJ	Armani Jeans	AJ is the acronym used by the brand Armani Jeans
	The Unrare	n/a
	Apple Jacks[32]	Backronym of AJ
	Ajax[36]	Named after the foam cleaner due to the phonetic similarity between "Ajax" and "Ace-Jack", or "A-Jacks"
	Blackjack[43]	Named after the card game in which AJ (Or an Ace with a picture card or 10) is the highest possible hand
	Foamy Cleanser	Ajax[29]
	Hijack[44]	As in "High-Jack"
	Jackass[45]	Imitative of "Jack-Ace"
	Trapasso[46]	Likely to be named after the American Football player A.J.Trapasso
AT	Bookends	2 ends of the highest straight[47]
	Johnny Moss	It's speculated that Johnny Moss is associated with this hand because he began playing poker at the age of 10[48]
A9	Rounders Hand	From the movie[29]
	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.[29]
	Jesus (Chris Ferguson)	Chris Ferguson beat TJ Cloutier at the final hand of the 2000 WSOP Championship event holding A9 against TJ's AQ[48]
	Gimp Hand	Because it's so much weaker than Ace-Ten.
A8	Dead Man's Hand	See Dead man's hand
	Asterix and Obelix[49]	Inspired by characters from René 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.
A7
	Slapshot	Nicknamed Slapshot as a hockey reference as sevens are sometimes called hockey sticks and aces are bullets[40]
	The Sonnert[50]	Named after poker player Bengt Sonnert for his success with it in the World Series of Poker Europe 2008
A6	Mile High Club	Airplane and sex[47] (Aces are often nicknamed after planes due to their shape, "six" in German is pronounced as sechs similar to "sex")
	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Singer famous for the song Sixteen Tons[51]
A5	High Five[32]	An Ace is high, combined with a five gives us a high five
A4	Plane Crash[32]	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
	Stu Ungar	Ungar won the last of his three World Series of Poker Main Event titles in 1997 with this hand, making a straight.
	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.[52]
A3	Ashtray	Imitates Ace-trey[29]
	Baskin-Robbins	Nicknamed Baskin-Robbins because of their 31 different flavors of ice cream.[48]
	Thrace	A portmanteau of "Three" and "Ace", also named after the historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Thrace[53]
A2	Acey-Deucey	From the game Acey Deucy[54]
	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[48]
	Little Slick[32]	Imitation of 'Big Slick' (AK)

King higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
KK	Ace Magnets	Ace Magnets because the ace is the only card you don't want to see[48]
	Brokeback[55]	Named after the film that depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two cowboys (KK also being called "Cowboys")
	Butchers of Baghdad	Reference to 2003 invasion of Iraq and the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
	Cowboys[32]	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.
	Elvis Presley[55]	Named after the "King" of Rock and Roll
	Gorillas	From King Kong[29]
	Gorillas in the Mist	From the movie starring Sigourney Weaver,[29] a nickname taken from "King Kong" (Also KK)[56]
	Kangaroos	Kangaroos are used on children's alphabet cards to illustrate a K[29]
	Kevin Keegan[57]	An alliteration
	King Kenny	An alliteration; the nickname of former Liverpool player Kenny Dalglish, who would soon be manager of Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United
	Knights[57]	An association with the feudal king images on the cards
	King Kong[32]	An alliteration
	Kinkerbells[58]	Courtesy of Vince Van Patten on Celebrity Poker
	Krispy Kreme[32]	An alliteration
KQ	Divorce (suited)	If it loses[29]
	Ferdinand and Isabella	A Spanish King and Queen[29]
	Lucy and Ricky	The King and Queen of TV[29]
	Marriage (suited)	If it wins, comes from the game Pinochle[29]
	Mixed Marriage (offsuit)	Comes from the game Pinochle[29]
	Othello (offsuit)[32]	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[29]
	King of Queens	Popular American Sitcom starring Kevin James and Leah Remini.
	Valentine's Day (K♥ Q♥)[48]	A matched couple, both showing their hearts
KJ	Bachelor's Hand (offsuit)	"Jack-King-Off"[29]
	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[59]
	Harry Potter	Written by J.K. Rowling[29]
	Just Kidding[32]	Backronym of JK
	Jackie Kennedy	Wife of JFK
	The Rookie	As said by Daniel Negreanu
	Joking	'Jo' referring to the Jack; also, in textspeak, "j/k" is a pseudo-emoticon meaning "joking" or "just kidding"
	Jordy Kooistra	Initials of Dutch poker player
	King John	JK[29]
	Kojak	Mimics KJack,[29] thanks to the '70s crime drama starring Telly Savalas, who was himself a poker player and occasional participant in WSOP Main Events[56]
	Ralph Perry	2002 WSOP Main Event finalist berated by Antanas Guoga for overplaying the hand
	Starsky and Hutch[60]
	Tucson Monster[32]	No explanation found
KT	Big Al	A reference to a Wisconsin poker player named "Big Al" Emerson[48]
	Katie	Imitation of K-T[29]
	Ken[57]	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[29]
K9	Bow-wow[32]	From canine
	Canine	"K"-nine[29]
	Dogs	From canine[29]
	Fido	A derivative of canine[29]
	Mongrel (offsuit)	From canine[29]
	Mutt (offsuit)	From canine[29]
	Pedigree (suited)	From canine[29]
	Rin Tin Tin[57]	From Rin Tin Tin K9 cop
	The Doctor Who	K-9, the Robotic Dog from the British Television Series Doctor Who
	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[61]
K8	Kate	A portmanteau of "King" and "Eight"[53]
	Feast	What the 'King ate'[29]
	Kokomo	Imitative[29]
K7	Columbia River	The Columbia River is famous for its salmon runs. "King Seven" sounds like "King Salmon"[48]
	Kevin	Sounds like Kevin[62]
K6	Kicks	Nicknamed "Kicks" (if Pig Latin is used) for phonetic reasons[53]
K5	Knives[57]	A combination of "King" and "Five"
	Seattle Special/The Home Team	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. Their news team's slogan is "The Home Team"[53]
K4	Core[57]	A portmanteau of "King" and "Four"
	Fork	4K sounds like "Fork"[48]
	Fork Off (offsuit)[57]	4K sounds like "Fork" plus "Off" for offsuit
	Forking Idiot[57]	From "Fork". Probably a suggestion that you would have to be an idiot to play the hand
	Oppression of the Masses	The answer to the question: "What is a king for?"
K3	Alaska Hand	From Alaskan King Crab[29]
	Commander Crab	A derivative of King Crab[29]
	Swedish Meatballs	SWEDES[29]
	King Crab	3 looks like a crab[29]
	Sizzler	The home of all-you-can-eat King Crab[29]
K2	Big Fritz (suited)	An unconfirmed reference to German poker player Andreas Fritz[53]
	Donald	A reference to Donald Duck,[53] the "King" of ducks (since 2s are also known as "ducks")
	The Zepik	An unconfirmed reference to Canadian poker player Kevin Zepik. Named for the resemblance K2 has to the initials "KZ".
	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

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
QQ	Bitches[53]	As obviously named as cowboys.
	Calamity Jane[32]	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.
	P-CO	The last two queens of England
	Canadian Aces	Because Canadians revere the Queen of England[47]
	Canadian Rockets	Because Canadians revere the Queen of England[47]
	Four Tits	Vulgar[29]
	Hilton Sisters	Jetset party girls Paris & Nicky Hilton[29]
	Jailhouse Rock	Homosexuality in prison[29]
	Ladies[51]	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.
	Pair of Wire Cutters	Dykes[29]
	Pocket Tubmans (Q♠ Q♣)	Reference to Harriet Tubman[29]
	San Francisco Wedding	A gay reference[29]
	Siegfried & Roy	Two Queens[29]
	Snowshoes[51]	Probably because they're the shape of a traditional snowshoe
QJ	Quack[51]	Combination of Queen and Jack
	Maverick	From the Maverick TV show theme song, "Livin' on jacks and queens. Maverick is a legend of the west"[29]
	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")[56]
	Pinochle (Q♠ J♦)	The big hand in the game Pinochle[29]
	JQuery	JQuery never loses
QT	Cutie[63]	For phonetic reasons
	Goolsby	Named for Everett Goolsby, well known Texas gambler. Crony of Doyle Brunson, Cowboy Wolford and Benny Binion[29]
	Tarantino	Quentin Tarantino, a famous movie maker[56]
	Q-Tip[64]	A backronym of QT. A Q-tip is a cotton swab.
	Tina Turner	It always gets beat.[65]
	Quint	Imitative[29]
	Robert Varkonyi	In the 2002 WSOP, Varkonyi knocked out Phil Hellmuth and eventually won the final event with this hand[29]
Q9	Quinine	"Queen Nine" sounds like "Quinine", an early anti malarial drug,[48] from lowball[29]
Q8
	Snow and a Ho	8 is a snowman, Q is a ho
	Frigid Bitch	From "Snow and a Ho"
	Face Sitter	A vulgar reference to analingus, what the 'queen ate'[29]
	Bitch Called Hope	Tempting to try for a straight, but rarely succeeds
	Kuwait	Nicknamed "Kuwait" for phonetic reasons[48]
Q7	Computer Hand (offsuit)	From an apocryphal story that a computer proved that these were the most commonly occurring cards on the Flop.[66] There is also a story of an early computer simulation in which Q7 was a break-even hand[29][67] 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.
	Dike	a lady with a mullet
Q6	Arnold Palmer's ex-wife	Palmer was nicknamed the King.
	Nesquik	No explanation found
	Sad Ole Bess	A play on Queen Elizabeth I's other nickname, "The Virgin Queen," AKA the Cherry Queen
Q5	Granny Mae	If both spades, an old-time player, Granny=Queen, Mae=5th Month, some say Q5 spades was her favorite[29]
Q4	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?"
	Shuli	Popularized in the notorious underground "Emergency Poker League" or "EPL", frequented by elite players of the Canadian circuit
Q3	Gay Waiter	'Queen' with a 'tray'[29]
	San Francisco Busboy	'Queen' with a 'tray'[29]
	Windsor Waiter	'Queen' with a 'tray'[29]
Q2	Daisy	A reference to Daisy Duck,[53] the "Queen" of ducks (since 2s are also known as "ducks"). See also "Donald" – K2
	Queen Liz	A reference to Queen Elizabeth II

