In poker, players construct sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game.[1] Each hand has a ranking, which is compared against the rankings of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high games, like Texas hold ’em and seven-card stud, the highest-ranking hands win.
In low games, like razz, the Lowest-ranking hands win. In high-low split games, both the highest-ranking and Lowest-ranking hands win, though different rules are used to rank the high and low hands.[2].
A poker hand consists of five cards. The categories of hand, from highest to Lowest,[3] are listed below.
* Straight flush: Five cards in numerical order, all of identical suits.
* Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank.
* Full house: Three cards of the same rank, plus two more cards of the same rank (in other words, three of a kind plus a pair).
* Flush: Any five cards of identical suits, but not in numerical order.
* Straight: Five cards in a sequence (but not all of identical suits).
* Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank.
* Two pair: Two different pairs (for example, two twos and two threes).
* Pair: Two cards of identical rank.
* High card: If no combinations can be made, the hand is valued by its highest card; for example, a hand consisting of Ace-2-3-4-5 is called “Ace high”.
The ranks of hands are based on their probability:[4] for example, a flush ranks above a straight because flushes occur less often than straights; similarly a full house ranks above a flush because full houses occur less often than flushes.[5] No matter how unlikely it seems at first glance, given enough players any specific hand will eventually occur about once every 221 hands.[6][7][8][9]
Nicknames are given to certain specific hands in poker. Some combinations like “American Airlines” or “Pocket Rockets” are more commonly used by players outside North America.
Other nicknames include “Big Slick” – Ace and King offsuit,[10] “Dime A Dozen” – anything with a ten in it,[11] and “Puppy PAWS” or “Ducks” – two eights (aquatic bird themed).[12][13][14] .
The most common poker nickname is probably “Pocket Rockets”, which is used to describe a pair of Aces that have been dealt to a player as their starting hand.[15] Other nicknames for starting Aces include “American Airlines”,[16] because the Ace resembles an aircraft’s tailfin,[17] and “Bullets”.
[18][19] The term “bullets” is also sometimes used to describe Aces in general,[20][21] as well as pocket Kings,[22][23][24] which are sometimes referred to as “Cowboys”.[25][26][27] .Another common nickname is “Big Slick”, which is used to describe an Ace and King that have been dealt as someone’s starting hand.[28][29] Other nicknames for starting AK include “[30]”Anna Kournikova”[31]” – because it looks good but rarely wins,[32]”Big Kat”[33]” – because an Ace resembles a cat’s head,[34]”King Arthur”[35]” – because an Ace is symbolically similar to a sword in stone,[36]”Walking Backwards”[37]” – because an AK offsuit looks like someone walking away from an explosion.[38]
Nicknames are not only given to starting hands however; any particularly good or memorable hand may earn itself a nickname. For example, if someone catches two perfect pocket Aces (known as “Pocket Rockets”) and then goes on to win four more rounds with them over the course of a single game,[39] they might be said to have been “on fire”,[40][41] or alternatively might have had “a rocket under their chair”.
[42][43]. .Some nicknames refer not to specific hands but rather to characteristics often seen in certain types of hands. For example,”Rags”[44]” refers to starting hands that look strong but turn out to be worthless (e.g.
, 8-7 offsuit), while”Pairs”[45]” are starting hands consisting of two cards of equal rank (e.g., 2-2).
Poker is a game that frustrates many beginners because they often end up with good starting hands that don’t seem to amount to much by the end of the game. However, part of what makes poker so interesting is that even very experienced players can never be sure what sort of hand their opponents may be holding.
This unpredictability is what gives rise to many nicknames for different types and combinations of cards.
