It was recently announced that Anna Kournikova would be replacing Jillian Michaels as a trainer on the popular TV show, “The Biggest Loser.” Ms. Kournikova was touted as a world-class athlete. She played a lot of world-class athletes but rarely beat them. Her consistent losing made its way into the jargon of the Texas Hold ’em poker game. For those not familiar with the game, each player is dealt two “hold” cards face down. The players combine these cards with five community cards that are dealt face up to make the best poker hand. Various hold card pairs get names for a variety of reasons. The combination of a two and a ten is called a “Doyle Brunson” because of a historic hand Brunson won with those hold cards.

The combination of an Ace and a King is notorious in Texas Hold’em because inexperienced players will bet a lot of money on this pair of cards since they are the two highest cards in the deck. The reality is, even the lowliest scoring hand, a pair of deuces, beats an Ace and a King. What is the nickname for this hand? It is called the Anna Kournikova. Ask a poker player why the Ace / King hold card pair is called Anna Kournikova and you will hear something to the effect of, “it’s the prettiest hand that never wins.”

Maybe it is apropos for Anna to be on “The Biggest Loser.” After all, one thing she knows a lot about is losing big.