The Dead Man’s Hand
In the late 19th century, “Wild Bill” was a sheriff, an exceptional marksman, and a living legend.
His reputation as a gunslinger continued well past his death on August 2nd, 1876, when he was killed while playing Poker at the Number Ten Saloon in South Dakota.
It’s been widely reported in popular culture that Wild Bill (real name: James Butler Hickok) was shot while holding four specific cards, which have become known as “the dead man’s hand.”
Most versions of the story claim that the dead man’s hand consists of the Ace of Spades, Ace of Clubs, Eight of Spades, and Eight of Clubs. The identity of the fifth card varies.
Although it’s true Hickok was shot and killed on that day, conclusive evidence is sorely lacking to prove what exact cards Wild Bill was holding at the time of his death. To date, no contemporary accounts have been discovered that might reveal what the hand was, or if there even was a hand in progress at the time.
The term “dead man’s hand” has been used in Western lore since 1886, but that early citation wasn’t in reference to Bill’s hand. The story of Hickok’s final hand doesn’t actually appear in print until 1926. For those of you keeping score, that’s fifty years after the actual shooting occurred. This mystery will likely never be solved.
Faster than a Speeding Bullet
Modern, high-end consumer cameras are capable of capturing 60 frames per second (fps), and the fastest camera in the world can take over a trillion frames per second.
However, the field of high-speed photography was still in its infancy in the early 1930’s. Professor “Doc” Edgerton was one of the early pioneers of strobe photography.
During his long and distinguished career as a professor at M.I.T., Dr. Edgerton produced dozens of wonderful photographs with a tremendous degree of artistic merit. This is all the more impressive when you consider that creating works of art wasn’t his goal per se; Dr. Edgerton’s goal was good science.
One of Edgerton’s most famous series of photographs depicts bullets passing through everyday objects. Apples, bananas, balloons, light bulbs, and playing cards were all shot (pardon the pun!) in Edgerton’s lab. In our slightly biased opinion, one of his best photographs is called Cutting the Card Quickly (1964).
The picture shows a bullet tearing through a King of Diamonds. The card in the photograph was a Racer Back No. 2, one of the Bicycle® brand playing card designs popular in the 1960’s. Photograph by Harold E. Edgerton. Courtesy of MIT Museum © 2010 MIT.
Cards and the Calendar
A complete deck of playing cards contains four suits, two primary colors, and thirteen values ranging from the Ace to the King. Usually, it contains two Jokers.
Lurking within these colors, suits, and values is an astonishing, but entirely coincidental, relationship to our modern calendar. Some of the proposed “alignments” between cards and the calendar are:
- Two colors representing night and day.
- Four suits representing the four seasons.
- Twelve court cards representing the 12 months.
- Thirteen values representing the 13 lunar cycles in a year.
- 52 cards representing 52 weeks in a year.
Perhaps the most interesting coincidence is that if you add up all of the values in a deck, using the Aces as one, and the Jacks, Queens and Kings as eleven, twelve and thirteen respectively, you arrive at a total of 364. Adding the first Joker as another one gets you to 365 – the same number as there are days in a year – and adding the second Joker gets you to 366, so we even have leap years covered!
The modern deck of cards wasn’t designed with these relationships in mind. They’re merely a coincidence due to the numbers involved. It all adds up to a lot of fun!
Bicycle® at Toy Fair 2012!
Every year, over 1,100 toy manufacturers from 100 countries gather together in New York City. And they call it… Toy Fair!
Over 360,000 square feet of space, all filled with games and toys! Today was the first day of this year’s event, and Bicycle® was on the scene to be a part of the action.
At Toy Fair 2012, Bicycle® is unveiling many new products that we’ve been working on behind the scenes over the past several months. We’re very excited!
From new games to new playing cards, we’re happy to finally pull back the curtain to show our latest products for 2012. Watch this quick update on our YouTube Channel to check out the view from the ground floor.
The Beginning of Poker
Where did the game begin? Experts disagree on the exact origins of poker.
Although it’s been called “America’s Game,” poker is believed by some historians to derive from the Persian game As Nas. There is no question that As Nas and an early form of poker share many similarities, but experts state that this is merely because both games share a common ancestor, and not necessarily because one was derived from the other.
This common ancestor could be any of several “vying” games from Europe, but the French game Poque and a slightly older German game called Pochen appear to be most obvious candidates. In any case, the game came to U.S. shores through a French colony in Louisiana sometime in the early 1800’s.
In the early to middle part of the 19th century, poker players adopted the standard 52-card pack (early versions used a 20-card deck), added straights and flushes to the list of hand rankings, and incorporated the “draw” aspect of the game. The addition of the draw added significantly to the complexity, and therefore the appeal, of the game. The rest, as they say, is history!
