Dead Man's Hand
January 14th, 2022 at 6:25:45 PM
permalink
Ask a poker player what The Dead Man's Hand is, and most will answer Aces and Eights, with the cards being all black. Many will tell you that this is the hand Will Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot in the back.
The thing is this didn't come to be associated with Hickock until some fifty years after his death when the cards were described in a dimestore novel.
In 1886, his cards were said to have been a full house Jacks over Tens. The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, published in 1903 says they were Jacks and Sevens, while early copies of Hoyle call Jacks and Eights the Dead Man's Hand.
The Deadwood town historian says a local man retrieved the cards and passed them to his son who claimed they were the Ace of Diamonds, the Ace of Clubs, two black eights and the Queen of Hearts.
Hickocks own biographers says they were two black Aces, two black Eights and the Queen of Hearts.
In 1926, Wild Bill Hickock: The Prince of the Pistoleers was written by Frank Wilstach, whose only connection to the West was as a theatrical agent hiring extras for Bill Cody's Wild West shows. In 1925, he wrote a lengthy newspaper article about Hickock, and it was so well received he expanded it into a short novella and had Hickock holding the four black cards and getting shot while reaching for the fifth. Wilstachs novel was used for the 1936 film which turned Wild Bill into a legend.
The Stardust had a mural that showed the fifth card to be the 3 of Diamonds.
There is some speculation that he may have discarded the fifth card and was shot while holding only four.
The thing is this didn't come to be associated with Hickock until some fifty years after his death when the cards were described in a dimestore novel.
In 1886, his cards were said to have been a full house Jacks over Tens. The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, published in 1903 says they were Jacks and Sevens, while early copies of Hoyle call Jacks and Eights the Dead Man's Hand.
The Deadwood town historian says a local man retrieved the cards and passed them to his son who claimed they were the Ace of Diamonds, the Ace of Clubs, two black eights and the Queen of Hearts.
Hickocks own biographers says they were two black Aces, two black Eights and the Queen of Hearts.
In 1926, Wild Bill Hickock: The Prince of the Pistoleers was written by Frank Wilstach, whose only connection to the West was as a theatrical agent hiring extras for Bill Cody's Wild West shows. In 1925, he wrote a lengthy newspaper article about Hickock, and it was so well received he expanded it into a short novella and had Hickock holding the four black cards and getting shot while reaching for the fifth. Wilstachs novel was used for the 1936 film which turned Wild Bill into a legend.
The Stardust had a mural that showed the fifth card to be the 3 of Diamonds.
There is some speculation that he may have discarded the fifth card and was shot while holding only four.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
January 14th, 2022 at 6:54:28 PM
permalink
People also ask
What event happened in 1886?
May 1 – A general strike begins in the United States, which escalates on May 4 into the Haymarket affair in Chicago and eventually wins the eight-hour workday in the U.S.
May 8 – Pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that will be named 'Coca-Cola'.
Wild Bill Hickok - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok
LOL - The White Buffalo - Wikipedia (movie, 1977)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Buffalo
What event happened in 1886?
May 1 – A general strike begins in the United States, which escalates on May 4 into the Haymarket affair in Chicago and eventually wins the eight-hour workday in the U.S.
May 8 – Pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that will be named 'Coca-Cola'.
Wild Bill Hickok - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok
LOL - The White Buffalo - Wikipedia (movie, 1977)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Buffalo
Last edited by: ChumpChange on Jan 14, 2022
