Dead Man's Hand

The makeup of poker's dead man's hand has varied throughout its history. Currently, it is described as a two-pair poker hand consisting of the black aces and black eights. The pair of aces and eights, along with an unknown kicker, were reportedly held by Old West folk hero, lawman, and gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok when he was murdered while playing a game. No contemporaneous source, however, records the exact cards he held when killed. Author Frank J. Wilstach's 1926 book Wild Bill Hickok: The Prince of Pistoleers led to the popular modern held conception of the poker hand's contents.