Bad Beat Jackpot Poker Sites

I like winning money. There’s only one thing better in my mind: winning obscene sums of money. I’m talking 6-figure, mind-blowing, retire-right-now amounts of cash. And one way to win that kind of coin is to play at bad beat jackpot poker sites.

Bad beat poker jackpot poker sites basically pay you for being unlucky. So if you have a history of river beats and losing to suckouts, this could be your chance to win. Playing at a bad beat jackpot poker site is one way to make your bad luck a positive thing.

How do bad beat jackpots work? Do all poker sites have them? And what are the top bad beat jackpot poker sites online? If you’re thinking about making a run at the run-bad, read on. Everything you need to know about bad beat jackpot poker sites is all right here including where the best bad beat jackpot poker sites are.

There are plenty of sites with a bad beat jackpot, but not all are created equal. We’ve sourced out the cream of the crop to save you some time. We ranked all sites based on average bad beat jackpot size, fairness of bad beat requirements, and overall gameplay.


 

What is a Bad Beat Jackpot?

A bad beat jackpot is pretty much what it sounds like: a bonus prize paid out to a player who takes a bad beat. The jackpot builds over time as money from the raked jackpot tables flows into the pot. Most jackpots grow indefinitely, increasing 24/7 until some unlucky player takes it down.

Most bad beat jackpot poker sites have hand rank requirements that govern when the jackpot is paid. Most of the time, the winning hand and the losing hand have to be pretty strong in order to qualify for the bad beat jackpot.

The majority of real-money poker sites consider losing with four of a kind or better sufficiently unlucky to trigger the jackpot. The standard rule is that if you’re beaten while holding four of a kind eights, you win the prize.

How Can I Win a Bad Beat Jackpot?

In addition to holding a hand with a high enough strength requirement, you need to be sitting at a jackpot table in order to win. Most bad beat jackpot poker sites clearly label these tables in the poker lobby. They’re pretty easy to find.

The main difference between a jackpot table and a non-jackpot table is that the poker site will charge more rake on the jackpot table. By sitting in, you’re basically agreeing to pay the poker site a little bit more from each pot in exchange for a chance at the jackpot.

You’re also paying that little bit extra for the chance to win a partial jackpot even when you aren’t the one who gets beat. Most bad beat jackpot poker sites divide the payout between every player dealt into the hand, which increases your chances of winning a prize.

Of course, the loser of the bad beat hand takes down the majority of the pot. But at some sites you could win as much as 10% of the jackpot just for having been dealt in.

In sum, you can win a bad beat jackpot by:

  • Sitting in at a bad beat jackpot table and paying extra rake
  • Losing with a really strong hand
  • Being dealt in to a hand where someone else loses with a strong hand