Dead Man's Hand-poker

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Wed, Dec 10, 2003 at 10:43:06PM -0500, Fred Shapiro wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Dec 2003, Sam Clements wrote:
>
> > While I'm not aware of a cite earlier than the Century Dictionary(1909) cite
> > in my Mathews,  I'd love to know if there is earlier.  We get this question
> > posted over at the Straight Dope repeatedly.  Mighty Cecil, himself, even
> > wrote a column on it many years ago.  But NO cites.
>
> 1903 _National Police Gazette_ 3 Jan. 6  DEATH IN A POKER GAME WHERE ONE
> PLAYER HELD A "DEAD MAN'S HAND"  A Jack Full on Red Sevens Seems to be an
> Unusually Fatal Combination of the Pasteboards. ... Half a dozen sports were
> lined up against the bar of a big hotel in Milwaukee, Wis., the other
> night, and the talk drifted to poker.  "There is in the great game,"
> remarked one, "what is known as the 'Dead Man's Hand.' I only saw it
> played once, but that was enough for me.  I'd heard about this 'Dead Man's
> Hand,' soon after I struck the West.
>
> [No mention of Wild Bill Hickock]

Hmm, but also no mention of black aces and eights, which is the
hand traditionally associated with this phrase.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED