We use abbreviations for aces through tens, A-K-Q-J-T respectively.
Hand
Nickname(s)
Description
A A
"Bullets" or "American Airlines" or "Pocket Rockets"
This is the best starting hand in holdem.
K K
"Cowboys" or "Ace Magnets" or "King Kong"
Ace Magnets because the ace is the only card you don't want to see.
Q Q
"Bitches" or "Sigfried & Roy" or "Four Tits"
Unfortunately, there are no non-derogatory nicknames for QQ.
J J
"J-Birds" or "Hooks"
JJ is considered the highest medium pocket pair.
T T
"Dimes" or "Tension"
The chance of getting overcards on the flop with TT is almost 70%.
9 9
"Phil Hellmuth" or "Popeye's"
Phil Hellmuth won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1989 with this hand.
8 8
"Snowmen" or "Little Oldsmobile" or "Dog Balls"
Snowmen and dog balls look like the number "8". 88 was an oldsmobile model that's smaller than the 98.
7 7
"Mullets" or "Hockey Sticks"
Nicknamed because of similarity to the shape of the number 7.
6 6
"Cherries"
Nicknamed because of similiarity to the shape of the number 6.
5 5
"Presto" or "Speed Limit"
It's unconfirmed that the nickname "Presto" for 55 came from the rec.gambling newsgroup.
4 4
"Magnum" or "Sailboats"
"'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Now, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is the .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and could blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"
3 3
"Crabs" or "Treys"
Nicknamed treys because treys are 3 pointers in basketball. Crabs because of the similarity to the shape of the number 3.
2 2
"Ducks"
Nicknamed ducks because of the similarity to the shape of the number 2.
A K
"Big Slick" or "Walking Back To Houston"
Nicknamed 'walking back to houston' because of some players' tendency to overplay AK in no limit games.
A Q
"Big Chick"
In Texas this hand is known as Doyle Brunson.
A J
"Ajax" or "Blackjack" or "Jackass"
Nicknamed Ajax and Jackass for purely phonetic reasons.
A T
"Bookends" or "Johnny Moss"
It's speculated that Johnny Moss is associated with this hand because he began playing poker at the age of 10.
A 9
"Jesus/Chris Ferguson"
Chris Ferguson beat TJ Cloutier at the final hand of the 2000 WSOP Championship event holding A9 against TJ's AQ.
A 8
"Dead Man's Hand"
"Wild Bill" Hickock held two pair, Aces and Eights, when he was fatally shot in the back by Jack McCall on August 2nd, 1876.
A 7
A 6
A 5
"High Five"
A5 is a statistically better hand than A6 because of its ability to make a straight.
A 4
"Transvestite"
Called transvestites because you see the first ace, and the 4 looks like another, but it turns out not to be.
A 3
"Baskin Robbins" or "Ashtray"
Nicknamed Baskin Robbins because of their 31 different flavors of ice cream.
A 2
"Hunting Season"
Aces are known as bullets and twos are known as ducks, hence hunting season.
K Q
"Marriage"
...or "Divorce" if it doesn't hold up.
K J Suited
"Kojak"
Nicknamed 'Kojak' for phonetic reasons. Nothing to do with Telly Savalas.
K J Offsuit
"Kojak" or "Bachelor's Hand"
Nicknamed 'Bachelor's Hand' because it is literally Jack King off.
K T
"Katie" or "Big Al"
K-T sounds like Katie, "Big Al" is a reference to a Wisconsin poker player named "Big Al" Emerson.
K 9
"Canine"or "Dog"
K9 sounds like Canine.
K 8
"Kokomo"
K 7
"Columbia River"
The Columbia River is famous for it's salmon runs. "King Seven" sounds like "King Salmon".
K 6
K 5
K 4
"Fork"
4K sounds like Fork.
K 3
"King Crab" or "Sizzler"
Because of their specials on Alaskan King Crab?
K 2 Suited
"Big Fritz"
Unconfirmed reference to German poker player Andreas Fritz.
K 2 Offsuit
Q J
"Maverick" or "Oedipus Rex"
Taken from Maverick TV show theme song, "Livin' on jacks and queens. Maverick is a legend of the west." Also, "Oedipus Rex" refers to a play by Greek playwright Sophocles referring to an incestuous mother and son.
Q T
"Quint" or "Robert Varkonyi"
Robert Varkonyi won his 2002 WSOP Championship bracelet holding QT and making a boat over Julian Gardner's flush.