Jack higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
JJ	Brothers[46]	Two similar looking males, e.g., brothers
	Fishhooks	They look like them, and because fish get beat with overpairs[29]
	Ice-JJ-Fish	Like the rapper, they rock[29]
	Jaybirds	Starts with J[29]
	Bowers	Named after the Jacks from the card game Euchre where jacks are the highest trumps and are called bowers, in turn from the German Bauer (literally, farmer)
	Jonatan Johansson	An alliteration, former Finnish footballer and Charlton Athletic forward, nicknamed 'JJ' by the fans
	John Juanda[32]	An alliteration, John Juanda is an American professional poker player
	Colostomy Bag	Vulgar, from "Pocket Jacks", 'Jacks' being a UK/Irish slang term for a toilet
	Kid Dy-no-mite	Signature expression of the character JJ from the TV show Good Times[40]
	One Eyed Jacks (J♠ J♥)	Both side views[29]
	Rentboys	Two young men, similar to pocket queen's "Prostitutes" nickname
The Two Jakes	The movie sequel to Chinatown starring Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel[29]
JT	Justin Timberlake	Justin Timberlake's initials
	Greek Passport	A Greek immigrant won with this to buy an Australian Residency
	John Terry	Named after the England Football Captain.
	T.J. Hooker	After the '80s action drama starring William Shatner[56]
J9	Braggars	Jacks and nines are wild in the game of braggars[29]
	T.J. Cloutier (J♣ 9♣)	T.J. flopped three straight flushes with this hand in one year[64]
J8	Jeffrey Dahmer	He 'ate Jack', serial killer who ate his victims[29]
	Jacket	Sounds like jacket[29]
J7	Jack Daniels[64]	Named after Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee whiskey
J6	Railroad	Say it rhythmically, jacks and sixes, jacks and sixes[29]
J5	Jackson Five	Michael Jackson's childhood group[29]
	Motown	Record label for Jackson Five[29]
J4	The New Motown	Motown was named for the Jackson Five, but now there's only four
	Austin Squatty	Named after John "Austin Squatty" Jenkins due to his penchant for raising and reraising with this hand[29]
	Flat tire	What's a 'jack for'?[29]
	Kid Grenade	After a poker dealer who when he played was "liable to go off at any moment"[68]
J3	J Lo	As in "J-lo", "lo" meaning "low card" or perhaps the resemblance the 3 has to a derrière[69]
	Lumberjack	A Tree and a Jack
	Minus Michael and Jermaine	Jackson 5 without two members, preferably clubs to resemble afros.
J2	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.
	Heckle and Jeckle	Nicknamed Heckle and Jeckle after twin cartoon jaybirds (2 Jays) that first appeared on television in 1946. (Heckle and Jeckle were, in fact, magpies).[53]
	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

