Cash Game Home game Bad Beat Jackpot (2 Viewers)

[chipchipchip]

I played in a home game years ago where we had a BBJ. We funded it two ways: selling “show ‘em” chips at the beginning of each game, and the custom was whenever there was loose change in cashing out (anyone cashing out with 1-3 spare quarters) it just went into the jackpot fund.

I’m starting a new home game and will carry this on, but I’m wondering if anyone has other ways to fund a jackpot (without raking the pot).

 

[cosmokramer]

We do it for the night, both high hand and bad beat, and its pretty much loved by everybody. Playing almost only mixed games its usually at least a straight flush for high, and we had a number of nights where even the bad beat was a straight flush. We do it for fun and maybe to have the occasional player stay til the end, who otherwise might have dropped out early.
It also brings quite a fun dynamic when pocket pairs get split to heigthen the chance of the high hand towards the end of the night.
We do a $1 for every $20, capped at $100 in the pot. Usually that‘s an average $5 every second hand that goes towards a pot which gets split for high hand and bad beat of the night. Makes the respective jackpots just big enough to be interesting at the end of the night, with an average around $250-300 each.

Doing it overall like a casino does, would a few quarters each night bring enough to build that up to make it interesting, regardless of stakes? Would anybody care?

Don‘t think you can fund it sufficiently without raking the pot.

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

Funny you ask because we just started one too & I was wondering the same thing. (10's Full is required to activate our jackpot so it's gonna be months) We also use the "race" chips at the end of the night to build the jackpot but also charge the small blind value for each rabbit card people want to see. (ie 3x small blind for a flop, 1x SB for turn & another SB for river) Historically I've always felt people ask for it/run it too frequently which wasted time but now that it costs $ (albeit a small amount) it's been curbed to a tolerable level & the jackpot builds a little faster w/o a rake. I like the idea of charging for Show'em chips at the beginning so I'm gonna offer that next time-thanks for the idea!

 

[LeLe]

If you against taking a RAKE, another idea is using the BB Ante to fund your Bad beat pot.

Adding a BB Ante every hand and you build up the pot depending on the number of hands played for the session

 

[tabletalker7]

I’m starting a new home game and will carry this on, but I’m wondering if anyone has other ways to fund a jackpot (without raking the pot).

My micro stakes game has an admission fee of one $5 lotto scratch off. The highest hand shown that loses gets the lotto tickets.

 

[buzzmonkey]

You can also add a rabbit hunt and run it twice tax that goes to the jackpot.

 

[chipchipchip]

We do it for the night, both high hand and bad beat, and its pretty much loved by everybody. Playing almost only mixed games its usually at least a straight flush for high, and we had a number of nights where even the bad beat was a straight flush. We do it for fun and maybe to have the occasional player stay til the end, who otherwise might have dropped out early.
It also brings quite a fun dynamic when pocket pairs get split to heigthen the chance of the high hand towards the end of the night.
We do a $1 for every $20, capped at $100 in the pot. Usually that‘s an average $5 every second hand that goes towards a pot which gets split for high hand and bad beat of the night. Makes the respective jackpots just big enough to be interesting at the end of the night, with an average around $250-300 each.

Doing it overall like a casino does, would a few quarters each night bring enough to build that up to make it interesting, regardless of stakes? Would anybody care?

Don‘t think you can fund it sufficiently without raking the pot.

The more I think about it the more I think this is all true and the way to go. In my past game somehow all the quarters *did* add up to be a good payout. Didn't pay often, but when it did it was in the hundreds of BB's scale which would be like a good winning session outcome.

But we're starting this game off very low stakes, $10-$20 buy-ins, and yeah, getting the jackpot up to $30 over several months would be pretty meh. I also like the payout every night aspect, as these are all very new casual players, and it would be a fun element to track the high-hand and bad beat, and I do think there will be some who stay later to see it that might leave otherwise.

In your game do you have to be present to win at the end? I think I'd want to pay the winner even if they left early.

 

[chipchipchip]

You can also add a rabbit hunt and run it twice tax that goes to the jackpot.

These are both great ideas, thanks! I forgot about rabbit hunting, recs LOVE to do that.

 

[cosmokramer]

In your game do you have to be present to win at the end? I think I'd want to pay the winner even if they left early.

There‘s no set or written rules for it. We only had that come up few times so far, i’m lucky to have a pretty good attendance til closing time. 2-3 times, when the holder of the jackpot already informed me before coming that he/she’ll have to leave like 2h early, we just calculated the share and reset that jackpot for the rest of the night.
But once i also said tough luck, as it would have been one that not only came late (i.e. didn‘t even „pay“ his share building it up), but also wanted to leave early without letting me know that upfront, so that time we just went back to the qualifying hand before him and erased his hand. Was accepted as well, as he knew coming late and leaving early is not the nice thing to do.

