Bad beat jackpot Rules

Bad beat jackpot rules are different in every poker room and the requirements can change slightly depending on where you play. The normal bad beat jackpot rules, requirements and fund distribution are listed below and we recommend you a list of poker rooms were you find the best bad beat jackpot rules.

• Four or more players must be dealt into the hand

• Players sitting out do not qualify for the jackpot

• The losing hand must contain Four of a Kind, 8s, or better to qualify

• The best hand for both the winner and the loser must include their two hole cards, and the hand must go to a showdown

• The hand must be raked and the jackpot contribution must be collected in order for the hand to qualify for a Bad Beat Jackpot

• The two highest hands will be considered for the jackpot if there are two or more hands that qualify for the jackpot, with the highest hand being the winning hand (the winner) and the second highest hand winning the jackpot (the loser of the hand)

• The hand that started first (based on our system clock) will be awarded the jackpot if two qualifying jackpot hands are hit at exactly the same time

• Players must play their hands independently and cannot tell opponents how to act or reveal their hand to other players. Violations will disqualify the hand from the Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot.

Other conditions

• The jackpot contribution will only be collected if the hand is dealt on a jackpot table to four or more players and a rake is collected from the hand

• Jackpot rake will be collected at the rate of $0.01 per $0.10 pot up to a maximum of $0.50 when the pot reaches $5.00

• These contributions are added to the jackpot until it is hit

The bad beat jackpot winnings are often shared in a similar way in most poker rooms but the best way to find out is to visit our bad beat jackpot poker reviews. The most common split is:

- 20% is used to seed the next Jackpot
- 10% is used for administration
- 70% is distributed as winnings
- 50% to the losing hand "The Bad Beat"
- 25% to the winner of the hand
- 25% evenly split between the other Players who participated in the hand


The biggest bad beat jackpot ever was over $1.2 million and was paid out at Carbon poker. One of the eight players at the table was sitting out and didn’t get anything from the bad beat winnings. This will perhaps teach you to never sit out at a table with bad beat jackpot limit!