|
Bad beat jackpots
Some poker rooms have something called a Bad Beat Jackpot. The bad beat jackpot is a progressive jackpot that grows every time a raked pot is played.
To win the bad beat jackpot you have to sit at a table when someone has a very big hand often four of a kind, and gets beaten by someone else who has a even better hand.
To have a chance at the jackpot you normally have to play at special jackpot tables where the game can differ from normal cash games quite a bit.
At Party Poker’s jackpot tables they collect an extra 50 cents from every raked hand to fund the jackpot. To win the jackpot you have to lose with a hand of Four of a Kind, 8s, or better. Both winning and losing player have to use both hole cards. When the jackpot is hit 70% of the jackpot will be distributed and 20% will be used as a seed for the next jackpot. Of the distributed amount, 50% will go to the loser of the hand (the Bad Beat), 25% will go to the winner, and the remaining 25% will be split between the other seated players who took part in the hand.
The record for Party Poker’s Bad Beat Jackpot is $ 739.621. The player who lost that pot won $ 268,867.54 .
At Ladbrokes Poker it’s easier to qualify for the Bad Beat Jackpot. The losing hand must contain at least Aces full of Tens (with at least one Ace in the hole cards if the qualifying hand is a Full House). But that means that the jackpots here normally are smaller than at Party Poker.
But there are other benefits to playing at the jackpot tables for good players. Many weaker players play at these "bad beat" tables just to try and win the jackpot. Take advantage of this as many players tend to play looser and more passively than they normally would, if they have a chance to win the jackpot they cant fold.
Even good players loosen up at the jackpot tables. Since the jackpot is generally so large, pocket 88's should almost always be played, since on the rare occasions that you hit your 4 of a kind you become eligible for the jackpot.
|
