A Missed Bad Beat

Poker players are stubborn creatures. We never give up.

I was in the middle of packing for my 1,500-mile trip to Albuquerque, N.M. when it happened. The bad beat jackpot at The Meadows Casino near Washington, PA. reached $30,000 and a special poker room rule kicked in.

To hit the bad beat, players needed to use only one card, not two

Now, this may not sound like much to non-poker players. But to we veterans of the green felt jungle, it's almost like handing away free cash.

Here is how it works:

Say four sixes flop on the table. If you have an ace-eight and somebody else has king-three, you have hit the jackpot. The king three is the loser and wins half the bad jackpot. The ace eight is the winner and collects one quarter, while the table players share the other quarter/

The Meadows developed this one card rule about a year ago and it has been immensely popular from the start. Naturally, I had to try my luck at that easy cash and I headed for the casino early Saturday morning to get into the action.

There were six tables filled with nearly 60 players when I arrived. A seat was open at a limit Texas Hold'em game and I sat down and told the dealer,

'Deal me in.'

The dealer's name was Eric. He was in his late 30s and had a shaved head. I asked him what he would spend his tip money on if he was fortunate enough to deal the bad beat jackpot.

He shuffled the cards and said, 'Strippers.'

I like the meadows. The dealers, as well as the players, are friendly to outsiders. Most of them are retired steelworkers and coal miners who have worked hard all their lives. They don't give up their money without a fight and they are fun to play against.

When a big bad beat jackpot is at stake...

...the players play in collusion rather than against each other. A bad beat win benefits the entire table and sends everyone home happy.

About three hours into the game, I came close to hitting the jackpot. I was dealt pocket kings and the dealer flopped three aces. The hand that needs to be beat is aces full of jacks. A player folded his ace three. Had he stayed, we would have split the money.

At 8:30 p.m., nine hours after I sat down, a great shout came from a table just across from where I had been sitting. The dealer had flopped four eights and the players had hit the jackpot.

We congratulated the winners. I had played long enough and cashed in my winnings.

If you live near a casino that has a bad beat jackpot...

...and most do, find out the rules and then play for it. Bad beat jackpots provide plenty of thrills for poker players and the payoff can be fantastic.

As far as strategy, I would recommend that you do not raise with pocket pairs of jacks through aces. Simply call and hope for a miracle flop. You don't want to drive out a hand that could make that jackpot come to life.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).