1) Aces and Eights (AA88). 2) In Texas Hold’em it refers to having the starting hand Ace-Eight (A,8)
SoundPoker Says: The term comes from the story of the death of Legend “Wild Bill” Hickok
who was shot in the back by Jack McCall while playing poker in
Mann-Lewis Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, on August 2, 1876. It
is said he was holding the hand AA88 when he was shot and as such the
hand, in any combination, came to be known as Dead Man’s Hand.
Dead Man's Hand is a first-person shooter taking place in the oft-overlooked Old West setting. Players strap on the holster of a gunslinger named El Tejón, who rides with a ruthless gang known as "The Nine." The posse will soon have to change its name, however, as its leader betrays El Tejón and steers him toward the bitter path of revenge. Big mistake. El Tejón vows to hunt down the outlaws until they are nothing more than tombstones on a deserted prairie. Classic elements of the Western genre play out in cinematic fashion, from bar fights and stagecoach chases to one-on-one duels and riverboat gambling.
Dead Man's Hand, a title referring to the cards Wild Bill Hickok held when he was shot in the back of the head, uses Epic Games' Unreal technology for its graphic engine. Players will advance through more than 20 levels set in deserts, towns, mountains, mine shafts, valleys, and more, while engaging in shootouts on a moving train, on a galloping horse, and amidst dancing girls in a saloon. The flexibility of the engine allows for such details as hats being shot off heads, fallen gunslingers smashing furniture and barrels, and rickety wagons jostling back and forth due to the uneven terrain.
Players will mosey up to enemies using nine weapons of the era, including authentic pistols, shotguns, and rifles, as well as knives, dynamite, Gatling guns, and cannons. A scoring system called "Legend" lets players build notoriety by performing trick shots and dramatic stunts after earning enough points during the main game. Each locale offers multiple missions to complete, with more becoming available as the game progresses. Other notable features include bonus rounds in the form of poker matches, where players can place bets to earn more health, ammo, or Legend points. Split-screen and online multiplayer modes are also available for competitive and cooperative play.
~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide
Production Credits
Company 1: Human Head Studios; Project Lead: Ben Gokey; Art Lead: James Sumwalt; Business Director and Project Management: Timothy S. Gerritsen; Level Design Lead: Dave Halsted; Programming Lead: Mike Craddick; Animation Lead: David Gulisano; Audio Direction and Production: Michael Larson; Design Assistant: Seth Johnson; Level Design: Dave Halsted, Mike Ryan, James Sumwalt, Ashley Welch, Jason O'Connell, Mike Craddick; Programming: Ben Gokey, Toby Jones, Jimmy Shin, Scott Dudley; Modeling and Texturing: James Sumwalt, Brian Decker, Nichol Norman, Rebecca Rettenmund; Animation: David Gulisano, Derek Day; Menu and Interface Art: Shane Gurno, James Sumwalt; Story and Mission Design: Human Head Studios; Script, Dialogue and Manual: Seth Johnson; Additional Dialogue: Timothy S. Gerritsen; Sound Design: Michael Larson, Calexico; Music: Rom Di Prisco, Michael Larson; Voice Actor: Lee Ernst, Jonathan Wainwright, Tejumola F. Ologboni, Robb Smith, Carolyn Klein, Debra Staples, Laura Gordon, Jay King, The H. H. Posse; Additional Guitars: Saki Kaskas; Additional Composition: Jim B-Reay; Additional Development: Jean-Paul LeBreton; Company 2: Streamline Studios; Lead Artist: Adrian Banninga; Technical Art Director: Renier Banninga; Director of Creative Development: Héctor R. Fernández; Managing Director: Alexander L. Fernández; Company 3: Atari; Director of Product Development: Peter Armstrong; Producer: Jay King; Associate Producer: Peter Eckert, Michael Hathaway; Quality Assurance Sheriff: David Degnan; Quality Assurance Freedom Fighter: Amy Jordan, Steve Charbonneau, Michael Gjere, Nate Birkholz, Michael Cucchiarella, Chris Lundeen; Senior Brand Manager: Jeff Foley; Director of Marketing: Peter Matiss; Public Relations: Stacey Clement; Director of Creative Services: Steve Martin; Graphic Designer: Erica Hoppe; Art Director: Charlie Rizzo; Director of Editorial & Documentation Services: Elizabeth Mackney; Documentation Specialist: Kurt Carlson, Randi Kravitz; Copywriter: Paul Collin; Sr. Manager Strategic Relations: Joy Schneer, Cecilia Hernandez; Strategic Relations Specialist: Shaila Patel; Director of Publishing Support: Michael Gilmartin; Quality Assurance Lawman: Chuck Nunez, Dave Strang, Donny Clay; Quality Assurance Sheriff: Juan Sanchez; Quality Assurance Deputy: Daniyel Garcia; Infamous Desperados of Quality Assurance: Mike O'Shea, Kenny Yan, Jaime Gonzalez, Owen Nelson, Tony Hsu, Anthony Ma, Mark Alibayan, Cher Rocha, Brad Johnson, Mike Greenler; Executive Producer, Online Marketing: Jon Nelson; Senior Web Producer: Kyle Peschel; DMH Online Design: Peter Eckert, Jay King
The dead man's hand is a two-pairpoker hand, namely "aces and eights". The hand gets its name from the legend of it being the five-card-draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his murder (August 2, 1876). It is accepted that the hand included the aces and eights of both the black suits; although his biographer, Joseph Rosa, says no contemporary citation for his hand has been found, the "accepted version is that the cards were the ace of spades, the ace of clubs, two black eights (clubs and spades), and either the jack of diamonds or the queen of diamonds as the "kicker".[1] The term, before the murder of Hickok, referred to a variety of hands. The earliest found reference to a "dead man's hand" is 1886, where it was described as "three jacks and a pair of tens."[2]
There are various claims as to the identity of Hickok's fifth card and there is also some reason to believe that he had discarded one card. The draw was interrupted by the shooting and he never got the fifth card he was due.
The Stardust in Las Vegas had a 5 of diamonds on display as the fifth card; in the HBO television series Deadwood, a 9 of diamonds is used; the modern town of Deadwood, South Dakota also uses the 9 of diamonds in displays; and Ripley's Believe it or Not shows a queen of clubs. Saloon no. 10 in Deadwood, South Dakota, the saloon in which Wild Bill Hickock was shot while holding the infamous "dead man's hand," shows the fifth card as the 9 of diamonds. At least two of John Ford's films feature the aces and eights hand as a foreshadowing of death. In Stagecoach (1939), the hand is held by Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler), soon to be shot by the Ringo Kid (John Wayne) while in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Liberty Valance draws the hand just prior to his death.
Rosa, Joseph G. (1979). They Called Him Wild Bill: The Life and Adventures of James Butler Hickok. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806112174.
