Yesterday I was at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, BC and while I was there the “Bad Beat Jackpot” was won on the table next to me. For those of you that don’t know what a Bad Beat Jackpot is, the concept is a simple one. One dollar is raked from each poker hand played, and is added to a jackpot until a “bad beat” occurs. What qualifies as a bad beat may vary from casino to casino, but at the River Rock the minimum qualifying hands are a Full House (aces over tens or better) beaten by Four of a Kind or better.
The hand that won in this case was a full house aces over jacks, beaten by four of a kind jacks (both were pocket pairs). The breakdown for the jackpot, which was at just over $29,000, was as follows: 50% to the loser of the hand (person with pocket aces), 25% to the winner of the hand (pocket jacks), and the remaining 25% to be distributed between the other players at the table. The prize money was therefore paid as roughly $14,500 to the loser of the hand, $7,250 to the winner, and the remaining $7,250 split seven ways (one player was on a lunch break and received nothing!) between the other players at the table. Not bad for an afternoon of cards!
While some may argue that these jackpots are an exciting addition to the casino poker experience, I’ve made some calculations that show how the rakes that fund the bad beat jackpot take a large slice out of the profits of some players. For instance, a recreational player that plays an average of 20 or more hours per week, and a “professional” poker player that plays poker for a living and plays 40 or more hours per week.
Let’s start with the recreational player. Most likely he or she has another part of full-time job and plays poker on the side for a bit of extra cash. Let’s say this player plays for 20 hours per week, and plays 30 hands per hour. A rake of $1 (on top of the usual $2-5) is taken from each pot. Assume this player is a good one and wins 1 out of every 6 pots. Also assume this player plays 50 weeks out of the year.
20 hours/week x 30 hands/hour x $1 per pot = $600 per week taken as bad beat rake.
$600 x 1/6 = $100/week of direct profit taken as rake.
$100/week x 50 weeks = $5000/year is taken from this player to fund the bad beat.
Now let’s take a look at the player that plays for a living. He or she will “work” at least 40 hours per week. The pro, like the recreational player, will also play around 30 hands per hour and play 50 weeks out of the year. However, the pro’s skill level is likely higher than that of the recreational player and they will win around 1 out of every 4 pots.
40 hours/week x 30 hands/hour x $1 per pot = $1200 per week taken as bad beat rake.
$1200 x 1/4 = $300/week of direct profit taken as rake.
$300/week x 50 weeks = $15000/year is taken from this player to fund the bad beat.
This means that as a pro poker player you will have to win the large 50% share of the bad beat jackpot at least once a year (based on a jackpot of $30,000) to make the rakes worth your while!
For this reason many players won’t play in card rooms that take a rake for the bad beat, while others may come to these card rooms just for that same reason.
Please leave a comment, and share with us your thoughts on the pros and cons of the Bad Beat Jackpot. |
