How do YOU deal with bad beats?

[mikeymer]

Actually he reraised me all in on the button because he was "trying to make a move"... He didnt cold call, although if he just cold called i prolly would have won the hand as i flopped a set.

agree with most of the comments though, the more of these you play the more you get used to it.

[ChuckyB]

Honestly, I just remind myself that I made the right play...and think of the money I'll win in a long run against the chump that sucked out on me.

Remember 'The Fundamental Theorem of Poker'...I just started reading TOP the other day.

[bohemian]

There are no bad beats. There are beats, but they are part of the game, intrinsic to its structure.

[Dov]

Once you understand the nature of the game, the beats shouldn't bother you anymore.

If they do, you are usually making at least one of the following mistakes:

1. Overplaying your bankroll

2. Playing higher stakes than you can handle psychologically (regardless of bankroll)

3, Being results oriented

4. Feeling like you (or your good hands) deserve to win

All of these errors can be corrected and lead to tilt, if left unchecked. If you notice these behaviors in yourself, start eliminating them at your next session.

[deepdowntruth]

I recite something along the lines of the following to myself:

When I roll a six-sided die and I really really really don't want to roll a six, sometimes I will. If I don't ever roll a six, the die is rigged.

When I'm a 95% favorite, I expect to win 95% of the time, not 100%. That 5% of the time may assert itself when I don't want to, but I can't control that.

Frankly, I take a perverse pleasure in being the victim of a "bad beat". It's the bad beats that make the chasers chase. If the bad players didn't have the possiblity of getting lucky, they'd leave and poker would dry up. The 5% of the time I lose a near-lock hand is the admission price I pay for access to juicy games. I'm happy to pay it.

And when a 'bad beat' is laid on me I adhere to the following rhyming-and-therefore-easily-remembered-and-internalized rule: "Don't berate, congratulate."

"Nice hand. Gutsy call. Way to go."

Keep these players in, make them feel welcome, and let them keep cold-calling your raises with worse hands. That's how you win in poker, right?

[blackize]

Yeah but in a tournament when a MP player minraises and a LMP player calls and you reraise to 3x the minraise with AK and the flop comes K45 and you move all in only to be called by K6 who of course hits his 3 outer on the river, it kind of makes me want to blow my brains out. Or at least punch something.

[Leonardo]

I hate to be rude, but that is just because you really dont understand the game. It is all math. If you are a 95% favourite, you are not 'supposed to win' , the facts are very simple. You win 95% of the time. You lose 5%. The idea that someone 'should not have won' a hand is just nonsense. If someone calls with a 20% chance of winning against you and wins, what is the big deal? Think of yourself as an insurance company. If a house burns down, you lose. But imagine that no ones house burns down, ever. You will go out of business. Just think about the math.

[AaronBrown]

I don't exactly disagree with you, isn't this thinking more like a casino owner than a poker player? Your insurance analogy is dead on, but people have to pay you to sell insurance. Playing poker is fun.

You can't ignore the long-term probabilities or, as you say, you will go broke. But if you ignore the emotion, how much fun will you have along the way? If winning and losing don't make any difference to you, why not be the dealer and pick up some tips?

[grimel]

About the time slam my keyboard the cats and small dog scatter behind furniture for some reason.

[brokedickrooster]

Well said. NH Sir.