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
TT	Audi[34]	Named after the famous Audi TT car
	Binary[64]	In Binary, 1010 equal 10 (in decimal notation)
	Bo Derek	Actress from movie 10[40]
	Dimes[53]	A dime is a coin worth ten cents or one tenth of a United States dollar
	Dynamite[70]	Comes from T and T sounding like the explosive TNT
	McDonald's	Named after the ten piece McNugget
	Tension	Imitative[29]
	TNT[70]	Comes from T and T sounding like the explosive TNT
T9	Mobile Hand	Named after the "Text on 9 Keys" mode on mobile phones
	Countdown	Countdowns usually start at ten, nine...[48]
T8	Tetris	Imitative[29]
T7	Bowling Hand	The difficult Seven-ten split[29]
	Daniel Negreanu (suited)	His favorite hand[51]
	Split	A bowling reference, a seven-ten split[29]
T6	Sweet Sixteen	Six and Ten. Should be mumbled with sarcasm as you fold it[71]
T5	Dime Store	From 5 & dime[29]
	Homosexual	A gay reference, as you cannot make a straight with a ten and a five in your hand.
	Five and Dime[72]	From nickname "Dimes" as a dime is a United States coin worth 10 cents. A Five and Dime is a type of variety store.
	Merfs	A draw poker game where tens and fives are wild[53]
	Woolworths	The Five and Dime store chain[29]
T4	Ex-Girlfriend	Named after a Las Vegas local's highschool girlfriend, because it sounds like the last name "fortin"
	Broderick Crawford	From 50s "Highway Patrol", who said "10-4" into radio[29]
	CB Hand	Ten-four is CB radio language for OK[29]
	Convoy	From the old trucker song, ten-four good buddy[29]
	Good Buddy	Old trucker radio language, ten-four is CB language for OK[29]
	Over and Out	Two-way radio language for end of conversation, ten-four is radio language for OK[29]
	Roger That	Two-way radio language for OK, ten-four is also radio language for OK[29]
	Truckers' Hand	Following the CB radio craze of the '70s, for the same reasons as "Broderick Crawford"[56]
	The Trucker[73]	From CB radio[29]
T3	Kitchies	The T3 must be offsuit; refer to Dipthrong's kitchen for origin[53]
	Fast Connection	Refers to the T3 telecommunications connection[53]
	Hot Waitress	Ten with a tray (trey)[53]
T2	Terminator 2	T2 is abbreviation for Terminator II[29]
	Whirlygig	Contemporary[29]
	Doyle Brunson (aka Texas Dolly)	Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson twice won the WSOP in 1976 and 1977 turning these hole cards into full [houses][29]

Nine higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
99	Barbara Feldon	Played Agent 99 on Get Smart[29]
	Hitlers	Nein, nein!
	German Virgin	What a German Virgin would say. Nein, nein!
	Phil Hellmuth (9♣ 9♠)	He won the 1989 WSOP with this hand[29]
	Red Balloons (9♦ 9♥)	From the 80s song 99 Red Balloons by Nena
	Popeyes	Look like Popeye's arm muscles[40]
	Pothooks[74]	The 9 looks like a traditional pothook
	Wayne Gretzky	Hockey player's uniform number[29]
98	Oldsmobile	The Olds 98 car[29]
97	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.[75] 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.
96	The Dirty	69, sexual reference[29]
	Big Lick	69, sexual reference to Big Slick[29]
	Breakfast of Champions	69, sexual reference[29]
	Dinner For Two	69, sexual reference[29]
	Good Lover	69, sexual reference[29]
	Happy Meal	69, sexual reference[29]
	Mighty Meal	69, sexual reference, 96 suited, stronger than a Happy Meal (see above)
	Big Love	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[29]
	Jaka Šubic	Famous Slovenian improv comedian and poker player.
	Percy (offsuit)	69, sexual reference[29]
	Prom Night (suited)	If suited because they wear a tux on prom night, 69 sexual reference[29]
95	Betty Hutton	From a version of stud with nines & fives wild[29]
	Dolly Parton	From the movie 9 to 5[29]
	Hard Working Man	Works 9 to 5[29]
94	Joe Montana	49ers quarterback, borrowed from 92 Montana Banana, when he was benched the joke was 49 unsuited[29]
	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.[51]
	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[48]
93	Jack Benny	For years Jack Benny claimed to be 39 years old[53]
	The Sandy	Sandy Dunlop became 2013 champion of the Black Cat Poker tournament with these hole cards
92	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.[76] The nickname is referring to how it is more likely that bananas will grow in chilly Montana than this hand making money.[66] Other sources suggest it is Joe Montana's quarterback rating[40]
	Twiggy	From the 70's model's top measurement of 29[29]

