Any online poker player that has been enjoying the Bad Beat Jackpot (BBJ) that has been on offer in the Merge Gaming Network should be aware that the company plans to remove it once the current jackpot has been hit. At the time of writing, the BBJ is standing at a level of $322,000 so there is still time to get involved and bag a big prize but once it is gone, it is gone and the BBJ tables option will be removed from the network, including the Carbon Poker site.
With Carbon Poker being one of the most popular poker skins on the Merge Poker Network, it is understandable that a great number of their players will be affected by this news. The site has moved swiftly to release a statement to clarify matters for their poker users. One point of concern that players have had is that traditionally, 20% of the jackpot has been utilised as the seed money to kick-start the next jackpot. It has been confirmed that with the promotion coming to a close, the seed money will be shared out amongst the winning players.
A spokesperson for Carbon Poker released the following statement, stating that the decision was taken to “ensure a healthier poker room ecology, while providing players with a better ring game selection and increased players at the stakes the BBJ tables use to be”. A lot of big words that probably don’t get to the heart of the matter for many poker players but in short, this poker style of play will no longer be available on Carbon Poker.
Not everyone loves BBJ
It would be correct to say that the BBJ promotion has split opinion on poker sites. For the more casual player and for the poker player who is well acquainted with casino, the BBJ style of play has been rather popular. However, for the more serious poker player, the promotion has been viewed with a degree of scorn for the way it introduces a game of chance to traditionally skill based environment of poker.
Players keen to keep playing BBJ style games should be aware that a number of poker sites and networks stull provide BBJ tables with a slight variation of the rules depending on the set up of the site. There will always be an outlet for poker players with a desire to enjoy their poker in a certain way and this is why a great number of poker players prefer to hold a portfolio of site. Even with the removal of the BBJ tables, the Merge Gaming Network and in particular, the Carbon Poker site will remain excellent choices for all levels of online poker players.
The Merge Poker Network is not the first to remove the BBJ element from their sites in recent times. Back in March of 2012, Party Poker acted in the same fashion, removing all trace of BBJ tables from their site and issuing statements that they did so in order to allow players to play for better cash games and to have an increased pool of poker players to play against.