who held aces and eights the dead man's hand which got him shot?
The card hand purportedly held by Wild Bill Hickok at the time of his death â black aces and eights. The makeup of poker's dead man's hand has varied through the years. Currently, the dead man's hand is described as a two-pair poker hand consisting of the black aces and black eights. Along with an unknown hole card, these were the cards reportedly held by Old West folk hero, lawman and gunfighter, Wild Bill Hickok when he was murdered. 1 Earliest details.