Keeping off tilt

[PITTM]

last night i was playing in a 5-10 game at my local card room, i get pocket kings and the board comes k-a-a, i jam the pot as hard as i can and one guy is coming with me, i figure maybe he has an ace, but oh well, too bad a full house beats 2 pair. at the end he turns over aces for the flopped 4 of a kind. Today I was in a tournament and was very short-stacked and went all in with a k suited and again, the long caller turns over 2 red aces. These kind of instances really shake me up, not that i get angry, but that i question my own reads and poker skill and start playing very very tight, what does anyone else do after a bad beat that really shakes them up?

Ryan

[deacsoft]

Sometimes I get steamed. I'll go smoke a cig or call the guy every name in the book (in my head). After a minute or two I think back and replay the hand in my head. Did I make a mistake? Did I play the hand as well as I could play it? Did the other guy do anything I need to make a note of? If the answer to the first two questions is no; then take satisfaction in the fact that you played the hand well and sometimes there's just nothing you can do. If the answer to the last question is yes; then make your note and still know that you played the hand well.

Bad beats are a bummer but are bound to happen. Try reading Zen and the Art of Poker by Phillips if you feel you need some extra help. It deals quite a bit with mind set and dealing with bad beats.