The Dead Man's Hand
The Dead Man’s Hand
Courtesy of Bluff Magazine
The next time you peek down at your cards and realize you’re holding two pair – Aces and Eights – you might feel lucky. Historically speaking, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Back in 1876, the famous gunman Wild Bill Hickock was eking out a living as a gambler in the hardscrabble mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota. Paranoid and rarely sober, Wild Bill always chose a seat with his back to the wall, to prevent villains from sneaking up behind him. On August 1, 1876, he found his usual seat occupied and was forced to sit with his back to the bar. As Wild Bill drew two pair, black aces and eights, local gambler Jack McCall snuck up behind him, pulled a .45 revolver and put a slug in the back of Wild Bill’s head, killing him instantly. McCall was tried and acquitted, claiming revenge for his own brother’s slaying at Wild Bill’s hands (a brother that didn’t actually exist), but was re-tried and hung for the murder eight months later in March of 1877.
Wild Bill Hickock, the dead man with the infamous hand of aces and eights.
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