Poker hand nicknames: every common name and where it comes from

What poker hand nicknames are

Poker hand nicknames are slang names for starting hands, usually based on what the cards look like, what the letters spell or a famous story attached to the hand. Pocket aces are “Pocket Rockets”, two kings are “Cowboys”, ace-king is “Big Slick” and seven-deuce, the worst hand in the game, is “The Hammer”. They are table talk, not strategy: a nickname says nothing about how strong the hand is.

Pocket pair nicknames

Every pair from aces down to deuces has at least one name. Most come from the shape of the number.

Pocket pairs, strongest first

Hand	Nickname	Where it comes from
A-A	Pocket Rockets, Bullets, American Airlines	Two aces look like a pair of rockets or bullets; “American Airlines” is simply the AA code. The best starting hand in Hold’em.
K-K	Cowboys, King Kong	Two kings, “K-K”, sounds like cowboys and reads like the monster. Second-best starting hand.
Q-Q	Ladies, Hilton Sisters	Two queens are the ladies; “Hilton Sisters” after Paris and Nicky Hilton, a 2000s nickname that stuck.
J-J	Fishhooks, Hooks, Jaybirds	The letter J looks like a fishhook. A strong but famously awkward pair to play after the flop.
10-10	Dimes, Audi TT	A dime is ten cents; “TT” is how the hand is written in shorthand.
9-9	Wayne Gretzky, Popeyes	Gretzky wore number 99. “Popeyes” comes from the double “pop-eye” look of two nines.
8-8	Snowmen, Piano Keys	Two eights look like two snowmen; a piano has 88 keys.
7-7	Hockey Sticks, Walking Sticks, Sunset Strip	The shape of the sevens, plus the 1950s TV show “77 Sunset Strip”.
6-6	Route 66, Kicks	After the famous US highway and the song “get your kicks on Route 66”.
5-5	Speed Limit, Presto	The 55 mph national speed limit in the United States from 1974 to 1995.
4-4	Sailboats, Magnum	Two fours look like little sailboats; the .44 Magnum revolver.
3-3	Crabs	Turn a three on its side and it looks like a crab’s claws.
2-2	Ducks, Deuces	A two looks like a duck seen from the side; “deuce” is the old word for two.

Unpaired hand nicknames

Suited or offsuit, the nickname is the same. Only a few of these are hands you would raise with; the rest are famous for other reasons.

Unpaired starting hands

Hand	Nickname	Where it comes from
A-K	Big Slick, Anna Kournikova	Big Slick is the classic name. “Anna Kournikova” is the joke version: looks great, rarely wins anything, because A-K is only a high card until it pairs.
A-Q	Big Chick, Little Slick	One step down from Big Slick; “Big Chick” for the queen.
A-J	Ajax, Blackjack	A-J reads like the cleaning brand; an ace and a picture card is 21 in blackjack.
A-8	Dead Man’s Hand	Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1876 holding two pair, aces and eights, black suits. The two-card version keeps the name.
A-10	Johnny Moss	Named after the three-time World Series champion, who was said to favour the hand.
K-Q	Marriage, Royal Couple	A king and a queen together. “Marriage” is borrowed from the card game pinochle.
K-J	Kojak	The 1970s TV detective, from the letters K and J.
K-10	Katie	K-T, read as a name.
K-9	Canine	K-9, the police dog unit.
K-3	King Crab	A king and a “crab” (a three).
Q-J	Maverick	From the theme song of the TV western “Maverick”: “livin’ on jacks and queens”.
Q-10	Varkonyi	Robert Varkonyi won the 2002 World Series of Poker main event with Q-10 more than once on the final day.
J-5	Motown, Jackson Five	A jack and a five.
J-4	Flat Tire	From the joke “what do you need a jack for?”
10-4	Over and Out, Broderick Crawford	CB radio code for “message received”; Crawford said it in the TV show “Highway Patrol”.
10-2	Doyle Brunson	Brunson won the World Series main event in 1976 and 1977, both times with 10-2, both times making a full house.
9-8	Oldsmobile	After the Oldsmobile 98.
9-5	Dolly Parton	From the film and song “9 to 5”.
7-2	The Hammer, Beer Hand	The worst starting hand in Hold’em: the lowest two cards that cannot make a straight together. Winning with it is a badge of honour.
5-7	Heinz	Heinz 57 varieties.
4-5	Jesse James, Colt 45	The .45 revolver.
3-9	Jack Benny	The comedian claimed to be 39 years old for decades.
2-9	Twiggy	A 1960s model joke: “two nines”, a skinny hand.

Nicknames for made hands

Once the board is out, the slang changes to what you have made.

• Boat. A full house. “Aces full” means three aces and a pair.
• Quads. Four of a kind.
• Set. Three of a kind made with a pocket pair; with one hole card it is “trips”.
• Broadway. The ace-high straight, A-K-Q-J-10.
• Wheel / Bicycle. The lowest straight, A-2-3-4-5. A “steel wheel” is the same straight in one suit.
• Nut flush. The best possible flush, usually ace-high; “the nuts” is the best possible hand of any kind.
• Two pair, aces up. Two pair where the higher pair is aces; “kings up” and so on.
• Top pair, top kicker (TPTK). A pair with the highest board card and the best possible side card, such as A-K on a king-high flop.
• Overpair. A pocket pair higher than every card on the board.
• Rags. Low, unconnected cards that help nobody, on the board or in a hand.

Where the names come from

Three patterns cover almost every nickname. Shape: a 2 looks like a duck, an 8 like a snowman, a 3 like a crab, a 4 like a sailboat, a J like a fishhook. Letters and numbers: K-J is Kojak, K-9 is Canine, K-10 is Katie, 10-4 is “over and out”, 5-5 is the speed limit, 6-6 is Route 66. People and stories: Doyle Brunson’s two championship hands (10-2), Wild Bill Hickok’s last hand (aces and eights), Wayne Gretzky’s jersey (9-9), Anna Kournikova for a hand that looks better than it plays (A-K).

New names appear every year, usually from a televised hand or a player’s habit, and most disappear just as quickly. The ones in the tables above have been in use for decades and are understood at any table. For the formal vocabulary, see the poker terms glossary; to settle who won a hand, whatever it is called, use the hand calculator.

Poker hand nicknames FAQ