 

[chipchipchip]

There‘s no set or written rules for it. We only had that come up few times so far, i’m lucky to have a pretty good attendance til closing time. 2-3 times, when the holder of the jackpot already informed me before coming that he/she’ll have to leave like 2h early, we just calculated the share and reset that jackpot for the rest of the night.
But once i also said tough luck, as it would have been one that not only came late (i.e. didn‘t even „pay“ his share building it up), but also wanted to leave early without letting me know that upfront, so that time we just went back to the qualifying hand before him and erased his hand. Was accepted as well, as he knew coming late and leaving early is not the nice thing to do.

Interesting... I think it comes down to how often my group stays for the whole thing. I'm used to games where people come and go throughout. I'm not as concerned about people "paying their share" since that means they're proportionally less likely to win it too.

 

[chipchipchip]

Just offering an update on this post. I think we've come up with a very elegant way to do a nightly bad beat jackpot.

I'm raking 1BB from any pot that gets to 10+BBs. There's no minimum qualifier for bad beat.

If the current leader for bad beat is leaving early, they can sell their claim to it to another player (quick auction at the table).

This allows for the "fair market value" to be paid to the first guy, and adds another level of gambling degeneracy, taking a risk on buying the bad beat and having a bigger hand win out later cutting you out. So far it's added a fun element to get people talking and ribbing each other throughout the night.

 

[LowerBama1714]

Bringing this up again.

I just need the high hand cut off…I.e. what hand has to beat what? To pay out the band beat? If that doesn’t happen, then we will pay the highest hand.

Basically, everyone (that wants to play) pays $5 (maybe $10) for 2x show em chips and 2x rabbit hunt chips for the night…if they use them all they can buy more, and the funds get added to the kitty.

What’s the highest hand that needs to be beat for the bad beat jackpot?

 

[tabletalker7]

Bringing this up again.

I just need the high hand cut off…I.e. what hand has to beat what? To pay out the band beat? If that doesn’t happen, then we will pay the highest hand.

Basically, everyone (that wants to play) pays $5 (maybe $10) for 2x show em chips and 2x rabbit hunt chips for the night…if they use them all they can buy more, and the funds get added to the kitty.

What’s the highest hand that needs to be beat for the bad beat jackpot?

If you are doing this with the intention of it building over time then I would say Aces full loses it pays

 

[Bacon Dad]

Not a fan of the BBJ. Feels like you’re just one game away from handing out participation trophies.

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

I'm with @tabletalker7. If you see my above thread we started with 10's Full. That & J's Full have both been beat since so we're currently on Q's Full. Wish I had just started with A's Full...

 

[Dodger]

The Windy Crest way - https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/windy-crest-poker-room.17406/post-600760

@CraigT78 - do you still run your BBJ the same? Any insight for this new-ish thread?

 

[CraigT78]

The Windy Crest way - https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/windy-crest-poker-room.17406/post-600760

@CraigT78 - do you still run your BBJ the same? Any insight for this new-ish thread?

I run it the same way. Take a SB out of every pot over $10. Qualifier is Quads beaten (we play circus games) until it gets to $2k then it drops to AAAxx beaten.

 

[TheOffalo]

I have an idea/proposal for doing a Bad Beat Jackpot that's per game (no carrying forward) with my regular group. We play 25¢/50¢ with $50 minimum buy-ins, no max (usually players rebuy for $50 no matter what, though some will buy in for up to $100 later in the session).

To fund the Jackpot:

• For the first $50 buy-in from each player, $5 goes into the jackpot, and the players receive $45 at the table. (Alternatively, we can make the first buy-in $55 w/$5 going to the jackpot and $50 at the table.)
• For subsequent buy-ins, 5% (rounded up to the nearest 25¢) goes to the jackpot. Example: if you rebuy for $50, $2.50 goes into the jackpot, and you get $47.50 at the table.
• Every time there's a bomb pot, one player's mandatory contribution goes into the Jackpot.

(We generally play dealer's choice, one orbit per game, and when it gets back to the game caller we play a bomb pot, then the next player calls the next game for an orbit. So depending on the number of players, there's a bomb pot every 7-8 hands, but it's only for 3BB.)

To qualify for the Jackpot:

• In Texas Hold 'Em, Pineapple, and similar, have Aces Full of Deuces or better lose to Quads or better. Both of your hole cards must play in your showdown hand. So if you're holding A2, and the board is AA33x, and you lose to 33, you don't qualify for the jackpot because your 2 did not play.
• In "regular" Omaha 8, including Big O or 6-card, where you must play exactly 2 cards, have Aces Full of Jacks or better lose to Quads or better.
• In other games that can play 3+ cards in your hand, like Irish, Scrotum, Elevator, etc., have Quads or better lose to Quads or better.

If you lose with a qualifying hand, you take 2/3rds (rounded down to nearest 25¢) of the current Bad Beat Jackpot. (Winner of the hand does not get anything, besides the pot he just won.)

Any amount left in the jackpot at the end of the session goes to the (physical) host. (I'm the organizer/bank 99% of the time, but the physical host rotates.)


Feedback welcome! Not sure if qualifying hands is too strict?