Eight higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
88	Dawg Balls/Doggie Balls	Looks like them[29]
	Piano Keys	There are 88 keys on a piano[64]
	Rocket 88	Big was Olds 98, smaller car called Olds 88[29]
	Racetracks	Goes round and round like a race track[29]
	Snowmen	Looks like two snowmen[29]
	Lindros	Eric Lindros wore Jersey #88
	Dale Jr	Number 88 Car
	Two Fat Ladies[77]	Looks like two fat ladies[29] taken from bingo[78]
	Lacey	Looks like shoe laces
	Pretzels	Looks like two pretzels[29]
	Wurlitzer	The number of keys on the Wurlitzer electric piano[29]
	Time Travel	The time travel speed (88 mph) used in the Back to the Future trilogy[29]
	Infinity on the side	Looks like two infinity symbols on their side
	Ovechkin	A reference to the hockey player, #8 Alexander Ovechkin.
87	RPM	The very first record format was a 10 inch disc that spun 78 revolutions per minute[53]
	Tahoe	From the seven/8 variation of holdem[29]
	Crosby	A reference to the hockey player, #87 Sidney Crosby.
86	Pooch	Bill Puccio swears these cards win every time
	Jagr	Named after hockey player Jaromir Jagr, who wore number 68 his entire career.
	Rick James	Named after Singer/Celeb Rick James, who died on 8/6.
	Eubie	If you play these, you be broke[29]
	Henry Bowen	A Texas gambler[29]
	Maxwell Smart	From TV show Get Smart, Agent 86, see also 99[29]
	Pacheco Nuts (offsuit)[79]	The California Grand, in Pacheco is right alongside Highway 680.
85	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.[29]
	Chad	Football player Chad Ochocinco wears uniform number 85. Ochocinco, translated literally from Spanish, means "Eight Five."
84	Big Brother	From George Orwell's book titled 1984[29]
	Boris Backhand	From boris89 winning 217,752.13 on this hand [29]
	Orwell	Author of the book titled 1984[29]
83	Most Feared Hand in Hold'em[29]	A tongue in cheek reference to it being the third worst hand in poker
	Raquel Welch	Raquel Welch still claims to be 38[48]
82	Tadpole	An answer to the statement, "What the duck ate."

Seven higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
77	Axes	Looks like them
	Scythes	Seven look like a Scythe
	Len Goodman	Renowned judge from Strictly Come Dancing, known for his famous catchphrase, "Seven!"
	Candy Canes	Looks like them[64]
	Hockey Sticks	Looks like them[29]
	Mullets	Because of the hair style, flat in front, long in back[29]
	Saturn	Saturn VII Rocket[29]
	Sunset Strip	From 77 Sunset Strip a TV series that aired from '58-'64 starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr[29]
	Walking Sticks[64]	Looks like them
76	Trombones	From the song 76 Trombones, from the musical The Music Man and its film adaptation[29]
	Union Oil	Union 76 gas stations[29]
75	007 (7♠ 5♠)	Reference to James Bond's winning hand in the 2006 movie Casino Royale
	Vietnamese Slick	Year the Vietnam War ended
	Heinz	The H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has 57 varieties of condiments, the most famous being ketchup[48]
	Pickle Man	A reference to Heinz of 57 sauces fame[29]
	Pistol	A reference to the famous pistol made by Fabrique Nationale the FN Five-seven
74	Double Down[80]	A Double Down is a player decision in Blackjack, in which you are betting that your hand can be won with one more card. A player may only double down on his first two cards dealt. When a player doubles down, the original bet is automatically doubled (a second chip appears) and the player receives one more card.[81] 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.
	Ghost Dog[46]	Almost undoubtedley from the film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai starring Forest Whitaker, but no explanation found
	Kalashnikov	Most likely refers to the famous AK-47 and AK-74 assault rifles designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov
73	Dutch Waiter	Sven with a Tray
	Joe Hachem	Joseph Hachem won the 2005 World Series main event holding 7♣ 3♠ when the flop came 4♦ 5♦ 6♥[48]
	Swedish Busboy	Sven with a Tray, see also San Francisco Busboy and Dutch Waiter[29]
72	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.[48] The beer hand has the worst chance of winning of all possible pocket cards in a full table playing Texas Hold'em. It is slightly better in short-handed games because the fact that it is not possible to make a straight or flush without hitting four appropriate community cards is less important in short-handed games.[82]
	Hammer (offsuit)[77]	The Hammer isn't specifically the 72 hand. At least not officially. In poker, the hammer is defined as the last position (the cut-off), particularly when you're heads-up. The 72 offsuit got the nickname as a result of a competition to play "The Hammer" on "The Hammer" and has been adopted into legitimate Oxford Dictionary poker parlance[83]
	W.H.I.P. (offsuit)	Worst Hand In Poker[62]

