The Dead Man's Hand rule book comes with the DMH card deck consisting of 54 cards.

Dead Man's Hand is a 44 page, full colour rule book covering the following aspects of skirmish gaming in the Old West:

Cards: The use of the "Hand" and Initiative cards in Dead Man's Hand

Playing the Game: Summary of the actions models may take: Move, Aim, Shoot, Reload, Recover

Shooting: The shooting sequence covers modifiers on hit rolls, weapon types, results of shooting, cover, falling and under fire markers.

Interruptions: Details how models may interrupt opposing models' actions by doing a duck back or quick shot.

Nerve Tests: How hits trigger Nerve tests and "Big Nerve" tests.

Hand-to-hand Fighting: Describes hand-to-hand fightin' in DMH, including breaking off combat.

Card Descriptions: This sections details different decks and how the common and gang specific cards affect gameplay.

The Gangs: Rosters, profiles and special rules for the four different gang types: Lawmen, Outlaws, Cowboys and Desperados.

The Scenes: Twelve scenes (scenarios) presented in four linked storylines.