Nicknames

It's the biggie, the dilemma every poker player faces and one they could live to regret if they don't get it right.

Hours of thought are poured into this most delicate of decisions as dodgy judgement can leave the unsuspecting beginner at the mercy of opponents for the rest of their playing life.

Even then a great idea can be overturned by a single throwaway remark from another player commenting on something as simple as a catchphrase, playing trait or habit.

And no, while we enjoy a pint as much as the next person here at the Big Slick, we haven't got carried away celebrating the success of the inaugural Victor Poker Cup. We are, of course, talking about choosing your poker nickname!

These days it seems every aspiring poker player needs to dream up a killer name before doing battle across the green baize. Doesn't matter how you play, call yourself something like “the Destroyer” and it sends a message to others. Though quite what that message is remains open to interpretation!

Of course, the nickname game is not a new one. Not many people have heard of James Butler Hickock. But mention “Wild Bill” Hickok and suddenly everyone knows he had the Dead Man's hand – aces and eights – named after him when he was shot dead after a big money showdown in 1876.

The practice continued through the earlier part of the 20 th Century where characters such as Titanic Thompson lit up the poker world. Doesn't seem like the kind of moniker anyone would want until you realise Thompson survived the disaster and went on to make a killing out of poker, golf and general all-round scamming.

The baton was passed on to the elder statesmen of today's game like Texas Dolly (Doyle Brunson), and Amarillo Slim (Thomas Austin Preston) who earned their larger than life nicknames when poker was still a rambling gambling high stakes game.

And while poker is today a very much more popular game the idea of nicknames has stuck. Ruling the roost of the current crop of players' names are Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott and Men “The Master” Nguyen – both top notch.

Devilfish has the added bonus of mystery surrounding his moniker. Every time the story gets told it's different. A Chinese player he beat on the river called him it, some Triad gangsters bestowed it on him before he made a swift exit with their cash, it was a mate shouting out something ridiculous when he was in a heads-up pot with Nguyen whose supports were shouting: “Go on The Master”.

It's not just individuals naming themselves these days either. As a collective name The Hendon Mob is pretty cool, though presumably whoever conjured up Joe “The Elegance” Beevers had their tongue firmly in their cheek. Or maybe chain smoking and wearing a suit in Hendon really does qualify the elegant tag?!

As for any player making it onto TV a nickname really is de rigueur. Simon “Aces” Trumper, “Jac Attack” Arama, “Barmy” Barny Boatman, “Mad” Marty Wilson, Malcolm “The Rock” Harwood, Pascal “Triple P” Perrault, Peter “Silver Fox” Costa. Even the quiet, non-offensive, wouldn't say boo to a goose looking Dave Colclough took a leaf out of Costa's book, looked in the mirror and came up with “El Blondie”.

Some it seems just get too far arried away with the whole nickname idea though. Take Steve Davis. Universally known as Steve “Interesting” Davis in the snooker world he took matters into his own hands when it came to Poker and Pool and now has a name for any occasion. He's variously known as “Slim”, “Romford”, “Romford Slim”, “The Nugget” and “Golden Balls”.

So when you've learned your chosen poker game, know the odds like the back of your hand, can bluff it with the best of them and are ready to hit the tables just remember you need a killer name too!

Fail to come up with one and your opponents will soon tag you with a new moniker and you could be stuck with a duff name forever. Unless, of course, you're Steve Davis!