 

[SendThatStack]

I'm with @tabletalker7. If you see my above thread we started with 10's Full. That & J's Full have both been beat since so we're currently on Q's Full. Wish I had just started with A's Full...

How has this been working out? My game goes about once every 3 weeks. Is Jacks full beaten too low of a threshold? And how do you split the jackpot? I was gonna go 70/30 to loser/winner of the hand.

 

[upNdown]

I have an idea/proposal for doing a Bad Beat Jackpot that's per game (no carrying forward) with my regular group. We play 25¢/50¢ with $50 minimum buy-ins, no max (usually players rebuy for $50 no matter what, though some will buy in for up to $100 later in the session).

To fund the Jackpot:

• For the first $50 buy-in from each player, $5 goes into the jackpot, and the players receive $45 at the table. (Alternatively, we can make the first buy-in $55 w/$5 going to the jackpot and $50 at the table.)
• For subsequent buy-ins, 5% (rounded up to the nearest 25¢) goes to the jackpot. Example: if you rebuy for $50, $2.50 goes into the jackpot, and you get $47.50 at the table.
• Every time there's a bomb pot, one player's mandatory contribution goes into the Jackpot.

(We generally play dealer's choice, one orbit per game, and when it gets back to the game caller we play a bomb pot, then the next player calls the next game for an orbit. So depending on the number of players, there's a bomb pot every 7-8 hands, but it's only for 3BB.)

To qualify for the Jackpot:

• In Texas Hold 'Em, Pineapple, and similar, have Aces Full of Deuces or better lose to Quads or better. Both of your hole cards must play in your showdown hand. So if you're holding A2, and the board is AA33x, and you lose to 33, you don't qualify for the jackpot because your 2 did not play.
• In "regular" Omaha 8, including Big O or 6-card, where you must play exactly 2 cards, have Aces Full of Jacks or better lose to Quads or better.
• In other games that can play 3+ cards in your hand, like Irish, Scrotum, Elevator, etc., have Quads or better lose to Quads or better.

If you lose with a qualifying hand, you take 2/3rds (rounded down to nearest 25¢) of the current Bad Beat Jackpot. (Winner of the hand does not get anything, besides the pot he just won.)

Any amount left in the jackpot at the end of the session goes to the (physical) host. (I'm the organizer/bank 99% of the time, but the physical host rotates.)


Feedback welcome! Not sure if qualifying hands is too strict?

Have you tried this?
I don’t love it for a few reasons. It seems like there’s a lot of money going back to the host. And I’m not sure about those mixed games, but I know for sure that there will be plenty of nights that nobody would hit that jackpot on Holdem. Is it equally unlikely that somebody would hit it on the other games? If so, the host is taking all the money many/most nights. If that’s part of the goal - to pay the host - fine, so be it. If not, I’d say give the unpaid money to the high hand of the night.
And I know it’s a lot easier to tax the buyins than to rake pots, but at least when you rake pots, you’re only taking from winners. That seems a lot better to me than taking 10% from a guy who never wins a hand.

Anyway, how’s it going?

 

[TheOffalo]

Have you tried this?
I don’t love it for a few reasons. It seems like there’s a lot of money going back to the host. And I’m not sure about those mixed games, but I know for sure that there will be plenty of nights that nobody would hit that jackpot on Holdem. Is it equally unlikely that somebody would hit it on the other games? If so, the host is taking all the money many/most nights. If that’s part of the goal - to pay the host - fine, so be it. If not, I’d say give the unpaid money to the high hand of the night.
And I know it’s a lot easier to tax the buyins than to rake pots, but at least when you rake pots, you’re only taking from winners. That seems a lot better to me than taking 10% from a guy who never wins a hand.

Anyway, how’s it going?

We tried it once, it was kind of not worth the extra work. The reason I had any remaining jackpot go to the host because we have a couple regular hosts who generally buy dinner for everyone and won’t take any money, so kind of a semi-formal tipping mechanism.

The one night we tried this, no one hit, and we had ~$75 in the jackpot at end of night.

One of the players that night is the son of a regular and was moving out on his own, so the host suggested we donate the jackpot to help him out and everyone agreed. (My regular group has been playing together for 2 decades, I’m the “newbie” regular at a dozen years in, so we watched this player grow up.)

No one’s brought up the idea since so we haven’t tried building a BBJ since. Guess it was a failed experiment but with a nice result.

 

[TheRealTeddyKGB]

How has this been working out? My game goes about once every 3 weeks. Is Jacks full beaten too low of a threshold? And how do you split the jackpot? I was gonna go 70/30 to loser/winner of the hand.

Everyone seems to like it. (We are also doing roughly 70/30% split) We're still on QQ full but we have had a couple of weeks of tournaments. I will chime back when someone hits the jackpot and amounts.

 

[doublebooyah85]

If you against taking a RAKE, another idea is using the BB Ante to fund your Bad beat pot.

Adding a BB Ante every hand and you build up the pot depending on the number of hands played for the session

This!

I build my jackpot up and add it to the prize pool of tournaments.

Works well bc most of my guys are cash players and this increases tourney attendance.