Restoring Carlo’s Card Collection
In December of 2011, a tropical typhoon named “Sendong” hit the Philippines. The cyclone began to push through the city of Cagayan De Oro early in the evening. Heavy rain fell, followed by major blackouts.
Later that night, the storm reached its peak and flash floods ravaged Cagayan De Oro. Nearly an entire month’s worth of rain fell in one day, resulting in extreme damage and perilous conditions.
As the storm settled, a young playing card collector named Carlo returned to his home to inspect the damage. All 74 decks in his prized collection were completely destroyed. He posted a video on YouTube of the damage.
Carlo is a big fan of Bicycle®. Wanting to help restore his collection, we teamed up with our partners and put together a package for Carlo. A collection of 74 decks is quite large. After much discussion, we concluded that we could not send him 74 decks of playing cards, the same number he lost. Instead, we sent 75 decks - completely restoring his original collection, and adding one more as the start of something new.
Over the past 125 years, USPC has remained an American institution not just because of support from across the USA, but from around the world. To Carlo - thank you.
New Card Games Now Available!
For over 127 years, The United States Playing Card Company has been the leader in production and distribution of premiere playing cards and a creator of innovative games the whole family can enjoy.
Today, we are proud to welcome 2 new games into the Bicycle® family!
With Jumble™, use the lettered cards to play one of the games by yourself or with your friends - or make up a game on your own! Based on the popular Jumble Word Game found in many daily newspapers.
One2Ten™ has players try to correctly guess how other players rate a variety of items on a scale of 1 to 10 and be the first player to reach 10 points. It’s easy to learn and easy to play!
New Bicycle® Brand Site Launched
For over 127 years, The United States Playing Card Company has been the leader in production and distribution of premier playing cards and a creator of innovative games the whole family can enjoy.
Today, we launch our brand new web presence. This site will be our central hub and your ticket to countless games and good times. Across these pages, you can learn how to play every game under the sun, and get the cards you need to get the party started. Be sure to check our newly launched YouTube channel, and stay tuned to our newsletter, Facebook, and Twitter for the latest news and releases!
Jacks and Jokers Apparel
We are very excited about our new clothing line by Jacks and Jokers Apparel. This new line of high-end, designer apparel features elegant, timeless playing card art from over a century ago.
Released only a few months ago, the apparel has already appeared on the backs of Hollywood's greatest stars and in the world's most respected retail stores.
The artwork is instantly recognizable - fortified as distinctly American.
Jacks and Jokers created this new line of apparel in a manner truly respectful of the rich history and tradition of Bicycle® playing cards. Most importantly, we want to make you look good. Dress like you're ready to win! See details.
New Cardistry Video - Michael Herp
Late this evening, we released a new cardistry video by Michael Herp. The video was produced by theory11 and filmed in Texas this past week. Showcasing Bicycle® brand playing cards, Michael pushes the limits of what is possible with a single deck of cards.
You can watch the video now on the official Bicycle YouTube channel, or click here to watch it right now!
Strategic Alliance with theory11
The United States Playing Card Company (USPC), makers of Bicycle® Playing Cards, is pleased to announce a partnership with theory11 to evolve the company’s playing card product line to appeal to a new generation of consumers. Under this strategic alliance, we will work with theory11 to create a line of playing cards as well as online content.
The goal of this strategic alliance is to combine theory11′s creativity with USPC’s unrivaled distribution power. Accordingly, under this alliance, we will work together to innovate in the areas of web development, playing card design, marketing, and brand enhancement. We are extremely excited to work with theory11 to propel our creative output into the hands of new playing card enthusiasts around the world.
In order to remain relevant in today’s world, it’s critical for us to continually evolve the playing card product line, and we believe that this strategic alliance will do just that.
About theory11: theory11 is internationally known as the most respected destination for magic training online. Composed of a team of the most influential minds in the conjuring arts, theory11 produces and publishes instructional magic trick videos and designs high-end, premium playing cards. Founded in 2007, theory11 has quickly risen to the top of the industry, showcasing its creativity, passion, and expertise in the field of magic, cardistry, and playing card design. For more information, visit http://www.theory11.com.
About The United States Playing Card Company: The United States Playing Card Company is the leader in the production and distribution of premier brands of playing cards, including Bee®, Bicycle®, AVIATOR®, HOYLE®, KEM® and CONGRESS® playing cards. Bicycle® has been the best selling playing card brand in the world for more than 100 years. Founded in 1867, the company manufactures, markets and distributes playing cards, children’s card games, collectible tins, puzzles and card accessories and is part of the Branded Consumables segment of Jarden Corporation (JAH). BEE®, Bicycle® ®, AVIATOR®, HOYLE®, KEM® and CONGRESS® are registered trademarks of The United States Playing Card Company. For more information, visit http://www.bicyclecards.com
