| In our last article, we looked at nicknames for all | | | | Ten-Deuce: Doyle Brunson |
| of the pocket pairs you could potentially receive | | | | Nine-Six: Dinner for two (Put the numbers the |
| when playing Texas Hold 'Em. We will now | | | | other way. If you're still confused, arrange a |
| continue our look at these nicknames by | | | | sit-down with your parents.) |
| examining some non-paired starting hands with | | | | Nine-Five: Dolly Parton (from the song and the |
| special names attached to them. | | | | movie Nine to Five) |
| Ace-King: Big Slick, Anna Kournikova (looks good, | | | | Nine-Four: Gold Rush, San Francisco (again, put the |
| rarely wins), Machine Gun (AK-47), "Walking Back | | | | numbers the other way) |
| to Houston" (which is attributed to the following | | | | Seven-Six: Philadelphia, Union Oil, Trombones |
| quote by poker legend T.J. Cloutier: "I can see you | | | | Seven-Five: Heinz, Ketchup (because of Heinz's |
| learned to play in Houston. Those Houston players | | | | fifty-seven varieties) |
| would come to Dallas and play that ace-king, but | | | | Seven-Three: Hachem (This is the hand 2005 |
| they'd always end up against a pair of aces. | | | | World Series of Poker Main Event winner Joe |
| That's why we call that hand 'Walking back to | | | | Hachem held on the final hand of the tournament. |
| Houston.'") | | | | He flopped a straight.) |
| Ace-Queen: Little Slick, Doyle Brunson | | | | Seven-Deuce offsuit: The Hammer (The worst |
| Ace-Jack: Blackjack (for obvious reasons) | | | | starting hand in Texas Hold 'Em, despite what any |
| Ace-Ten: A-Team, Johnny Moss | | | | number of internet poker bloggers will tell you.) |
| King-Queen suited: Royal Marriage | | | | Seven-Deuce suited: Velvet Hammer |
| King-Queen offsuit: Mixed Marriage | | | | Five-Four: Colt 45, Moneymaker (named for 2003 |
| King-Jack: Kojak | | | | World Series of Poker Main Event champion Chris |
| King-Jack offsuit: The Bachelor (Jack-King off) | | | | Moneymaker. This was the hand he held on the |
| K-9: Hand of the Dog (K-9 = Canine) | | | | final hand of the main event.) |
| K-3: King Crab | | | | Now, you may have noticed that Doyle Brunson |
| Queen-Jack: Maverick (the theme song for the old | | | | has not one, but two hands named after him. |
| television show described the title character as | | | | There are reasons for this. First off, he's Doyle |
| "livin' off Queens and Jacks") | | | | Brunson, so who are we to argue? Second, |
| Queen-Ten: Q-Tip, Varkonyi (named after 2002 | | | | Ten-Deuce is named after Texas Dolly because |
| World Series of Poker Main Event winner Robert | | | | he won two consecutive World Series of Poker |
| Varkonyi) | | | | main events with that exact hand. Ace-Queen, on |
| Queen-Three: San Francisco Waiter (a queen with | | | | the other hand, is named after him because it's |
| a trey) | | | | his least favorite hand, and he's long let it be |
| Jack-Ten: Cloutier (a play on the name of poker | | | | known that he feels the hand is nothing but |
| great T.J. Cloutier) | | | | trouble. |
| Jack-Eight: Jeffrey Dahmer (Ate Jack) | | | | So now you know pretty much all of the |
| Jack-Five: Motown, Jackson Five | | | | nicknames that can be associated with your |
| Jack-Four: Flat tire (What's a jack for?) | | | | two-card Texas Hold 'Em starting hands. You |
| Ten-Five: Five and Dime | | | | might even be able to create some of your own! |
| Ten-Four: Over and Out, Good Buddy (play on CB | | | | So, head out, hit the tables, and drop the hammer |
| radio code) | | | | on Dolly Parton if you get a chance. |