Texas Hold 'Em Starting Hand Nicknames by Name

• Ace Magnets {the hand loses value if an ace hits the board} - KK
• Ace with winning kicker - AJ
• Ainsworth {British poker player Ron Ainsworth, known to play this} - 62
• Ajax - AJ
• Alan Alda {"M*A*S*H" actor} - AA
• Alaska Hand - K3
• American Airlines - AA
• Anna Kournikova {"looks great but never wins" according to Vince Van Patten} - AK
• Antony & Cleopatra - AQ
• Ashtray - A3
• Barbara Feldon {Agent 99 in "Get Smart" television show} - 99
• Baskin Robbins {ice cream chain boasts 31 flavors} - A3
• Batteries {i.e., AA batteries} - AA
• Beer Hand {time for a beer} - 72
• Big Al {Wisconsin poker player "Big Al" Emerson} - KT
• Big Chick - AQ
• Big Fritz {German poker player Andreas Fritz} - K2 suited
• Big Pair - QQ
• Big Slick {"Big Slick in a Suit" if suited} - AK
• Blackjack - AJ
• Blocky {tournament director Jimmy Summerfield's nickname} - 63
• Bowling Hand {refers to the 7-10 split} - T7
• Broderick Crawford {star of the 1955-1959 TV show "Highway Patrol" who said, "10-4"} - T4
• Bullets - AA
• Bully Johnson {poker player, described as laid back and quiet by Doyle Brunson, played this hand despite preflop raise and caught a straight on the flop to win against trip aces} - 53
• Cambodian Big Slick - 74
• Can of Corn - 32
• Canadian Aces - QQ
• Canadian Presto {see Presto} - 44
• Canadian Rockets - QQ
• Canine - K9
• Cherries {shape of the fruit} - 66
• Chris Ferguson {won final hand of the 2000 WSOP Championship event with this against T.J. Cloutier's AQ} - A9
• City Park {Two Threes [Trees]} - 33
• Colt .44 - 44
• Colt .45 - 54
• Columbia River {King Seven [Salmon]: river is famous for its salmon runs} - K7
• Commander Crab - K3
• Computer Hand {roughly average hand} - Q7
• Convoy {pop song with CB slang} - T4
• Countdown {10, 9, 8, ...} - T9
• Cowboy Wolford {poker player Byron "Cowboy" Wolford, known to play this} - 62
• Cowboys - KK
• Crabs - 33
• Daisy {Daisy Duck} - Q2
• Dead Man's Hand {The actual hand Wild Bill Hickock had when Jack McCall shot him was two pairs, Aces over Eights} - A8
• Deuces - 22
• Diana Dors {English actress whose name rhymes with "All the Fours" (originally a term from Bingo, which she played and called} - 44
• Dimes - TT
• Disabled Veterans - JJ
• Divorce (if marriage doesn't hold up) - KQ
• Dolly Parton - QQ
• Dolly Parton {from her movie and song "Nine to Five"} - 95
• Donald {Donald Duck} - K2
• Doyle Brunson {won both 1976 & 1977 WSOP Championship with T2} - T2
• Doyle Brunson {ironic name as he prefers not to play it} - AQ
• Ducks {shape of the animal} - 22
• F&W Woolworth's {five and dime stores} - T5
• Fast Connection {T3 telecommunications connection} - T3
• Fido - K9
• Finky Dink - 85
• Fishhooks - JJ
• Five and Dime - T5
• Flat Tire {what a jack is for} - J4
• Flower Girls - QQ
• Fork {"4K"} - K4
• German Virgin - 99
• Gilchrist - 64
• Golden Dan - T8
• Good Buddy - T4
• Goolsby {Texas gambler} - QT
• Granny Mae {granny (queen) plus May (fifth month)} - Q5
• Grump {favorite hand of Poker Grump blogger Bob Woolley} - 42
• Hachem {Joseph Hachem won the 2005 World Series main event with 7c3s, flopping a straight with 4d5d6h} - 73
• Hard Working Man - 95
• Harry Potter {from the initials of author J.K. Rowling} - KJ
• Heckle and Jeckle {Two jays (cartoon birds)} - J2
• Heinz {57 varieties once claimed by food company} - 75
• Henry Bowen {Texas gambler} - 86
• High Five - A5
• Hilton Sisters - QQ
• Hooks - JJ
• Hooter Hand - 32
• Housework {answer to the joke, "What's a queen for?"} - Q4
• Hunting Season {bullet plus duck} - A2
• Ice {water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit} - 32
• Jack Benny {comedian joked about always being 39 years old} - 93
• Jack Daniel's {Old No. 7 whiskey} - J7
• Jackson Five - J5
• Jailhouse Rock - QQ
• Jaybirds - JJ
• Jeffrey Dahmer {cannibal ate Jack} - J8
• Jesse James {may have been killed by a Colt .45} - 54
• Jesus {Chris Ferguson's nickname; won final hand of the 2000 WSOP Championship event with this against T.J. Cloutier's AQ} - A9
• Jim Bechtel {Bechtel won the 1993 WSOP with this when his jack was high} - J6
• Jimmy Summerfield {poker tournament director} - 63
• Joe Bernstein - 96
• Joe Montana Banana {Hall of Fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers} - 94
• Johnny Moss {possibly because he started playing poker at age 10} - AT