Six higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
66	Boots	Looks like boots[29]
	Cherries	Nicknamed because of similarity to the shape of the number 6[53]
	Kicks	Get your kicks on route 66[29]
	Route 66	The road from Chicago to LA[29]
65	Bus Pass[34]	UK bus passes are often available to citizens over the age of 65 (although this age varies)[84]
	Ken Warren	Won with this hand at World Series of Poker[29]
64	Billion Dollar Hand[34]	In reference to The $64,000 Question
	Gilchrist	Named after the Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist for his ability to always hit 6's and 4's[53]
	Arlo	Royal Arlo if suited, named after Arlo Payne, a long time regular poster to the usenet newsgroup rec.gambling.poker
63	Blocky	Another nickname of Broomcorn from the story in Doyle Brunson's Super/System. He used to play 63 as an ambush hand[29]
	Jimmy Summerfield (offsuit)	Kevin Larsen says: One time while playing with Jimmy, she [the dealer] had noticed that trash cards were hitting the flop quite often especially 6's and 3's, so Jimmy wins a huge pot after she told him to play the 63 off he was holding. Thus was born the "Jimmy Sommerfield". Once, while playing down on the coast, a player wins a big pot. He slaps his cards down on the table and announces "I've got a Jimmy Somerfield!". Then Jimmy says "Let me introduce myself", and shows the player his ID. I was dealing a four eight game one night to Jimmy, a few other dealers and a bunch of locals. A fairly loose game. The pot is capped six or eight way action. Jimmy announces preflop "I've got my hand !" Nobody believes him when the flop comes 6 6 3 He gets four or five callers to the river. Monster Pot![85]
	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.[86]
62	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."[61]

Five higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
55	Sammy Hagar	After Hagar's song, "I Can't Drive 55"[29]
	Nickels	Five cents per nickel[29]
	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[87] was split into several groups, followers of the group who were blackjack players were fond of saying "Presto!" as they turned up a 21. This became a sign of recognition of fellow travelers. Around this time (circa 1991), the World Rec Gambling Poker Tournament(WRGPT), of which the first few were played slowly over email, came into being. During WRGPT2(92-93), the attribution of pocket fives as the "Presto Hand" was made by the player Howard Simonson, after using pocket fives to knock out several players from the tournament some number of times. [If a copy of the table-talk from WRGPT2 can be found and cited, this can be absolutely confirmed] Consequently, the term stuck among the rec.gambling minions, and has become a common poker term today.[88] There is also suggestion that the hand won more often than it should due to a computer glitch.[40] However, there is a counter-argument that there used to be a club in London called the Presto Club. The address was 55 Victoria Street, London. Therefore, whenever someone was dealt 55 in hold'em, they'd say they were dealt "Presto", because of the club's street address. When English players played events worldwide, the word spread, and it caught on everywhere.[89]
	Snakes[40]	Looks like two snakes
	Speed Limit	55 MPH,[29] the maximum speed limit in the US in the National Maximum Speed Law era
54	Colt 45	The gun, and the beer[29]
	Jesse James	Because the outlaw was rumored to have been shot by a .45[29]
	Moneymaker	Winning hand of Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event champion[48]
53	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[53]
	Juggernaut	Well-known Magic: The Gathering artifact card with power of five and toughness of three.
52	Bomber	B-52 bomber[48]
	Pick-up	As in 52 card pick up[48]
	Quarter	25 cents[29]
	Two Bits	25 cents[29]
	Ivey	Named for one of the greatest bluffs on High Stakes Poker, 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

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
44
	Sailboats	4's look like sails on a boat.
	Obama	Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States
	Dark Force (4♠ 4♣)	Dark Side Of The Fours[48]
	Darth Vader (4♠ 4♣)	The two black fours are the "Dark Side of the Fours"[29]
	Diana Dors	Her top measurement[29]
	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..."
	Luke Skywalker	"May the Fours be with you." Usually referenced with one black four, and one red four.[64]
	Princess Leia (4♥ 4♦)	An extension of the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader reference[29]
	Fourtale	n/a
	Magnum	The .44 cal gun[29]
	Midlife Crisis[90]	Likely to be named after the approximate age of the average midlife crisis (actually given as 46)[91]
43	Waltz	In music, waltzes are always in 3/4 meter[48]
	Books	"What's a tree for ?"
42	Jack Bauer[48]	The main character in 24
	Lumberman's Hand	A common piece of lumber is a two by four[48]
	The Principle[48]	Canadian Politician, Steven Hicks Favorite hand. He always said he played it On Principle
	The Answer	In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the computer decided that the answer to everything in the universe was 42[29]

