Changes Announced to BetOnline Poker´s Bad Beat Jackpot

The criteria to win BetOnline Poker´s Bad Beat Jackpot has been lowered, players will share more of the jackpot pool, and a new Boost Jackpot has been launched.

There´s been quite a lot going on at BetOnline Poker recently. Not only have there been two incredibly popular tournament-based promotions – Dollar Insanity and Shark Week (which concludes this coming Sunday) – but the Bad Beat Jackpot was won for the first time in more than four months after reaching $849,000.

The clearing out of the “old” jackpot prize pool gave BetOnline Poker the opportunity to introduce some changes to the promotion – most notably that the minimum criteria for a bad beat hand has been lowered to Quad Deuces. The site has also changed the way in which the prize pool is distributed in response to player feedback.

The New Qualifying Criteria to Win the Bad Beat Jackpot

Much of the qualifying criteria for winning the regular jackpot is the same as before. You have to be playing on a designated BBJ cash game table (BBJ tables are highlighted by a gold star in the cash game lobby), at NL100 or higher with at least four players dealt into the hand. Both your hole cards have to be used in the construction of the hand and it must go to showdown.

The big change to the criteria concerns the minimum hand you have to make before you qualify for a share of the jackpot. Previously the minimum threshold started at Quad Jacks and was lowered intermittently as the jackpot prize pool grew. Now the minimum threshold is Quad Deuces, making it more likely the jackpot will be won more often.

Changes to How the Prize Pool is Distributed

BetOnline has previously (and rightly) come in for some criticism for deducting up to 15% in administration charges every time the jackpot is won on top of the 35% withheld in order to seed the next jackpot pool. The site has listened to the criticism and, from tomorrow, the jackpot prize pool will be shared out as follows:

• 20% goes to the loser of the hand (from 17.5%)
• 15% goes to the winner of the hand (from 12.5%)
• 5% between other players dealt into the hand (from 10%)
• 5% between every other player at a BBJ table (from 10%)
• 35% to fund the next prize pool (remains the same)
• 5% admin fee (from 15%)

A couple of things worth pointing out here is that regardless of how many BBJ tables you play at simultaneously, you will only receive one prize for being in the right place at the right time if the jackpot is won on another table. Also, if you are sitting out when the jackpot is won, you won´t receive anything. This has caught out several players in the past. Don´t let the next one be you.

New Boost Bad Beat Jackpot Promotion

Because of the minimum stakes you have to play at in order to be eligible to profit from the regular jackpot promotion, a lot of smaller stakes players are excluded from it. Consequently, BetOnline Poker is adding a second Bad Beat Jackpot to its fast-fold Boost tables, where stakes start at just $0.05/$0.10.

The Boost Bad Beat Jackpot is being seeded with $1,000 and, like its bigger-stakes counterpart, will grow over time from contributions taken from the rake (players don´t pay any extra). Because hands take less time to play on BetOnline Poker´s Boost tables, the jackpot will likely grow quickly – but it could also be won more often because of the lower qualifying criteria.

Instead of the minimum Quad Deuces threshold to win the Bad Beat Jackpot, Boost players will have to lose a hand with a Full House of Aces over any pair in order to qualify for the jackpot prize. The distribution of the prize pool is also different, with the player experiencing the bad beat winning 40% of the prize pool due to there being no admin fee and less money deducted to fund the next pool.

Unlucky Players Welcome at BetOnline Poker

If you´ve been experiencing a run of bad luck at the poker tables, you luck could be in when you try either of BetOnline Poker´s Bad Beat promotions. If you are not yet playing at the site, have a look at our BetOnline review before heading over to create your account, as our review explains the rather unusual procedure for claiming the first deposit bonus. Good luck (or no luck at all) at the tables.