Absolute Poker

Australian Hits $821,670.69 Jackpot With Losing Poker Hand

Absolute Poker makes online poker history as Australian hits $821,670.69 Bad Beat Jackpot.

Miami, September 1, 2007 - History was made Wednesday morning when an online poker player from Australia lost a Texas Hold'em hand and set off Absolute Poker's Bad Beat Jackpot bells to the tune of $821,670.69.

"This is absolutely monumental," stated a stunned David Clainer, Senior Vice President for Absolute Poker. "This win has catapulted Absolute Poker and one lucky Texas Hold'em player into the poker history books."

The $821,670.69 jackpot shatters all industry records, including the largest Bad Beat Jackpot record of $739,621 held by Party Poker.

In poker, the term 'bad beat' refers to losing a hand that is clearly favored to win. Normally, such a loss can leave even the most hardened poker player feeling devastated. But at Absolute Poker's Bad Beat Jackpot tables, losing a seemingly unbeatable hand has become extremely lucrative.

Now, when seated at a Bad Beat Jackpot table, if a player loses a Texas Hold'em hand holding four 8s or anything better, they'll win a large piece of the Bad Beat Jackpot.

To help the jackpot build, $0.50 is collected from qualifying hands at Bad Beat Jackpot tables. The jackpot keeps growing until someone hits a qualifying bad beat, at which time a large percentage of it is distributed amongst the bad beat victim and the participants in the hand.

The latest bad beat happened on August 29th at 08:43 ET when KADI, an online poker player from Australia, lost a 10-high Straight Flush to a King-high Straight Flush. Seated at one of Absolute Poker's Bad Beat Jackpot tables, KADI's losing hand netted her $267,042.97 in cash. The pot winner walked away with $133,521.48 and the participants in the hand each earned $33,380.37.

This isn't the first time Australians have witnessed an astonishing win at the poker tables. In 2005, Joe Hachem - a native of Melbourne - won the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, securing a first place prize of $7.5 million.

While this colossal win is indisputably impressive, the next record breaker could be right around the corner. The jackpot has been reset and currently sits at $215,000. With $0.50 collected from each qualifying hand at designated Bad Beat Jackpot tables, that number is growing by an average of $2,000 per hour.

The next player to lose a hand holding four 8s or anything better will win a large piece of the new jackpot. The participants in the bad beat hand will also share in the winnings.

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