What Poker Hand Was Wild Bill Hickok Holding When He Died?

Wild Bill Hickok was one of the most well-known gunslingers of the American West. He was born in Illinois in 1837 and grew up on the frontier.

He fought in the Civil War and then became a lawman in Kansas. He gained a reputation as a skilled marksman and gambler.

PRO TIP:When Wild Bill Hickok was shot and killed, he was holding two pair of aces and eights, commonly referred to as the “Dead Man’s Hand”. This is now an iconic poker hand in American folklore.

In 1876, Hickok moved to Deadwood, South Dakota, where he worked as a security guard for a mining company. On August 2, 1876, he was playing poker at the Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon when another player, Jack McCall, shot him in the back of the head.

Hickok was holding a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights at the time of his death. This hand has become known as the “dead man’s hand.”.