If you don’t know firsthand what a bad beat feels like then you are both in a lucky and unlucky place. A bad beat in poker is when a really great and unlikely hand is actually beaten by an even better unlikely hand. Both hands are very unique in that the odds of having the hand that you hold and the board play out the way that it does is unlikely and low in odds. So when one fabulous hand is beat out by another even better hand this is called a bad beat.
Since players are in deep shock when this happens online casinos and even many land based casinos around the world have created something called the Bad Beat Jackpot. This is a jackpot that is usually very high and is awarded to the losing player of a bad beat hand. There are usually some stipulations on the hand such as the hand that has to be beat must be a full house of aces full of tens or better.
For example, if you were holding pocket 8’s and another player was holding pocket 10’s and then the board plays out and it shows 10,10,8,8, and another card like a Queen. Then both players have four of a kind, although this is very rare the player with 4 10’s is still the winner and so the losing player with 4 8’s will win a big part of the bad beat jackpot!
This actually encourages players to play more hands. There are many starting hands that look like they have great potential and so if players know that the bad beat jackpot is a possibility they will be likely to play the hand even if they normally wouldn’t! Either way having this jackpot is quite fun for both casino players land based or online! Next time you see one why don’t you try your luck because while the odds are small being the loser in this scenario is a great outcome!
