Dead man's hand in popular culture

The dead man's hand, a legendary "cursed" poker hand usually depicted as consisting of the ace of spades, ace of clubs, eight of spades and eight of clubs with an undefined fifth card, has appeared or been referenced in numerous works of popular culture.

Written fiction

In the novel Along Came a Spider by James Patterson, Jezzie Flannigan tells the story of how her father won his gun with a hand of aces and eights – she also uses "Aces&Eights" as her computer password.

Dead Man's Hand is the name of the seventh book of the "Wild Cards" series.

In "Batman R.I.P.", while Batman is talking to The Joker in Arkham Asylum, The Joker deals himself a "dead man's hand".

In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, McMurphy has a dead man's hand tattoo on his shoulder - "a poker hand fanned out across his muscle - aces and eights".

Film

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). In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), Liberty Valance draws the hand just prior to his death.

In Anthony Mann's film Winchester '73, "Dutch" Henry lays down a full house, aces over eights, stating that he just missed a "dead man's hand."

In "Along Came a Spider" (2001), aces and eights is referenced as the winning hand that gave ownership of a Turkish hand-made shotgun to the father of Agent Flannigan and later in the feature was the clue that revealed her involvement with the kidnapping plot.

TV

On the X-Files episode entitled Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, the title character is playing poker with Agent Scully and is seen holding a full house of aces and eights (the ace of hearts being the fifth card).

In Noosphere Rising (Season 1 Episode 7) of the television series Touch, a key is given to a child, Jake Bohm (David Mazouz), by Dr. Teller (Danny Glover) with the number 1188 engraved on it, which is identified by Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland) as the "dead man's hand." This number was part of the number pattern of the fictional Amelia Sequence.

In The Lightning (Season 1 Episode 14) of the television series Criminal Minds, Hotch has a game of cards with a death row inmate in a hope to reveal the location of another victim. Hotch claims to have a pair of aces and a pair of eights; a dead man's hand, which the inmate believes is what he should have. The inmate shows a straight; 7 of spades; 8 of hearts; 9 of spades; 10 of hearts; Jack of hearts. Hotch then reveals he was hiding another ace, thus beating the inmate.

In June 2012, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling introduced a faction known as the "Aces & Eights." The faction would use the Dead Man's Hand (black aces, black eights and the fifth card overturned) as a calling card for their attacks.

In September 2012, on the ABC show General Hospital, the "original" dead man's hand is referenced when Jerry Jacks discloses his ransom amount of money for the cure to make the deadly pathogen in the water ineffective "$88,111,000". The cards were stolen from Dr. Ewen Keenan's father years earlier, thus giving Ewen a reason to kill Jerry's Father. Jerry then used that against him to blackmail Ewen into his plot to poison the Port Charles water supply. The cards are later discovered in a safe by Sam Morgan & John McBain. They are believed to bring an abundance of good luck to whomever has possession of the cards.

Song

The Motörhead song Ace of Spades, the Bob Dylan song Rambling, Gambling Willie, the Uncle Kracker song Aces and Eights and the Bring Me the Horizon song Alligator Blood all refer to the legendary poker hand.

The song Aces & Eights from the Lita Ford album "Stiletto" features "The dead man's hand holds aces and eights" in the refrain.

The phrase "who's gonna play those eights and aces?" appears in the song Fire Lake by Bob Seger

Townes van Zandt's album "Roadsongs" in the song Little Wille the Gambler has the line "Willie's cards fell on the floor they were aces backed with eights"

On Michael McDermott's 2000 LP Last Chance Lounge, there is a song entitled Aces and Eights. The song expounds on the idea that life can make the writer feel like: "Looking over my shoulder, holding aces and eights."

Gaming

In the "Fallout: New Vegas" expansion "Dead Money", the player visits the Sierra Madre, a resort casino from before the Great War which is now filled with deadly gas clouds, booby traps, and monsters. Here the player can occasionally find cards from the Sierra Madre's casino decks in the debris, and the game features an achievement for gathering the "dead man's hand."

In "Silent Hill: Downpour", there is a side quest called "Dead Man's Hand".

In "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3", there is a deathstreak called "Dead Man's Hand"; in Call of Duty: World at War, if you gather the 'death cards', you receive an achievement called a "Dead Man's Hand".

In the Collectible Card Game, Doomtown, where conflicts are resolved by playing card numbers on the game cards used to make poker hands, the Dead Man's Hand (specifically, both black aces, both black eights and the Jack of Diamonds) is the highest possible hand.

In the Paper and Pencil Role-playing game "Deadlands" Hucksters (mages) can use the Dead Man's Hand much like a critical roll, giving full benefit of what ever spell they cast and maximum potential of damage.

In Werewolf: the Apocalypse there is a group of werewolf hunters known as the Dead Man's Hand and use the eponymous cards as their insignia.