Editing Dead man's hand (section)

{{Short description|Poker hand purportedly held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was killed}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Aces and eights}}
[[File:Dead man's hand.jpg|right|upright=1.25|thumb|The card hand purportedly held by [[Wild Bill Hickok]] at the time of his death: black aces and eights]]

The makeup of [[poker]]'s '''dead man's hand''' has varied through the years. Currently, it is described as a [[two-pair]] [[hand (poker)|poker hand]] consisting of the black aces and black eights. The pair of aces and eights, along with an unknown [[kicker (poker)|hole]] card, were reportedly held by [[Old West]] [[folk hero]], lawman, and [[gunfighter]] [[Wild Bill Hickok]] when he was murdered while playing a game. No contemporaneous source, however, records the exact cards he held when killed.  Author [[Frank J. Wilstach|Frank Wilstach]]'s 1926 book, ''Wild Bill Hickok: The Prince of Pistoleers'', led to the popular modern held conception of the poker hand's contents.