Three higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
33	Crabs	Because a 3 looks like it has pincers[29]
	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.[92]
	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[29]
32
	Can of Corn[29]	This nickname likely comes from baseball where a "Can of Corn" is an easily caught fly ball. Supposedly comes from a general store clerk reaching up and dropping a can from a high shelf.[93] 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).
	Little Pete[29]	No explanation found
	Michael Jordan	From his jersey number (23)[56]
	Polish Big Slick	A bad Polish joke mimicking AK Big Slick[29]
	The Nut Low[94]	In this instance 'nut' meaning 'most' rather than 'best', low hand (i.e., the lowest hand)
	Hooter Hand (suited)	Named after famous poker dealer Houth "Hooter" Houn who played this hand as aggressively as AK.
Crubs (if clubs)	From the card game Hearts[29]

Two higher card

Card Initials	Alternative Name	Explanation
22	Desmond[34]	Named after Archbishop Desmond Tutu
	Ducks[95]	From deux, French word for two, also a 2 looks like a duck,[29] also used in bingo[78]
	Quack Quack[64]	From two little ducks, also bingo reference to the number 22[78]
	Swans/Swarovskis	Looks like Swarovski Crystal swans[29]
	Richard Nixon	From the famous photo of Nixon getting on a helicopter giving two victory signs

Poker hand nicknames

The following sets of playing cards can be referred to by the corresponding names in card games that include sets of three or more cards, particularly 3 and 5 card draw, Texas Hold 'em and Omaha Hold 'em. The nicknames would often be used by players when revealing their hands, or by spectators and commentators watching the game. With TV and web broadcasting of Poker tournaments, nicknames became much more popular all over the world.

Card Initials	Alternative Names
♣ flush	Golf Bag (set of clubs), Puppy Feet, Puppy Prints (from the design of the club)
♦ flush	Well-Dressed, Decked Out
♥ flush	Valentine's Day, All My Hearts, Heart-breaker (if it loses)
♠ flush	Laborers, Digging Deep, In The Hole (if it loses)
AA235, 2358K	Fibonacci
A3579, 3579J, 579JK	What Are The Odds
2357J, 357JK	All The Primes
2468T, 468TQ, 68TQA	Even Stevens
AAAAK	Knights of the Round Table, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
AAAA	Team Rocket, Thunderbirds, Musketeers
AAAKK	Windsor Castle, The Penthouse, Updown Court, The Pinnacle, Bran Castle (amongst some of the world's largest and/or most expensive buildings and/or mansions)
AAA	Athos, Porthos and Aramis
AAKK	Big Slick Did the Trick (a rhyme, if the appropriate two-pair hand is formed from the AK starting hand (aka Big Slick); poker professionals will tend to bet aggressively with this hand)
AAQQ	Aqua
AAJJ	Jackasses (play on "Jacks and Aces")
AA88	Dead Man's Hand
AKQJT	Broadway (off-suit), Royal Flush (suited)
A3A6	Austin 3:16 (after WWE wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin)
A23	ABC
AA23	Princess Leia
A6A8T	Golden Hand (from the Golden Mean)
AK47	After the AK-47 assault rifle developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov
KKKK	Four Horsemen
KKKAA	The Nativity (the famous Biblical story in which the Three Wise Men visit Joseph & Mary to witness Jesus Christ's birth)
KKKQQ	Buckingham Palace
KKK	Alabama Knight Riders, Three Wise Men, Christmas Special, Ku Klux Klan
KKQQ	Mommas and Poppas, ABBA, Double Date, "Aerosmith" (based on the song title, "Kings and Queens"), The Ice Breaker
KQJT9	Off-Broadway (off-suit), Hail to the King (suited)
QQQQK	Elvis in Vegas, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
QQQQJ	Bachelor's Dream
QQQQ	Village People, Magnolias, Scrabble Player's Dream, The Joy Luck Club
QQQ	Six Tits, Daisy Hand
QAAAK	The Duck
QQ33	San Francisco waiters (Queens and Treys)
QJT98	Honeymoon in Vegas (if it wins, based off a scene from the movie of the same name)
JJJJQ	The Strip Club
JJJJ8	Riewoldt On A Roll (after AFL Richmond full-forward Jack Riewoldt)
JJJJ5	Neverland Ranch
JJJ55	Jackson Five
JJJ	"Hart, Schaffner and Marx"
JJ55	Rock 'n' Roll, Motown
JJ33	Hookers With Crabs
JT987	Convenience Store Straight, Honeymoon in Vegas (if it loses, based off a scene from the movie of the same name)
TTTT	Larry (after Larry Fortensky, Elizabeth Taylor's eighth husband), Shotgun
TTT	Thirty Miles of Bad Road, Elk River, Gilroy, Judge Bean, Judge Duffy, Judge Judy, Judge Wapner, San Jose to Gilroy (approximate distance in miles between the two cities), Dallas to Fort Worth (ditto), Judas (his pay was "thirty pieces of silver")
TT	Fingers n' Toes (ten of each), Dubs Dimes, Duff McKagan, Top Titties
TJAAT	Golden String
TT33	Hot Waitresses (Tens with treys)
TK42A	Star Wars, Stormtrooper (Why aren't you at your post?)
T8642	Rizlo, Scotch Straight
9988	Oldsmobile[96]
9966	Dinner For Four, Dubs Sixtyniners
999	Extra Virgin (99 is "German Virgin")
888	Television Subtitles
77744	Sailing Rednecks
777	21, 21 Miles of Rough Road, Jackpot,[67] Slot Machine[51]
7733	Queens of the Stone Age (after their song 3's and 7's)
75432 (off-suit)	Kansas City,[97] Sympathy Hand (it is the worst hand possible)
6667J	Devil's Convenience Store
666	The Devil, Lucifer, The Beast, Devil's Area Code, Kotch
65432	Rabbit, The World Trade Center Straight[98]
555	Washington Monument, Pork Chop Sandwich, Movie Call (All bogus numbers start with "555")
5432A	First Street, Little Minnie, Little Wheel, Pup, Puppy, Spoke, Steel Wheel (suited), Steel Wheel Bike (suited), The Bicycle
4444A	Hole-In-One
4444	Yacht Club
444	Grand Jury
49	Full Cup (Joke from the TV Series Friends, where Chandler and Joey play "Cups")
36TJK	The Royal Sampler (from a joke on The Simpsons)
3333T	Teddy, EJ, Mr Football (after AFL/VFL Footscray/Western Bulldogs legend Ted Whitten), 1961 (if it loses)
3333	Forest, Four Trees, The Magic Numbers
3322	Socks and Shoes, Mits and Mites, Mites and Lice,[99] Nits and Lice[99]
3A4A5	Pi
2222	Mighty Ducks
222AA	Marksman
22233	Tent, Mites and Lice,[99] Nits and Lice[99]
222	Huey, Dewey, and Louie

