If a player just uses one card or no cards from their hand, they’re deemed not to have qualified for the jackpot.

To claim a bad beat jackpot in almost any casino, a player must use two cards from their hand and three from the board. As the jackpot reaches certain thresholds, the requirement to win the hand will go down, making it more likely someone will win it. Usually, this starts off with a very strong hand, like a 5-high straight flush which allows time for the jackpot to grow. When the bad beat jackpot is on, the casino will set a qualifying hand that must be beaten to claim the jackpot.

This is how casinos are able to afford to give multi-million dollar bad beat jackpots, as it’s really the players that are paying for it rather than the casino. Once the bad beat jackpot is in play, the casino will take a tiny portion of each pot to help build the jackpot. The exact amount guaranteed by the casino will vary depending on the size of the poker room and the number of games running. Well, the casino will usually start off by guaranteeing a certain amount to the jackpot to get it going. This is an example of a hand that would trigger the bad beat jackpot, as it’s an extremely strong hand that’s very rarely beaten.ĭepending on how much poker you play, you could go your whole life without one of these hands being beaten, which is why these casinos offer a prize for managing to do it! How Does a Bad Beat Jackpot Work?Īs we mentioned above, a bad beat jackpot requires a very strong hand to be beaten by another strong hand, but how does that jackpot grow, and how does a player claim it? The board runs out K-J-A-J-K, meaning that Player A has quad Jacks, but Player B wins the hand with quad Kings. However, you can’t trigger a bad beat jackpot just by getting your aces cracked we’re talking super strong hands getting beaten like quads or better.įor example, Player A has J-J, and Player B has K-K. What is a Bad Beat Jackpot?Ī bad beat jackpot is a jackpot that rewards players when a very strong hand is beaten by an even stronger hand. There aren’t many worse feelings in poker, but what if a bad beat could be turned into a massive payday? Well, that’s exactly what a bad beat jackpot will do! But are they too good to be true, and is it worth it playing in games with a bad beat jackpot? We’ll be taking a look at all of that and more in this detailed guide to bad beat jackpots.

What is a bad beat in poker