This year’s first Bad Beat Jackpot came on January 16th just after 9 in the morning at a $1/$2 table with 9 players in the hand.

There was a straddle to $5 in the hand and an early position call, and then a player in middle position raised to $12. The player to the left of the raiser called, as did the blinds, the original player who straddled, and the first caller. There were 6 players to the flop, which came: .

The first two players to act both checked, and then there was a bet of $18 into a $72 pot. The next player to act folded, and then the player who had made the first raise to $12 went all-in for his remaining $45. There were three calls, and the pot was now up to $198 with 4 players in the hand. The turn brought the and the action checked around with one player already all-in.

The river was the and the first player to act bet $60. The player to his left went all-in for his remaining stack. The next player to act folded, and the player who had bet to $60 made the call (for less).

At showdown, it turns out that the player in the small blind (and had led the betting on the river) had flopped a straight flush, holding , while the player who had shoved on the river had pocket 55 for quads. The player who had gone all-in on the flop mucked his hand.

The secondary BBJ always pays out $25,000 with 50% going to the loser of the hand, 25% to the winner of the hand, and the remaining 25% divided evenly among the other players at the table.

Congratulations to everyone at the table for winning the first jackpot of the year!