Many players refer to Bad Beat Jackpots as “Urban Legends” or point out, “They always happen to someone else.” Don’t you believe it – as Bill Murray yells in the movie Scrooged, “It can happen to you.”
They can be life-changing / $100,000 or more on a single hand. It’s always fun to watch the room wheel out the champagne, watch the suits come out from the offices, and finally watch them distribute the bundles of cash.
First – a definition: A Poker Room Bad Beat Jackpot is a “prize” that is usually player funded through a small (usually $1) rake from every pot. There are different qualifiers, conditions and sizes of jackpots room to room but in all cases it is a HUGE hand beat by a HUGE hand / such as quads over quads beat with both cards from a player’s hand playing.
Currently the Bad Beat Jackpots in the larger local rooms are:
• Ameristar Poker Room: $200,000 level 1 with 2 backups over $100,000. Qualifier is Quads over Quads beat. No room share.
• Fortune Valley Poker Room: Lots of progressive jackpots.
• Golden Gates Poker Room: $30,000. Qualifier is Ace’s full of Kings.
• Isle Poker Room: $206,000. Creative qualifiers and options (too many for space allowed) on hitting all or part of jackpot.
• Lodge Poker Room: $309,000 with a huge room share. Qualifier is Quads over Quads.
I have been involved in 6 bad beat jackpots (4 table & 2 room shares) but never as a large or small end. I was also in the room when the huge $684,000 Jackpot hit (by a husband /wife) and since there was a room share took home over $600.
On Super Bowl Sunday a few years ago we hit the jackpot on the 6th hand of the day sending me home with a $4,000 table share of $100,000 – just because a player stayed for 2 running cards. Another time I actually raised with a flush thinking I had the best hand and a local regular pulled his ID out, put it on the table looking at me saying “you should fold” – I did and pulled in a $4,500 table share.
That’s the key – a player simply never knows when it’s coming. The last few that have hit in town were long shots all the way: A player flops a Royal Flush with another player having some pair and hitting running quads; or a player flopping a set against another set and hitting both quads on the turn and river; or a player flopping a gut shot draw for a straight flush against a set and hitting both perfect cards. Always pay attention – you never know.
Chuck, a long-time local player has been in an amazing 19 Jackpots; another local, Lang, has been involved in over 10. I also know of many players who have never even been in the room when one hit.
Sadly, I have also been at the table when a player has laid down a Jackpot hand due to betting. On one occasion a player laid down Q – 10 to a $25 bet and would have hit quads with a kicker (at that time played) and taken home over $60,000 (and I would have won over $4,000 for being at the table.)
In another recent miss at The Ameristar poker room a player laid down a pocket pair on the flop because a player bet his quads. The player who laid down the pair would have hit the jackpot when his cards hit on the turn and river / costing that table $200,000. You just never know.
I have been at the table when we were one card off (straight flush misses by one card) or the card was just under the card turned (one card off.)
A few years ago two friends sat down, not knowing about the Jackpot and turned an unbeatable bad beat never betting it – nullifying the win due to not having enough in the pot (ensure you know the minimums.)
I am an advocate of the room share (10 percent of total divided by room) idea when a jackpot gets over a certain amount, say something like $200, 000 – $300,000. This is because it is large enough so it makes a difference to all the players in the room but will barely touch the overall amount for the main player’s thus driving interest and thus more games.
Many players have “shares” with players at other tables – thus doubling or tripling the chances to hit even a small piece of a jackpot. It’s a good idea to only do this with someone you trust – if they hit you have to trust them to pay you.
Remember, play your game…and be ready for that one big hand that could change your life.
