OT: Poker Jackpots

[QuikSand]

One of the in-person games where I am playing fairly regularly is a hold 'em ring game which features a special jackpot. They pay about 6-7 big bets if you manage to hit four eights or better (using both of your cards) and show it down. Nice addition to attract the "action" player, in my opinion -- I've never hit it there.

But more importantly, they have a similar but progressive jackpot for a royal flush that uses both of your cards. If you show down such a hand, you get the jackpot -- which has grown and grown over the last few months, and it is now up to over 120 big bets (it's closing in on two grand).


I wanted to toss this out -- it's a fairly extreme case, but how might it affect your play? I certainly am sticking around in any hand where I can see the flop with two suited royal cards -- even in a circumstance where I might not otherwise be inclined to play a hand like KTs or QTs.

But how else should this affect one's play? Two things come to mind for me:

#1 - A friend of mine hit a card on the turn that gave him the broadway straight. However, he had a draw to the royal flush as well.

He just called the bet into him on that round, bevause at that point he didn't want to risk having his opposition (two players) both fold, thereby losing his chance to get the royal into a final showdown.

Did he play that correctly? Ordinarily, if I have the top straight but am facing a flush draw, I'll raise or checkraise the turn to try to get the draw out (or at least make them pay)... but it's hard to argue with his logic here, even if it's only a one-out shot.


#2 - So, what about pre-flop? I will almost always raise pre-flop with AKs in this game... but should I start limping with a hand like that, just to avoid missing a chance at such a big jackpot? Of course, your chances of filling the royal aren't great -- but I don't know that you give up all that much in EV by limping with a hand like AKs (even more so AQs or KQs) in order to increase the likelihood of keeping a foe in the hand.


Any thoughts about these specific situations, or this circumstance in general?

[hhiipp]

The bad part about limping in with AK suited is that the guy on the BB could be sitting on a pair of 2's or even nothing and make something out of nothing by getting to see the flop.

I think you have to continue to play poker and if you hit the jackpot so be it.

[cthomer5000]

does the hand have to go to "showdown" to win the jackpot?

When i played at the Monte Carlo, I asked about it and they said they cards only had to be dealt.

How big was the pot when it was your friends' action on the turn?

[Logan]

I'd say when you factor in the odds of A) hitting the royale with cheese and B) the potential that your failure to raise pre-flop with AKs can allow both the much lesser hands that limped in/the slightly weaker hands to hit the flop, you're better off raising and taking your money when you can get it.

But I think what your friend did was fine.

[Honolulu Blue]

I wouldn't let it affect play at all. The odds against getting quads or a royal flush are just too steep, and the jackpots aren't big enough to worry about.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

does the hand have to go to "showdown" to win the jackpot?

Yes.

[cthomer5000]

Actually, I'm pretty confident I would have raised the turn. It's very likely that the guy who bet into him would call the bet. This would allow him to check or call the river if he indeed hits the royal (and has to show down to win the jackpot).

Looking at the math, it's almost certainly the technically correct decisiion to go for the royal (unless this pot was absolutely out of control).

[QuikSand]

Is the chance of filling a royal flush after being dealt two cards to it in hold 'em 1 in 1960? If so, this makes the pre-flop math pretty easy: that hand is worth jst about one extra dollar pre-flop, which I agree (with H_B) doesn't make it worth changing your strategy very much.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Is the chance of filling a royal flush after being dealt two cards to it in hold 'em 1 in 1960? If so, this makes the pre-flop math pretty easy: that hand is worth jst about one extra dollar pre-flop, which I agree (with H_B) doesn't make it worth changing your strategy very much.

Regarding pre-flop play, I think you're right about just playing normally.

Regarding the specific situation, I don't think there is a crystal clear answer. Calling is the safer play, but I think the likelihood of the bettor calling the raise is very high, so I don't see raising as a bad move either (and it's what I think i'd do here).

The jackpot odds seem to make it correct to want to see the river here though, so I can't criticize the call.

[albionmoonlight]

To take it another level--does this affect your play at all in terms of how it may affect others at the table? If post-flop there is a royal draw on the board, you may be able to put some players on the draw based on their reaction to it. That would give you some slight insight into their hands, which should help you out a bit.

Or is that just too cute.

[QuikSand]

I have seen people make a comment when there is a royal possibility on the board... something like "that's a suspicious check there, Rick." But I don't think anyone is really adjusting his play in that event.

[primelord]

I agree with cthomer that on #1 your friend really should have rasied the turn as it is highly unlikely the lead bettor would fold for just one more bet.

In those situations I don't know that it really changes much. If you hit broadway on the turn and have to lead out betting you can probably safely check to not drive people out. There is little risk in giving a free card because if you are one card to the royal then the only person that can out draw you is someone already holding trips that catches a full house on the river. And that person wasn;t going to fold to a bet anyway.

So in the short term in that situation you probably cost yourself one bet from the person who wouldn't have folded if you miss your royal and he misses his full house. And you save yourself a bet when he fills up. Since the situation is pretty rare I would say there is little harm in trying to improve to the royal in that situation and letting people stay with you along the way.

[Ben E Lou]

Thread moved from archives per request.

[QuikSand]

I was wondering what SkyDog was doing in a poker thread...

[digamma]

My request...

Last night at a local B&M, playing in a cash game, I flopped quads twice in my first five hands at the table.

The first time I had pocket tens and the flop came A-T-T. I bet out and was raised and just called. Turn was a blank, so, thinking the guy would at least give me one more bet, I bet out again. He folded his ace.

I was in seat one, and the dealer whispered to me that I should have thought about checking to give everyone a play at the jackpot--which qualifies with aces full being beat. Truthfully, I hadn't thought about the jackpot, and I was simply trying to get the most money from the hand.

Three hands later I pick up pocket kings. Flop comes K-K-4. This time I get a flop and a turn bet from my opponent, but no river bet--and, of course, the jackpot wasn't in play.

So, all in all, no jackpots, and not much money earned, but I flopped quads twice for a good story.

[dixieflatline]

Just before the cryptos stopped giving money for royal flushed I limped in with QTd after a couple of limpers and the flop came down AKJd. I was playing three tables at the time and didn't even notice until the action was on me with a bet and a raise in front of me. I call the flop and the other player calls. Non diamond turn goes check/bet/call/call. River is another brick and it goes check/bet to me. I think for a minute and decide that the first player must be on a flush draw so I raise this time. First player folds and the next calls. Screen lights up and I get 75 GBP plus the pot and a bunch of nh on each of the tables I'm playing(crypto used to send a message to each table that someone hit a royal). Only royal I have ever hit.

[GoldenEagle]

Crypto ended that bonus? I have been playing there lately clearing the InterPoker and Caribbean Sun bonuses. InterPoker had a promotion where if you flopped A8 and had A8 in your whole, you won $50. I just could not call with A8o under the gun. I did call with it A8s once on an obvious blind steal when I was in the small blind.

[dixieflatline]

They still have the bad beat jackpots and crazy things like the A8 but not the royal flush bonus.