James Butler Hickok (Wild Bill Hickok)

James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales he told about himself. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation.

In 1876, Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (present-day South Dakota) by Jack McCall, an unsuccessful gambler. The hand of cards that he supposedly held at the time of his death has become known as the dead man's hand: two pairs; black aces and eights.

The Dead Man's Hand

The Hand of Death MC's name was inspired by the history of what is famously known as "the dead man's hand." What is currently considered the dead man's hand card combination received its notoriety from a legend that it was the five-card stud or five-card draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall on August 2, 1876, in Nuttal & Mann's Saloon, Deadwood, Dakota Territory. Hickok's final hand purportedly included the aces and eights of both black suits.

According to a book by Western historian Carl W. Breihan, the cards were retrieved from the floor by a man named Neil Christy, who then passed them on to his son. The son, in turn, told Mr. Breihan of the composition of the hand. "Here is an exact identity of these cards as told to me by Christy's son: the ace of spades with a heel mark on it; the ace of clubs; the two black eights, clubs and spades, and the queen of hearts with a small drop of Hickok's blood on it" (A♠ A♣ 8♠ 8♣ Q♥).

Hand of Death MC

The HDMC operates as a virtual 1% motorcycle club in the GTA 5 Gaming series. Like Wild Bill's history, we are pretty much outlaws in this immersive gaming environment playing under the rules of "roleplay servers." Living up to our concept based off the history of Wild Bill and the dead man's hand, the club's official motto is "The House Always Wins." Each of our members are trained to carry the weight of five skilled players in one, as there are five cards in the dead man's hand.

Folks in the GTA Community are more than welcomed to reach out to us about opportunities to prospect and be part of an advanced crew. We currently have multiple charters and aligned with other MC's in an alliance with players from all over the world. We are always looking to expand our charters and lay the foundation of what we will carry over to GTA 6 and have a club presence from all time-zones. So, no matter where you are in the world, the Hand of Death MC and its allies are always in a lobby.