How do you run a bad beat jackpot in a home game?

How do you guys run a bad beat jackpot in a home game? Do you take a certain amount from each player per hour? Per hand?



My game is once a week. Only one table playing for about 8-11 hours. What's a good requirement for the bad beat in my situation? I dont want something almost undoable. Any suggestions?



Nick

I would think that a progressive bad beat jackpot would be a problem for a home game. Its the kind of thing that can get out of hand. What happens when the game breaks up and there is a lot of money in the jackpot? There are too many problems I can imagine with a large badbeat jackpot.

If you really want to have a prize for a bad beat, maybe its the kind of thing that should be a set prize (like every player in the game throws in a set amount of money at the time the bad beat happens).

[PokerGoblin]

The point of the jackpot is that it gets so big it's worth the -ev of contributing the extra juice for it... look at Party for example. Allowing an extra .50 per hand at 2-4 and 3-6 is terrible, but one jackpot makes it worthwhile. Even just being dealt into one of those is usually worth at least a couple grand.

That said if you do a progressive bad beat it will probably never get hit playing once a week. The common qualifier in most casinos is losing a hand with aces full of 10's or better, with the hand going to showdown and both players making their hands using both hole cards.

If you really want to do it, collect x amount from each player when they buy in, and say the best hand that is shown down and loses the pot wins the jackpot (or splits it with the winner, whatever) at the end of the night. I'd suggest you do not require a qualifier.

It's kinda of a neat idea that I've thought about myself... but its difficult to execute to where it would really have a positive effect on the game.

PG

[JimHammer]

I had a best hand jackpot to be paid at the end of the night. I just took a quarter out of every hand that saw a flop (.25/.50 NL game) and put it in the pot. Quad 10's ended up with an extra $40 at the end of the night.

As far as a qualifier, it depends on how often you want to give out the jackpot. A home game doesn't see nearly as many hands as casino, so I'd make it boat over boat. That might only take a couple of nights to hit.

[dabluebery]

We run a Bad Beat jackpot in my home games by collecting .50 from everyone at the start of every game. It can only be hit once per night, and it's carried over from week to week. We've gone about 10 games in between hitting it, which has made it between $30 and $50 a couple of times.

The qualifier is that a full house using both your hole cards gets beat. I may change this and make it more restrictive, as the last time the jackpot hand was 33 losing to Ax on a board of A2A2A.

Rob

The bad beat has been decided on already. Im going to take a $1 from every player per hour of play. Require to have been dealt in the hand. What I havent figured out yet is the what beats what requirements to make it. I want a jackpot for my game to be possible to hit whether it be every few weeks to several months.

NIck

Someone just raised a question about legality. Would a badbeat jackpot be illegal??

Nick

[gmrankin]

I haven't done a bad beat jackpot before, but i have done a high hand... trying to motivate people to stay and watch and hang out until the end versus, busting out, getting mad and leaving. I can play all i want on the internet by myself, but i like the social aspect of the home games. I told everyone that the first rebuy was going to be the prize and they had to stay until the end to win. i made little coupons that people handed to me for every hand straight or better, and did the raffle at the end. most people liked the idea of a chance to win their buyin back.

[JimGil]

Instead of a bad beat jackpot, we have everyone put an extra $2/week into the jackpot and give it to the first person to hit 4 of a kind or better. If you only use one hole card, you only get half. It gets hit about once every 3 weeks on average.

The home game I have most recently been in has a high hand jackpot that makes sure the money goes out the same night.

If you wanting to make it last a few weeks make it a full house beaten by a full house, if you want it more difficult make it that you have to use both hole cards, more difficult, aces full of XXX beaten by XXX,

Theres no reason you cant start it and change the rules after, just let the people know that if its not lasting long enough then you will make the restrictions higher.