• Jordan {Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls uniform number was 23} - 32
• Justin Timberlake - JT
• Kangaroos - KK
• Kate - K8
• Katie - KT
• Ken Warren {poker writer who bestowed his own nickname in a book} - 65
• Kicks - K6
• Kicks {rhymes with 66 in "Route 66" song} - 66
• King Crab - K3
• King John - KJ
• King Kong - KK
• Kojak - KJ
• Kokomo - K8
• Ktara {a beginner who got stacked with only bottom pair} - Q3
• Kuwait - Q8
• Ladies - QQ
• Lawrence Taylor {NFL Hall of Fame linebacker who wore #56} - 65
• Little Oldsmobile {car model smaller than the 98} - 88
• Lumberjack {a Tree and a Jack} - J3
• Lumberman's Hand {two by four pieces of wood} - 42
• Magnum - 44
• Marriage (Mixed Marriage if unsuited) - KQ
• Maverick {The "Maverick" TV show's theme song says, "Livin' on jacks and queens. Maverick is a legend of the west."} - QJ
• Merfs {draw poker game with tens and fives wild} - T5
• Mississippi Slick - 32
• Moneymaker {Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event with this hand} - 54
• Montana Banana {Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers on a 92-yard game-winning drive in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXIII} - 92
• Most feared hand in Holdem - 83
• Motown - J5
• Mullets - 77
• Ninety-Nine - 99
• Obama {Barack Obama is the 44th U.S. President} - 44
• Oedipus (or Oedipus Rex) {Greek story of incestuous mother-son relationship} - QJ
• OJ {It's a killer} - QJ
• Oldsmobile {car model} - 98
• One-Eyed Jacks - JJ
• Orwell {George Orwell wrote the novel 1984} - 84
• Over and Out {radio communication term} - T4
• PB&J {Peanut Butter and Jelly} - Q6
• People who need people - KJ
• Phil Hellmuth {won 1989 World Series of Poker Main Event with this hand} - 99
• Piano Keys {number of keys on a standard piano} - 88
• Pinochle {specifically, the Q of spades and J of diamonds meld from the card game Pinochle} - QJ
• Pocket Rockets - AA
• Pocket Swans {shape of the animal} - 22
• Polish Big Slick - 32
• Popeye's - 99
• Presto {Hold 'Em analogy to being dealt 21 in blackjack due to stories of the hand winning in the rec.gambling.poker newsgroup} - 55
• Quarter - 52
• Quinine {sounds like the early anti-malarial drug} - Q9
• Quint {sound} - QT
• Racetracks - 88
• Railroad - 96
• Railroad Hand {a moving train sounds like a repeated "Jacks and Sixes"} - J6
• Raquel Welch {actress claims to always be 38 years old} - 83
• Robert Varkonyi {won 2002 WSOP Championship with QT, making a boat over Julian Gardner's flush} - QT
• Rockette - AJ
• Roger That {radio communication term for "yes, I understand"} - T4
• Route 66 - 66
• Royal Couple (if suited) - KQ
• RPM {original 10-inch vinyl record speed was 78 r.p.m.} - 87
• Sailboats - 44
• Santa Barbara {synonym for "Big Slick", as it was the site of a famous oil slick in 1969} - AK
• Saturn - 77
• Saw Mill - K9
• Scotty Nguyen {Scotty Nguyen won the 1998 WSOP with this hand when the board came 89988 and induced a call from Kevin McBride with the memorable line, "You call this one and it's all over, baby"} - J9
• Seattle Special {Seattle TV channel 5 based in King county, Washington} - K5
• Sizzler {King Crab specials at restaurant} - K3
• Slapshot {hockey stick 7 hitting a puck ace} - A7
• Snowmen (or Pocket Snowmen) - 88
• Spanish Inquisition {"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" from Monty Python} - 63
• Speed Limit - 55
• Split {7-10 split in bowling} - T7
• Sunset Strip - 77
• Sven - 83
• Sweet {Sweet Sixteen} - T6
• Tadpole {what the duck ate} - 82
• Tennessee Ernie Ford {singer of the song "Sixteen Tons"} - A6
• Tension - TT
• Tetris - T8
• Texas Dolly - T2
• The Rabbit {Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist who hit a lot of 6's and 4's} - 64
• Transvestite {4 looks like a second ace but isn't one} - A4
• Treys - 33
• Trombones {song "76 Trombones" from the Broadway musical "Music Man"} - 76
• Tucson Monster - KJ
• Two Bits {2 bits used to equal 25 cents} - 52
• Two Fat Ladies - 88
• Union Oil {gas station Union 76} - 76
• Unit {canine unit of the police} - K9
• Walking Sticks - 77
• Walking Back to Houston - AQ
• Waltz {dance in 3/4 time (three beats of quarter notes per measure)} - 43
• Wayne Gretzky {NHL player's uniform number} - 99
• Weinberg - T3
• What a Dog - K9
• Woolworth's {five and dime stores} - T5