My theory for Izzy Hands backstory
1. He is a recovering alcoholic. We never see him obviously drink alcohol. He brings his own cup to Spanish Jackie's. We see him drink out of the same cup throughout the series (and ONLY this cup)
When he spits his drink out in 1x10, it looks like tea or coffee to me.
Also the x tattoo on his face can symbolize someone's devotion to no alcohol or drugs.
2. He was in the military. This is more of a hunch on my part but I saw a post saying the spade tattoo on his hand is a common military tattoo.
3. Putting these together, I believe he was press ganged into the military at a young age. This practice, formerly referred to as Shanghai-ing, was where military recruits would go to bars, ply young dudes with alcohol, get them sloshed and force them into service.
This could be why he's so reserved, letting his guard down lead to a government sanctioned kidnapping and forced servitude.
And from what I've heard, while piracy was no cakewalk, the English Military was MUCH WORSE.
