Poker Hand Nicknames

For many experienced poker players, the cards they hold are not just aces, queens or tens. Coming up with in-game lingos are common in bingo, blackjack, and in this case, poker. Here are some of the most intriguing and unusual nicknames that were given to various poker hands and card combinations.

Pocket Pairs

AA - Pocket Rockets, American Airlines, Bullets, Snake Eyes
KK - Cowboys, King Kong, Elvis Presley (named after the "King" of Rock & Roll)
QQ - Ladies
JJ - Fishhooks (They look like them and fish also are beaten with overpairs), Brothers, John Juanda
TT - TNT, Dimes, Audi (named after the TT model of the car), Bo Derek, Tension
99 - Wayne Gretzky (His number), Phil Hellmuth (After he won the 1989 Main Event with pocket 9's)
88 - Snowmen, Piano Keys, Two Fat Ladies
77 - Hockey Sticks, Walking Sticks, Sunset Strip (The T.V. show)
66 - Route 66, Boots
55 - Speed Limit, Presto
44 - Sailboats, Magnum
33 - Crabs, Treys
22 - Ducks (Shape of a duck in the water)

Unpaired Starting Hands

Ace higher card

AK - Big Slick (a slippery hand that can cause a huge loss), Anna Kournikova (Like the AK, looking better than they play)
AQ - Little Slick, Big Slut, Big Chick, Antony & Cleopatra, Mrs. Slick
AJ - Ajax, Jackass, Apple Jacks
A10 - Johnny Moss
A9 - Jesus (Chris Ferguson defeated TJ Cloutier at the 2000 WSOP tournament with this hand against Cloutier's AQ), Rounders Hand (from the film),
A8 - Dead Man's Hand (Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed while holding this hand)
A7 - Slapshot
A6 - Tennessee Ernie Ford (he has a famous song called "Sixteen Tons")
A5 - High Five
A4 - Transvestite (When you look at the first card it's an ace, then you take a peek at the second card and at first it looks like another ace and you're all excited, but then you see it's only a four, hence - Transvestite)
A3 - Baskin-Robbins (Because the A is also a 1, this makes 31 for 31 flavors), Ashtray
A2 - Arizona (The letter Z looks like a 2)

King higher card

KQ - Marriage (if the cards are suited and you win), Divorce (if the cards are suited and you lose), Royal Couple, (...and if hearts) Valentine's Day
KJ - Kojak, Harry Potter (Because of J.K. Rowing), Just Kidding
K10 - Big Al (after a famous poker player named "Big Al" Emerson), Ken
K9 - Canine, Fido, Dogs, Rin Tin Tin (From Rin Tin Tin K9 cop)
K8 - Kate, Feast (the king ate)
K7 - Kevin
K6 - Kicks
K5 - Knives, Seattle Special (refers to the Seattle TV channel 5 based in King county)
K4 - Fork, Forking Idiot (Only an idiot will play this hand)
K3 - King Crab or Commander Crab (the 3 looks like a crab)
K2 - Donald (a referece to Donald Duck - The "King" of ducks)

Queen higher card

QJ - Maverick (From the Maverick theme song), Quack
Q10 - Cutie (QT), Tarantino (after movie director Quentin Tarantino), Robert Varkonyi (Varkonyi won the 2002 WSOP tournament with this hand)
Q9 - Quinine
Q8 - Kuwait
Q7 - Computer Hand (This is the average winning hand in Hold'em according to statistics)
Q6 - Nesquik
Q5 - Granny Mae
Q3 - Gay Waiter (a queen with a tray), San Francisco Busboy, Windsor Waiter
Q2 - Daisy (refers to Daisy Duck, the "Queen" of ducks)

Jack higher card

J10 - T.J. Hooker (refers to the action drama from the 80s)
J9 - T.J. Cloutier (Cloutier made three straight flushes with this hand)
J8 - Jeffrey Dahmer (ate Jack, a serial killer who used to eat his victims)
J7 - Jack Daniels
J6 - Railroad (When you repeat "jacks and sixes" it sounds like a train on tracks)
J5 - Motown, Jackson Five
J4 - Flat Tire ("What's a Jack for?")
J3 - J Lo
J2 - Heckle and Jeckle

