Poker enthusiasts on Twitter were abuzz this week as a colossal bad beat jackpot made its mark at the Playground Poker Club in Quebec, Canada. The showdown featured a straight flush pitted against another straight flush, resulting in a windfall exceeding CAD $1.3 million ($949,480 USD).
Playground Poker Club distributes the jackpot as follows: 40% goes to the unlucky hand’s loser, 20% to the winner, 20% is shared among the other players at the table, and the remaining 20% is divided among all other players in the room. The recipient of the “losing” hand walked away with approximately CAD $537,627 ($392,666), while the victor pocketed CAD $216,814 ($158,354 USD).
The property celebrated all involved, stating on Twitter, “Congratulations to the loser of the hand, the winner, everyone at the table, and all other signed-in NLHE players!”
The Hand in Question
For those not well-versed in poker, a bad beat jackpot rewards a cash game player with a strong hand who loses to another player with an even stronger one. A portion of each hand’s pot contributes to the bad beat pool, similar to a progressive slot machine, until it pays out.
In this particular hand, one player went all-in with 6Diamond Suit 5Diamond Suit on a board displaying 7Diamond Suit 9Diamond Suit 4Heart Suit 8Diamond Suit ASpade Suit. The unfortunate loser secured a straight flush, but their opponent held the JDiamond Suit 10Diamond Suit, forming an even more impressive straight flush.
This unlikely outcome led to a substantial windfall for the participants at the Playground, who celebrated the occasion with a shower of confetti.
Continued Jackpot Success at Playground
The Playground has been the setting for two substantial payouts in just the past few months. In August, the property awarded a CAD $2.6 million ($1.9 million USD) jackpot. This hand occurred in a $1-$2 no-limit hold’em cash game, where one player with pocket tens hit quads. However, another player completed a straight flush with 9Diamond Suit 6Diamond Suit on a board showing 8Diamond Suit 10Heart Suit 10Diamond Suit 7Diamond Suit 2Diamond Suit, besting their opponent’s hand.
The losing player walked away with slightly over CAD $1 million ($774,084 USD), while the winner collected CAD $518,037 ($387,042). This exceeded the cardroom’s prior record of just over $2 million, set in June. Following the recent jackpot payout, the pool was promptly replenished to $108,789, which was the amount previously in the backup jackpot.