Q 9
"Quinine"
Queen Nine sounds like Quinine, an early anti-malarial drug.
Q 8
Q 7
Q 6
"Computer Hand"
Calculations tell us that this is the average hand.
Q 5
"Granny Mae"
Nicknamed because granny can be a queen and May is the fifth month of the year.
Q 4
Q 3
"San Fransisco Busboy"
Q 2
J T Suited
Previously thought to be the best drawing hand.
J T Offsuit
J 9
"TJ Cloutier"
J 8
"Jeffrey Dahmer"
Jeffrey Dahmer ate Jack.
J 7
J 6
"Jack Talley"
J 5
"Motown"
The Jackson Five released their albums through the record company 'Motown'.
J 4
"Flat Tyre"
Answer to the question "What's a jack for?".
J 3
J 2
T 9
"Countdown"
Countdowns usually start at ten...nine...
T 8
"Tetris"
T 7
"Bowling Hand"
The 7-10 split in bowling is a famously tough pin setup.
T 6
T 5
Woolworth" or "Merfs"
Woolworth comes from nickel and dimed.(10 and 5) Merfs is a five card draw poker game where 10s and 5s are wild.
T 4
"Broderick Crawford"
From show "Highway Patrol" where he used to say 10-4 all the time.
T 3
"Weinberg"
T 2
"Doyle Brunson"
Doyle Brunson won his 1976 & 1977 WSOP Championship bracelets holding T2.
9 8
"Oldsmobile"
98 was an oldsmobile model that was bigger than the smaller 88 model.
9 7
Mel Judah beat Paul Phillips with 97 offsuit in the final hand of the Bicycle Casino's "Legends of Poker", to kick off the second season of the WPT.
9 6
"Big Lick" or "Railroad"
Sexual reference to "Big Slick".
9 5
"Dolly Parton"
Dolly Parton starred in the movie "9 to 5".
9 4
"Joe Montana Banana" or "San Fransisco"
49 refers to San Fransisco's Football team, the 49ers, which in turn refers to men of the 1849 gold rush in the Sierra Nevada mountains east of San Francisco.
9 3
"Jack Benny"
For years Jack Benny claimed to be 39 years old.
9 2
"Montana Banana" or "Twiggy" or "Golf Bag"
Twiggy was a fashion model.
8 7
"RPM"
The very first record format was a 10 inch disc that spun 78 revolutions per minute.
8 6
"Henry Bowen"
Henry Bowen was a Texas gambler.
8 5
"Finky Dink"
8 4
"Orwell"
George Orwell was the author of the book "1984".
8 3
"Raquel Welch" or "Sven"
Raquel Welch still claims to be 38.
8 2
7 6
"Union Oil" or "Trombones"
Named after the gas station "Union 76" and the song "76 Trombones" in the movie "Music Man".
7 5
"Heinz"
The Heinz company in Pittsburgh, PA has 57 varieties of condiments, the most famous being ketchup.
7 4
"Cambodian Big Slick"
7 3
"Hachem"
Joseph Hachem won the 2005 World Series main event holding 7c3s when the flop came 4d5d6h.
7 2
"Beer Hand"
The worst starting hand with many players on a table in Texas Hold'em because there is no chance of a straight compared to 23 for example. It's called beer hand because with this hand, it's either time for a beer; or if you win with this you need to get other players a beer; or only a drunk person would play this hand.
6 5
"Ken Warren"
Ken Warren is a poker writer, who lists himself as the nickname for 65 in one of his books.
6 4
"The Rabbit"
6 3
"Blocky"
6 2
"Ainsworth" or "Cowboy Wolford"
Unconfirmed reference to British poker player Ron Ainsworth. Byron "Cowboy" Wolford would also play this hand.
5 4
"Jesse James" or "Jane Russell" or "Moneymaker"
Jesse James was thought to have been shot with a .45. Moneymaker won in 2003 with this hand.
5 3
"Bully Johnson"
A poker player that Doyle Brunson described as being laid back and quiet. He played this hand after being raised preflop and catching a straight on the flop to beat another guy's trip aces.
5 2
"Quarter" or "Two Bits"
Nicknamed because they are synonymous with 25 cents.
4 3
"Waltz"
In music, waltzes are always in 3/4 meter.
4 2
"Lumberman's Hand"
A common piece of lumber is a two by four.
3 2
"Mississippi Slick" or "Polish Big Slick"
Derogatory terms, as 32 is the complete opposite hand of Ace-King or Big Slick, the best non-pair starting hand in holdem.