Ten higher card

T9 - Countdown
T8 - Tetris
T7 - Blowing Hand, Daniel Negreanu (T7 suited - His favorite hand)
T6 - Sweet Sixteen
T5 - Five and Dime, Merfs, Woolworth
T4 - Broderick Crawford (of Highway Patrol in the '50's), Convoy, Good Buddy, Over and Out, Truckers' Hand
T3 - Fast Connection (refers to a T3 line)
T2 - Doyle Brunson or Texas Dolly (He won 2 WSOP tournaments with this hand, both times forming a Full House), Terminator 2

Nine higher card

98 - Oldsmobile
97 - Persian Carpet Ride
96 - Prom Night (when suited), Breakfast of Champions
95 - Dolly Parton (9 to 5), Hard Working Man
94 - Joe Montana, San Francisco (49ers)
93 - Jack Benny (He always claimed to be 39 years old)
92 - Twiggy

Eight Higher Card

87 - RPM (old 78 rpm vinyl records)
86 - Maxwell Smart (actually refers to Agent 86 in the TV show)
85 - Finky Dinky
84 - Big Brother (refers to Orwell's book 1984)
83 - Most Feared Hand in Hold'em

Seven higher card

76 - Union Oil, Philadelphia (76ers)
75 - Heinz (57 varieties)
74 - Ghost Dog (from the film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai)
73 - Dutch Waiter (Sven with a tray), Joe Hachem (he won the 2005 WSOP Main Event with 73, making a straight on the flop)
72 - The Beer Hand, The Hammer, W.H.I.P. (worst hand in poker)

Six higher card

65 - Bus Pass (in the UK, citizens over the age of 65 get bus passes)
64 - Billion Dollar Hand
63 - Blocky
62 - Aimsworth

Five higher card

54 - Jesse James, Colt 45 (refers to the gun and the beer), Moneymaker (Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event with this final hand)
53 - Juggernaut
52 - Bomber (the B-52), Pick-up, Quarter (25 cents)

Four higher card

43 - Waltz (3-4 time)
42 - Jack Bauer (refers to the "24 Hours" TV show), The Answer (refers to the answer in the film "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy")

Three higher card

32 - Little Pete, Michael Jordan (his shirt number being 23), Hooter Hand, Can of Corn

Other Hands

AAA - Beatles Reunion
AKQJT - Broadway
AK47 - Assault Rifle
A2345 - Wheel, The Bicycle
A23 - ABC (...easy as 1,2,3)
AA88 - Dead Man's Hand
AA222 - Marksman
AA23 - Princess Leia
KKKK - Four Horsemen
KKQQ - Mommas and Poppas
KKK - Three Wise Men, Ku Klux Klan
KQJT9 - Off-Broadway
QQQQ - Village People
QQQ - Six Tits
JJJ - "Hart, Schaffner and Marx"
JJ55 - Rock 'n' Roll
JJ33 - Hookers with crabs
TTTT - Larry (refers to Larry Fortensky who was the seventh husband of Elizabeth Taylor)
TTT - Thirty Miles of Bad Road, San Jose to Gilroy
T8642 - Scotch Straight
9988 - Oldsmobile
9966 - Dinner for Four
777 - 21, Jackpot, Slot Machine
77744 - Sailing Rednecks
75432 (off-suit) - Kansas City
666 - The Devil, Lucifer, The Beast, Devil's Area Code, Kotch
65432 - Rabbit
555 - Pork Chop Sandwiches
444 - Grand Jury
3333 - Forest, Four Trees
33222 - Mites and Lice
3322 - Socks and Shoes
222 - Huey, Dewey, and Louie (famous "ducks")

A hand that cannot be beaten - Nuts
Four of a Kind - Quads
Full House - Boat
Club Flush - Golf Bag
Three of a Kind - Set, Trips
Any face card - Paint