Image of the Week, Part II: What’s Your (Poker Run) Sign?

When a helicopter with a photographer flies over your boat during a poker run, it’s almost instinctive to raise one hand in recognition of the moment. The question is: What hand gesture do you use?

Peace, victory or anything else—the hand gestures from elated passengers during a poker run never stop coming. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Napless Image.

Having covered a slew of pokers runs from helicopters during the years, I’ve seen several different hand gestures including the thumbs-up, the fist-pump—the most popular one for men—the “beauty pageant” wave—generally favored by women—the “OK” sign and, as captured in this image by ace photographer Jay Nichols, the peace sign.

Or is it the victory sign? Hard to tell, but in a strange way—you usually don’t “win” anything in a poker run and gesture of “peace” is nice enough but somewhat random in the context of what you’re doing—they both make sense. Victory or peace, both signs work.

About the only sign I haven’t seen from passengers in a boat during a poker run? The middle finger. That, too, makes sense. I mean, why would you flip the bird for photographic posterity, especially when you’re having a great time?

Whatever your poker run “sign,” they’re all expressions of pure joy and exhilaration. And they’re all a welcome sight.