See also

• List of poker-related topics
• Glossary of poker terms
• Poker-hand rankings

Notes

^ The ace card has been called As-Nas, the name of a Persian card game believed to be an ancient ancestor of modern poker^[100]

^ The nine of diamonds playing card is often referred to as the Curse of Scotland^[101] or the Scourge of Scotland,^[102] there are a number of reasons given for this connection:

1. It was the playing card used by Sir John Dalrymple, the Earl of Stair, to cryptically authorise the Glencoe Massacre. Certainly there is a resemblance between the nine of diamonds and his coat of arms.
2. The Duke of Cumberland is supposed to have scribbled the order for "no quarter" to be given after the Battle of Culloden on a nine of diamonds playing card.
3. It has also been suggested that it is a misreading of the "Corse of Scotland" i.e., the "Cross of Scotland" or St Andrew's Saltire. There is a resemblance between the pattern of the nine of diamonds and the Saltire.
4. Nine diamonds were at one time stolen from the crown of Scotland and a tax was levied on the Scottish people to pay for them – the tax got the nickname "The Curse of Scotland".^[103]
5. The game of Comète being introduced by Mary of Lorraine (alternatively by James, Duke of York) into the court at Holyrood, the Nine of Diamonds, being the winning card, got this name in consequence of the number of courtiers ruined by it.
6. In the game of Pope Joan, the Nine of Diamonds is the Pope – a personage whom some Scottish Presbyterians consider as a curse.
7. Diamonds imply royalty and every ninth king of Scotland was a curse to his country.^[104]

^ The Six of Hearts is known as loyalty at the risk of death or Grace's Card. This is because in 1688 an Irish Jacobite soldier, Colonel Richard Grace of Moynelly House, Athlone, used this card to write a refusal to surrender and sent it to William of Orange. Colonel Grace was loyal to King James II of England, and risked being shot or hanged for his refusal to give up. The words Colonel Grace wrote were, "Tell your master I despise his offer, and that honor and conscience are dearer to a gentleman than all the wealth and titles a prince can bestow"^[105][106]

^ The origin of The Bicycle, Little Wheel, Spoke, Steel Wheel, Steel Wheeled Bike or simply The Wheel is unknown, but it is believed to have something to do with the popular bicycle-patterned playing cards issued by the United States Playing Card Company.^[107][108]

^ The Princess Leia is the hand AA23 (more common in Omaha since this version of poker used 4 hole cards). This is because Leia was held prisoner in detention block AA23 before she was rescued by Han, Chewbacca and Luke in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.^[109]

References

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