Ideas for the Funniest Poker Names and Usernames to Raise a Smile

Image by Chaitanya Pillala courtesy of  Unsplash

Poker is a pretty serious game, but the one thing you can do to bring a little lightness into your sessions is to choose a fun name or username. In this blog, the team at GamBonus.com take a look at some of the funniest poker names around. Perhaps they will inspire you to come up with your own cool poker username. 

If you’re looking for some quirky poker name ideas, you’ve come to the right place. But before we delve deeper into the strange world of funny poker names, did you know that poker hands also have some really interesting nicknames? Well, they do, so let’s begin by acquainting you with some of the best.

Cool Poker Names Relating to Hands

The worldwide poker community is pretty tight-knit, and it doesn’t take long for catchy nicknames for special players to be created and shared worldwide. Some of them are fact-based, and some are pure fun. If you want to be taken seriously, you’ll have to acquaint yourself with them. They include:

The Big Slick and Other Nicknames for Ace/King

The Big Slick is a nickname for a two-card opening hand consisting of an Ace and a King. It originated in the 20^th century, and it comes from that slick feeling you might get when you’re sat there holding these two beauties. It has some other nicknames too, and they are:

• Anna Kournikova – Like these two beautiful cards, Miss Kournikova was something of a looker. However, that is not how this card hand name originated. Like many poker name ideas for special hands, Anna Kournikova bears the same initials as Ace and King. 
• King Arthur – This one is another spin on the initials concept. The initials are reversed, but still relevant, and the legendary English King is a well-known folklore character, so why not?
• Korean Airlines – Another play on initials, this one follows the American Airways tag given to a pair of Aces, but with a twist, to represent King Ace, instead of Ace, Ace.
• Walking back to Houston – Yes, admittedly, this one’s a little more obscure, but its roots are good. Apparently, poker king T.J. Cloutier christened Ace/King with this nickname because it broke so many Vegas enthusiasts who ended up having to walk all the way back to Houston.

Funny Poker Names for Various Hands

We love it when poker nicknames are born of humour, so here are a few we think you might appreciate.

• Darth Vader – We is really cool. Everyone is familiar with Darth Vader, (well nearly everyone) the Star Wars super villain who battled against Luke Skywalker. While Jedi Luke battled against the Galactic Empire, and as Yoda intoned, ‘May the force be with you.’ Darth Vader, champion of the Dark Force, was their nemesis. It only takes a little tweak to turn the ‘dark force’ into the ‘dark fours’. It’s what we call a pair of black fours.
• Golf Bag – A nice little tongue in cheek expression that is describes a Club flush. In other words, a handful of clubs.
• The Jackson Five and Motown – Both expressions used to describe a hand with a Jack and a Five. Jackson Five sounds remarkably like Jacks on Fives so it’s a natural. It’s only a short shift from there to Motown, the label the band used to record most of their hit records.
• Desmond – This one goes back to the famous South African Archbishop and theologian Desmond Tutu. It’s perfect and one of the funniest poker names for – yes, you’ve guessed it, two twos.
• Rin Tin Tin – Another slightly more obscure but humorous nickname. It relates to a King and a Nine, which, with a little bit of imagination, takes you to ‘canine’ and from there it’s a short leap (for oldies) to Rin Tin Tin, the hero-dog of movies in the early 1900s and a TV series in the late 1950s.

Unique Poker Names 

The best poker players on the planet all have nicknames. They usually reflect a particular characteristic of a player’s playing style or reputation. Here are some of the great poker names, both historic and current.

• Cowboy: The nickname given to Hoyt Corkins on account of the fact that he always wears a cowboy hat and boots at the poker table. He’s got another couple of nicknames too – they are ‘Nightmare’ and ‘Mr Move It All In.’
• The Grand Old Man: Johnny Moss’s nickname. One of the first and best players of the Texas Hold’em variant. He won the first two World Series.
• The Grinder. This nickname belongs to Michael Mizrachi, who earned it because his consistent style of play usually sees him grind his way through tournaments.
• The Kid: It doesn’t happen often, but every now and again, cool poker names get shared by two or more players. In this instance, it’s shared by Joe Cada and Stu Ungar. Stu was the youngest WSOP Main Event champion in 1980. He was 26 years old. Then, in 2009, Joe up and became WSOP champion at the tender age of 21.
• The Orient Express: This was Johnny Chang’s nickname bestowed upon him by Bob Stupak after Chang thrashed a complete ensemble of players in one swoop in the final at the 1983 America’s Cup Main Event. It took him less than one hour. Chang was previously known as “The Orangeman” due to the fact that he usually had an orange with him. He used them to combat the all-pervasive cigarette smoke that used to blanket poker tables back then.

As with all of the nicknames listed above, good poker names are awarded by your player-peers, often as a mark of respect, and to give opponents an idea of what they will be up against. Of course, we can’t all be poker greats, but don’t let that stop you from coming up with your poker username. 

