The second-largest country in the world is now home to the second-largest bad beat jackpot ever awarded in poker.
In fact, the Playground Poker Club, in Quebec, Canada, holds the record for the top two bad beat jackpots. The club paid out a massive total of CAD $2,275,388, or nearly $1.7 million in U.S. dollars, for the most recent bad beat.
The total falls just short of the $1.9 million record, which also occurred at the Playground Poker Club a little over a year ago.
Second-Largest Bad Beat Jackpot Ever
The second-largest bad beat payout happened on September 27 in a $2-$5 no-limit Hold'em game.
A player named Yann was dealt with the winning hand, earning 20% of the pot, as dictated by the poker room's regulations, which totaled CAD (Canadian dollars) $455,077 (USD $337,096).
The so-called "loser" of the hand, Elie, walked away with 40% of the pot, amounting to CAD $864,000 (USD $640,004).
It finally happened! 💥
The Bad Beat Jackpot hit $2,275,388 today at Playground! 🤑
Yann took the hand, but Elie, who lost, won $864K—the biggest winner from the 2nd largest BBJ in poker and Playground's history! 🎉The BBJ is reseeded at $664K—still life-changing! pic.twitter.com/s8r2l77Feo
— Playground Poker (@PlaygroundPoker) September 27, 2024
Yann held pocket aces while Elie had pocket nines. Both players hit sets on the flop, with Elie advancing to four-of-a-kind on the turn with another nine.
However, Yann clinched the dramatic win by drawing an ace on the river, forming quads and activating the jackpot.
How Was the Rest of the Jackpot Distributed?
After paying out Elie’s 40% and Yann’s 20%, the Playground Poker Club divided another 20% of the pot among the remaining players at the table. Although the number of seated players was unspecified, a fully occupied table of nine would see each of the seven uninvolved players receive approximately CAD $65,011 (USD $48,156).
A final 20% was allocated amongst all participants engaged in the cash game at the 75-table poker room.
According to Playground's website, if there are no other Texas Hold’Em or eligible mixed games on the gaming floor, the 20% allocated for the rest of the room is equally distributed among all players at the winning table.
What is a Bad Beat in Poker?
Sometimes having a really good hand in poker just isn’t enough. When a very good hand loses to an even better one, it’s called a bad beat. And if you’re playing in a poker room (or club), a big jackpot will come along with it.
Different poker rooms offer different levels of payouts for bad beat jackpots and have different losing hand requirements. Typically, the losing player in this hand would be awarded 50% of the jackpot fund, the winner gets 25% and other players who took part in the hand get the remaining 25%. But the rules vary.
Casinos take a small portion out of every cash game hand to build the prize pool, much like a progressive jackpot on a slot machine.
Qualifying hands for the bad beat also vary by casino. For example, it’s not unheard of for some bad beat jackpot winners to have to lose with a hand of four 8s or better to qualify.
Playground Poker Club Known for Big Jackpots
Playground Poker Club has been the site for several of these huge payouts, including the record-setting jackpot in August 2023.
📣A NEW WORLD RECORD!!
Just moments ago, after having climbed to a mindboggling $2,590,185, the Bad Beat Jackpot hit! 🥳This shatters the previous record of $2,228,425 set in June of 2022. Congratulations[ You have made history! 🍾🥂The BBJ has been reseeded at $700,863 🤩 pic.twitter.com/DbVjVXcxsa
— Playground Poker (@PlaygroundPoker) August 3, 2023
Then in October 2023, the property paid out CAD $1.3 million (almost $964,000 USD) followed by another CAD $1.8 million ($1.3 USD) in March, both of which were passed by this most recent jackpot.
If you're looking for a bad beat, you may have to head up north, or you can practice your poker skills by using the best legal online poker sites. Players in five states have access to legal online poker, while several other states may legalize it soon.
