The largest bad beat poker jackpot at any Texas cardroom hit over this past weekend at The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock. It paid out slightly more than $290,000 to the lucky players present, half of which went to the losing player.
The unlucky loser turned jackpot-winner hit a straight flush of Ace to Five of Clubs, which was beaten by his opponent, who also had a straight flush of Three to Seven of Clubs.
Some 50% of the bad beat jackpot – $145,000 – went to the player that lost the hand. Then 25% went to the winner, plus the hand winnings, and the remaining 25% was split among all players in the cardroom at the time.
The jackpot now resets to $100,000, from where it will go up by $1000 a day. A $118,000 bad beat almost hit last year, but the stricter rules in Pot Limit Omaha at The Lodge saw it nullified.
The Jackpot Win
The lucky player(s) were participating in a $5/$10 Pot Limit Omaha poker game at the Lodge on Tuesday, February 4, when the highly unlikely card combo hit.
The Lodge Card Club is in Round Rock, a northern suburb of Austin, Texas. It is co-owned by poker pro player and media personality Doug Polk.
The memorable pot started with the cut-off, who had the Ace and Two of Clubs in his four-card hand, raising to $30. All but two others at the eight-player table folded, leaving just three people in. The button player had the Seven and Six of Clubs, as well as an Ace of Diamonds.
The cutoff then raised to $130, the third player folded, and the button called. The two remaining players checked each other to the showdown, where everyone went crazy celebrating as they realized the bad beat jackpot triggered.
Bad Beats
In most U.S. poker rooms, a small percentage of the rake pays for bad beat and other combo jackpots. But in Texas, cardrooms operate on a members basis, with monthly and hourly fees, as charging a rake makes it an illegal gambling operation.
This means the card rooms fund the bad beat jackpots out of their own money, so sometimes the rules are stricter than in other states.
A good example of that occurred last year. In Pot Limit Omaha at The Lodge, only hands that are flopped count towards the bad beat jackpot. In mid 2024, the poker room saw two straight flushes come down after all-ins – and people began celebrating.
But then the river card gave a Royal Flush to one player, which meant the winning hand wasn’t flopped and no jackpot triggered.
The biggest bad beat jackpot win at any global poker room outside of Texas was October 2024’s $2.1 million payout at the Playground Poker Room in Montreal, Canada.
One player hit pocket 9s into Quad 9s on the flop, only to be beaten at the showdown by Quad Aces, triggering the massive prize. The losing player with the pocket 9s, who gave their name as Elie, took home $864,000 for their troubles.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
