Coping with bad beats
The term bad beat in poker is reserved for the occasions when a player loses a hand despite being a strong favourite when the majority of the money went into the pot.
For example, you may get into a raising war with another player pre-flop and manage to get all your money in with a pair of aces against your opponent’s kings, making you an 82 per cent favourite, only for a third king to hit on the flop to stack you. Another example would be if you had a strong hand such as a set and then lost to someone after cards on the turn and river gave them a better hand.
The most common reaction when a bad beat is put on you is that of anger. This is because we know we had the best hand and as a result see the pot as our property. When a bad beat occurs it feels like someone stole that money from us so we become angry.
Becoming angry can then lead you to go on tilt, and a tilting player cannot play optimal poker and will therefore risk of losing even more chips.
One way to deal with a bad beat, whether it occurs in Texas Hold’em or Omaha poker, is to take some time away from the table. Simply choose to sit out the next hand, or maybe even the next entire orbit of the table, until you have calmed down and are not playing with your emotions in a raw state. This will minimise the risk of losing more money or tournament chips.
Some players cope with bad beats by venting their anger at the dealer or at the player who put the bad beat on them. Two people who are infamous for this are Phil “The Poker Brat” Hellmuth and Tony G. Both men are superb players in their own right but are almost as famous for their trash-talking and berating of players as they are their poker skills.
Probably the best way to get over a bad beat would be to firstly accept that they are part of poker and secondly realise that they only happen to good players. This may sound ridiculous but with a little thought it becomes obvious.
As a good player you will be attempting to commit your chips with a mathematical advantage, also known as getting your money in good. If you are doing this on a regular basis, as you should be, the only way you will lose is when your opponent outdraws you or sucks out on you. Take this last point on board as the next time you suffer a bad beat, smile in the knowledge you made the correct play and, in the long run, it will all come good.
