Texas Holdem Poker has a colourful history. Billions of hands have been played and many a jovial situation has occurred at the poker table. Most of the hands in poker have acquired a nickname or two over the years, some are colourful and ugly, otherwise are humourous and witty.
The most powerful hand before the flop in Texas Holdem Poker is two Aces. Subsquently they generate the most excitement and colourful names. The most common names for two Aces are Rockets, Pocket Rockets, and Bullets (for obvious reasons). They are named after several famous people and organisations with initials starting with the letter “A” including Alan Alda, Albert Anastasia, and American Airlines. They are also known as numerous pointy and sharp objects including Rocky Mountains, Sticks, Teepees and Two Pips. A few obscure references include Squirrel (the nuts) and Batteries (Double A). Individual names for a single Ace include Bull, Bullet, Death Card (spades), Mastercard, One Spot, Puppy Foot (clubs), Seed, Sharp Top, Spike and Tax Card (spades).
Two kings are the second best hand preflop in holdem and are commonly known as Cowboys. Variations on this include Butchers of Baghdad (so named in reference to Saddam Hussein on the infamous Iraqi most wanted playing cards). Combinations of alliterations of KK include Krispy Kreme and King Kong (and by extension Gorillas, Gorillas in the Mist). They are referred to as Ace Magnets because an Ace always comes on the flop. A single King is also known as K-Boy, Monarch, Sergeant, Alexander (clubs), Charlemagne or Charles (hearts), David (spades), Julius Caesar or One eyed king (diamonds).
Queens are often beaten by Aces and Kings, and as a result get crude names. Polite terms include Ladies, Love Ladies, Calamity Jane (likely extensive of Cowboys for KK) and Snowshoes (owing to the original shape of snowshoes). Less pleasant nicknames include Four T*ts, Jail-house Rock and Siegfried and Roy
Smaller pairs such as Jacks to Twos all have a few nicknames. Jacks are known as Hooks or Fish-hooks. Less known names include Kid Dyne-o-mite (TV show reference), Brothers, Jay Birds, John Juanda (Poker Player) and finally Colostomy Bag (Jack is slang for toilet). Two Tens are Two Dimes, TNT, Dynamite and Binary (In Binary 1010 is the equivalent of 10). Nines are known as Barbara Feldon (Get Smart- Agent 99), Phil Helmuth, Popeye and Wayne Gretzky (Hockey Player). Eights are snowmen, Piano Keys, Little Oldsmobile, Racetracks, Two Fat Ladies, Lacey, Pretzels, and Wurlitzer. A couple of Sevens are known as axes, mullets, hockey sticks or walking sticks. Two sixes are known as Boots, Cherries, or Kicks (On Route 66). A pair of Fives are Presto, Snakes or Speed Limit, while a pair of Fours are Canadian Presto, Dark Force, Darth Vader, Magnum and Sail boats. A Pair of three is either known as crabs (claw shaped like the number 3) or treys and a pair of Twos is usually Deuces, Ducks, or Quack Quack (shaped like a duck).
Other hands with nicknames include the powerful Ace and King combination known as Big Slick. Other names include backronyms such as Korean Airlines and King Arthur, as well as the aptly named Anna Kournikova (looks good but seldom wins). Another common reference is Kalashnikov (who designed the AK47). Ace-Queen is known as Big Chick or Mrs Slick. Other notable hands include Jack-Four (Flat Tire) and J6 (Rail Road). A Ten and a Deuce is a famous hand known as the Doyle Brunson after he successful won two World Series of Poker bracelets.
There are thousands of hand nicknames and only a few of the commoner ones have been listed here. If you are interesting in other poker starting hand nicknames I recommend checking out Wikipedia for an extensive list of common names.
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