The greatest “bad beat jackpot” in United States history just cushioned the blow of an absolutely rough hand of poker for a losing player and then some.
At the Motor City Casino in Detroit this week, a player who had four 3s lost to another who had four Queens, which is just the worst:
But because there was a “bad beat jackpot” in the casino, the losing player won a share of over $1 million. MLive.com explained how that worked:
At the Motor City Casino, in Texas Hold ’em poker, if a player hits any four of a kind and is beaten by another player’s four of a kind, they hit the bad beat jackpot. Both players must have pocket pairs. The four of a kind must only be beaten by another four of a kind. A straight flush only wins them the much smaller bad beat jackpot. The rules are slightly different at the MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown. The bad beat jackpot can be hit if a player’s four of a kind loses to a straight flush. That makes it slightly easier to win. The odds of hitting either are astronomical, but it does happen.
Many other poker rooms offer the jackpots, which gather money over time, and the majority of the cash in the pot (40 percent in this case, good for over $427,000 here) goes to the loser. The winning hand gets 20 percent, and the rest of the table (this time, it was six players) split the rest.
Greektown Poker Room
Greektown may seed the Main Bad Beat (primary, secondary, tertiary amounts), and/or the Secondary Bad Bet (A, and/or B, and/or C, and/or D), and/or High Hand, and/or Omaha Bad Beat (primary, secondary, tertiary amounts), and/or the Casino Use Fund (“asino Use”), and/or a MG approved promotion for poker guests with various. The 'Bad Beat' pot is built with $1 from every hand that has a pot of at least $20. The current 'Bad Beat' jackpot at MGM Grand Detroit is $253,000, and at Greektown Casino, it's $83,742.