O.T. - "Deadman's Hand's" fifth card?

[Naphtali]

This has bugged me for decades. Wild Bill Hickock was murdered while playing poker. His hand was two pair, aces and eights, the identity of which is known. What was the fifth card?

In motion pictures depicting the event, the card's identification has been picked out of the ether of the screenwriter's imagination.

I have attempted to locate Deadwood newspaper accounts that included the information. Apparently, the fifth card was not noticed. I attempted to locate accounts of the shooting by people who were there -- Bupkes!

Anyone have facts rather than guesses?

[Buck Elliott]

Hate to tell you, but you know as much about that 5th card as any man living... which is really nothing.

Time to move on and worry about more important stuff...

[JohndeFresno]

How do we even know that he was dealt the last card? Consider, if you will, that the game was interrupted. I suspect that since this was such an important event that even the cards were recorded in history, this is what happened - the fifth card would have been recorded, had there been one. Wikipedia throws out this suggestion, as well -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_man's_hand

[Pisgah]

I always thought it was a full house...

[piller]

Purportedly it was a 3 and 2 mix of aces and eights, known as a full house. The full house with aces and eights is known as a dead man's hand as it was supposedly what Mr. Hickock was holding. The trial of his murderer brought out the fact that Mr. Hickock was going blind from glaucoma, as testified to by an Army Surgeon. The murderer's defense that Hickock saw him in a reflection off of a glass and was turning to shoot was soundly defeated, and the verdict was guilty. They supposedly had argued sometime in the past, and the murderer thought he was to be killed. Thanks to the the Army Surgeon, we know the truth. I believe it was author Loren D. Estleman who wrote a very comprehensive book on the subject.

[Gaucho Gringo]

Everyone that I have played poker with for the last 45 years has always referred a full house of 3 aces & 2 eights as the "deadman's hand". I never knew the supposed reason for it until about 10 years after starting to play poker. For some reason in a lot of the late and all night card games I used to play in, aces and eights was a common wild card combination to call. Some of the games i used to play were every bit and more intense than TV and movie poker games.

[mescalero1]

Boy,
That conjers up an interesting story!

[JustaJeepGuy]

Purportedly it was a 3 and 2 mix of aces and eights, known as a full house. The full house with aces and eights is known as a dead man's hand as it was supposedly what Mr. Hickock was holding. The trial of his murderer brought out the fact that Mr. Hickock was going blind from glaucoma, as testified to by an Army Surgeon. The murderer's defense that Hickock saw him in a reflection off of a glass and was turning to shoot was soundly defeated, and the verdict was guilty. They supposedly had argued sometime in the past, and the murderer thought he was to be killed. Thanks to the the Army Surgeon, we know the truth. I believe it was author Loren D. Estleman who wrote a very comprehensive book on the subject.

I have a copy of "The Gun Digest Book Of Single Action Revolvers", by Jack Lewis. He says it was John Selman shooting John Wesley Hardin because Selman thought Hardin saw him in the mirror. Lewis also says that the "Deadman's Hand" is: "ace of spades, ace of clubs, two black eights, and the jack of diamonds". The "special fact", if you will, of Hickock's death is that it was the first time he sat with his back to the door of the room.

[FWiedner]

Which aces, and which eights?

[gundownunder]

The fifth card has always been a talking point and we will probably never know what it was. One theory and probably a good one to explain where the full house suggestion came from, is the one that says he had already discarded the fifth and was waiting for an ace or eight to make up the full house. The dead mans hand has always been recognised as two pair, aces and eights in clubs and spades.

[RIHMFIRE]

The fifth card has always been a talking point and we will probably never know what it was. One theory and probably a good one to explain where the full house suggestion came from, is the one that says he had already discarded the fifth and was waiting for an ace or eight to make up the full house. The dead mans hand has always been recognised as two pair, aces and eights in clubs and spades.

+1

[FWiedner]

The fifth card has always been a talking point and we will probably never know what it was. One theory and probably a good one to explain where the full house suggestion came from, is the one that says he had already discarded the fifth and was waiting for an ace or eight to make up the full house. The dead mans hand has always been recognised as two pair, aces and eights in clubs and spades.

So... there, in fact, was no "fifth card?"

[Doc Hudson]

Purportedly it was a 3 and 2 mix of aces and eights, known as a full house. The full house with aces and eights is known as a dead man's hand as it was supposedly what Mr. Hickock was holding. The trial of his murderer brought out the fact that Mr. Hickock was going blind from glaucoma, as testified to by an Army Surgeon. The murderer's defense that Hickock saw him in a reflection off of a glass and was turning to shoot was soundly defeated, and the verdict was guilty. They supposedly had argued sometime in the past, and the murderer thought he was to be killed. Thanks to the the Army Surgeon, we know the truth. I believe it was author Loren D. Estleman who wrote a very comprehensive book on the subject.

I was always under the impression that Hickok was going blind due to syphilis rather than glaucoma.

[rjohns94]

the aces and eights were all black. legend has it that he was mucking a single card when he was shot. Aces and Eights is a two pair hand, not a full house. Certainly possible that it has morphed over the years in amateur circles to be aces full of eights, but his hand was all black, aces and eights, not full of eights.

[Old Savage]

Wikipedia has a couple of other versions.

[Buck Elliott]

Like I said.................

[Old Savage]

Well Buck, you're still here with the rest of us so... I guess it really wasn't time to move on.

[Buck Elliott]

Sometimes, I let idle curiosity get the better of me...

[Old Savage]

Ah Buck - like the rest of us a man after my own heart. Maybe the answers are in the back of the book upstairs.

[Hobie]

I think the last 5 page version of this topic it was pretty much the same answer (i.e. nobody KNOWS)...

[Naphtali]

Is there a tactful, non-offensive way to say: This blows?
***
I'm thinking, perhaps, a seance or two might resolve my question.