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?