Bad beat
Losing a hand in which you were a heavy favourite when the money went in. Many rooms run a bad beat jackpot that pays out when a very strong hand, such as quads, loses.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bad beat in poker?
Losing a pot you were a strong favourite to win when the last cards came — aces losing to a flopped set, or a made flush falling to a runner-runner full house. The looser the player uses the term, the smaller the margin tends to be.
Is a bad beat the same as a cooler?
No. A cooler is two very strong hands running into each other where nobody played badly and the money was always going in. A bad beat is specifically about a favourite losing to a draw or an unlikely river.
What is a bad-beat jackpot?
A promotion in which the card room pays out a prize pool when a qualifying monster hand loses — commonly quads beaten by a better hand, with both players needing to use both hole cards. The jackpot is funded by a small extra drop from each pot.