Cool Poker Usernames

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge – Poker Sympathy.jpg

The most important thing when choosing your poker username is to keep it short, catchy, and include a little humour. Ideally, you want to choose something that sizes up you and your style of play in a nutshell. There’s nothing wrong with borrowing cool poker names from players of other sports if they’re appropriate. Take Pistol Pete as an example. It was Pete Sampras, the tennis champion’s nickname. But you, too, could use it if your name is Pete and you like to play poker with all guns blazing.

It’s not just in the conventional poker world where cool poker names are used; the popularity of online gambling has allowed online poker to become hugely popular right across the planet. Every respectable online casino offers both video and live dealer poker games, and the best sites have their own tournaments. Then, there are the poker networks, such as the GG Network, the iPoker Network, the 888 Poker Network, and WPN, the Winning Poker Network. 

Must You have a Nickname for Poker Player Recognition?

You don’t have to have a nickname to be recognised as a poker player. It’s not mandatory, and as the size of the worldwide online poker community continues to grow, there’s a suspicion that good poker usernames will become a thing of the past. We certainly hope that is not the case. It has become something of a tradition, and we hope it remains that way.

If you’re not the inventive type and you’re struggling for poker name ideas, all is not lost. There are lots of websites you can visit that specialise in poker names. Some of the best include:

• Beat the Fish.
• Burban Mumz.
• Find Funny Names.
• Rum and Monkey.
• Vondly.

One site that specialises in creating the funniest poker names is BusinessinMark.com. From their list of best poker names with meaning, we particularly liked:

• Foldylocks – for the player who folds a lot.
• Cardiac Jack – Loves causing heart attacks with a handful of jacks. 
• The Grin Reaper – A player who smiles a lot when opponents fold.
• The Foldfather –  A player who makes others fold a lot.

How about poker names that have meaning, such as:

• Pairanoid – A player who sees pairs everywhere, even when none are evident.
• Jokers to the Left – Misreads everything but smiles anyway, even when misremembering the lyrics to Stealers Wheel’s ‘Stuck in the Middle’.
• Sir Bluffs-a-Lot – A noble player, but one who is completely full of the brown stuff.
• Bluffer the Vampire Slayer – A player who has a knack for spotting fake hands.

Here are some unique poker names based on player personality:

• Grumpy Gus – The player who complains every time he folds.
• Bold Betty – A lady who is as bold as they come and who ‘ain’t afraid of no showdown’.
• Distracted Doug – A player who is texting all the time, even in the middle of a game of poker.
• Grinner the Spinner – Always has a grin on his/her face throughout every hand, whether it’s good or bad.

You can be as inventive as you like when trying to come up with the right poker nickname. The quirkier the better, but make sure it’s one you’re prepared to live with. If it goes viral, you’ll could get stuck with it.

Great Poker Names Based on Looks

Some players have chosen or been christened with cool poker names based on the way they look or dress. We’ve already mentioned Hoyt Corkins, known as Cowboy. Others include:

• The Bald Eagle – Steve Zolotow, the American businessman and poker player who hailed from Las Vegas (where else?) His nickname was bestowed on him because of the fact that, with his bald head, he looked rather like America’s national symbol.
• Treetop – Jack Straus’s nickname is based on the fact that he was 6 feet 6 inches tall.
• The Dandy – The nickname that Crandell Addington. A member of the Poker Hall of Fame, as he was one of the creators of the WSOP, Addington was always smartly dressed in a suit and tie when he played poker.

Cool Poker Names Based on Where You’re From

Another source of inspiration for poker name ideas is where you come from or where you live. Good examples of these types of nicknames include:

• The Flying Dutchman – real name Marcell Luske, who came from the Netherlands.
• The Great Dane – Gus Hansen from – yes, you’ve guessed it – Denmark.
• The Finn – Patrick Antonius, originally from Finland.
• Grand Rapids Tom – Tom McEvoy, who hailed from Grand Rapids.
• Amarillo Slim – Thomas Preston, who was a slim, tall guy from Amarillo.

The only small thing with these names, memorable as they are, is that they don’t really have much of a twist of humour attached to them.

Concluding Thoughts on Funny and Cool Poker Names

Choosing a funny or cool poker name is the easiest way to add personality, a spot of laughter, and a bit of fun to your poker experiences. It can help break the ice and ensure that the mood is kept light even when playing seriously. You’ll also find that it can even help to make every hand more memorable. Some players start off by creating good poker usernames to use when they log onto their chosen casino and network.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in it to win or you’re just out for some fun and a few laughs. Sporting the funniest poker names brings a smile to the faces of everyone around the table, and it can turn a regular poker night into an even  more enjoyable experience. So, if you haven’t yet got yourself a good nickname, now is the time to put it right. There are plenty of great poker names available, so choose one now and announce your arrival on the world poker scene in style.

Oh, and by the way, there is no reason that you shouldn’t have more than one poker nickname. Many players do, and they use specific ones on specific sites. Some players even change their playing styles accordingly to suit.etting yourself into trouble.