What's your strategy for dealing psychologically with bad beats?

[fimbulwinter]

i've only been playing for a little while now (2 months seriously) and i really feel i've come quite far as a player, except i still find it difficult to deal with the horrible bad beats that, rationally, i know come with playing so many hands online. today has been particularly bad (i wont share any stories because i know nobody wants to hear them) and i'd like responses from posters who aren't the "poker zen masters" who care not for outcome. thus far i've been somewhat of a phil about it (and i have a cracked mouse to prove it) and i know this kind of behavior is not how i should take these things. any advice or opinions on what you do right after a really bad beat to avoid tilt and murdering your peripherals would be greatly appreciated.

fim

[pstripling]

I too am horrible at taking bad beats with grace. Ask yourself 3 questions before you play another hand. It is very important that you are brutally honest with yourself as that is the only person you are fighting this "rage/tilt" war with. You are under no obligation to answer here.

1) are you a winning player?

2) do you have an appropriate bankroll for the limit you are playing?

3) What kind of game are you comfortable in?

If you are a winning player overall then the bad beats are just a speed bump of sorts. They suck, but they are part of poker. My bankroll is the most important way I handle the bad beats. I am overfunded for the limits I play at, therefore the bad beats do not hurt as much because they will not put me out of action or cause me to have to lower my limits. I play poker for money. I enjoy the game (usually), but I play for money. To keep sane and not allow the bad beats to get to me I lowered the limits I get the biggest emotional rush at (10/20 - 15/30) and now I mostly play 3/6 (muti table). I still have the same money at risk but spread over several tables. This helps me even out and keeps me on track.

Sometimes you will just run bad. This can be a combination of others playing well against you due to their skill or the perception that you are vulnerable. Of course they may be taking the lottery approach to the game...throw the money in and pray.

If I see a lot of reckless play preflop...you know what I am talking about. You sit down at a table and next thing you know 7 people are seeing the flop for 4 bets each...well I immediatly click the "deal me out" button. I want to see if this is a common occurance. If it is, I leave. These are not games I am comfortable in, others thrive in them, but I like a nice, soft, passive game.

One last thought, one that I wrestle with daily.... Sometimes someone will get the better of you. Either through skill or just dumb luck. It irritates the hell out of me, but my biggest losses are the sessions I have played trying to "get even" with this player/table. Sometimes it is better just to get up and start fresh on a new table. I hope some of this helps.

[Blarg]

Get the hell away from the computer, and don't hurry back. Give time a chance to do its invisible business soothing your nerves.

Three things that I do that almost always help me feel better inside: take a nap or go to bed early and sleep it off, take a really hot shower and get that sweet relaxation going and wash it all away, and get out of the house and get some fresh air -- go anywhere, do anything.

Mix'em and match'em and trade 'em with your friends!

A nice hot shower followed by a nice sleep and a day out of the house having fun puts all three together and really helps a ton.

[Kopefire]

1) Look in poker tracker and verify that it was a bad beat and not bad play on my part that gave away the hand.

2) Notice my win rate in PT.

3) Remind myself that bad beats result from making good plays, and that if I keep playing just like that I'll make money.

4) notice that point 3 is validated in PT.

[QuadsOverQuads]

Well, here's what I just did this afternoon ...

First, a little background: I play for a living right now (through circumstance, not choice), and I'm on a REALLY tight bankroll. I play mostly small SNGs to limit the damage that a really bad run can do (and also because I'm just a better tourney player than I am a ring game player). My typical day is 10-15 SNGs, usually at the $10/1 or $20/2 buyin. If I can make $50-$100 over a session, I'm happy as a clam.

Ok, so ... my first 7 tourneys today I end up 2-for-7, and I'm starting to get really frustrated. Against my own judgment, I decide to try a $50 tourney, in hopes of "getting even again" (Danger Will Robinson! Danger!). Anyway, at level 2, I finally get a hand in the big blind (KTs), it's raised preflop with about 5 callers, so I toss in the extra bet and, lo and behold, I flop trip kings. Life is good, right? Wrong. On the turn, the raiser hits his set of nines to make a boat, and my hand goes down in flames. Ok, so I breathe deeply, try to do the zen thing, and regroup. I mostly fold for the next 25 minutes. Then, at the 200-400 level, I pick up AA in the big blind. It's folded around to the SB (maniac who's getting lucky and basically running the table), who raises it into me. I smoothe call, flop comes xxx rainbow, he bets, I raise all-in, he calls and shows AQ. Great for me, right? (I'm a 99-to-1 favorite at this point, btw). Well, as you can figure, he catches two running queens to make trips and knocks me out.

So, how did I deal with this ugly day of beats? Well, I'd like to say I handled it with poise and monk-like self-control, but ... er, well, no. I pretty much let loose on the AQ guy, banged out a wicked stream of profanities into the chat-box, hung around a made nasty remarks about his play, his mother, you name it, for the remainder of the tourney ... oh, man, I just lost it.

As should be obvious by now, this is probably the weakest area of my play, which is why your post caught my eye.

But wait, there's more ...

So, after I get tired of railing at the guy who hit the 99-to-1 shot against me, I decide to quit SNGs for a bit and join a 2/4 game. Long story short, I end up with a made straight betting into two pair, we cap it on the turn, and the guy hits his boat on the river.

ONLY AT THIS POINT DID I FINALLY ADMIT THAT I WAS ON TILT.

Sorry for the all-caps, but I really did want to make that point stand out in this long, drawn-out story. If I'd had sense enough to leave after my first bad run (the 2-for-7 run), I'd have saved myself $80 that, while lost to further bad beats, I shouldn't have put at risk at all.

So, as I finally stepped away from the computer (2 hours and $80 too late), I reflected on all this ... and came to the obvious conclusion that better self-awareness (and a greater willingness to take time out to maintain my own psychological equilibrium) is an even weaker area for me than I like to admit.

Call it another lesson learned -- the hard way.


Epilogue:

After taking about an hour and a half break, I came back and won my next tourney, recouping $78 of my day's losses in one fell swoop. Next tourney? Cold-decked, -$22.

So, here I am, taking a break and writing this post. Slowly learning, slowly learning ...


q/q

[sethypooh21]

Something I've started trying the last few days, and I think helps, is turning all chat off when I take a few beats. This does two things. First, it keeps me from verbal battles (already a weakness of my game as this thread demonstrates.) Second, it prevents the thing that most often sends me into a rage - the dude who just went runner runner perfect on me crowing about taking my money and and how bad I play. Dr. Bruce Banner has nothing on me at that point...so I've removed the stimulus.

Of course with no chat option, I now find myself just whacking myself in the forehead with an open palm, ala Jud Heathcoatte, so I'm not sure I've found the most optimal line.

[Doubling12]

Learn more games! Even Spock would go nuts playing NLHE exclusively.

[Blarg]

That's a good idea too, especially if you start a good bit lower than the level you're playing your main game.

[Al Schoonmaker]

The most important part of your post came at the end, "Slowly learning, slowly learning ..."
As long as you've learned from it, the experience was probably worth it.
MOST people do not learn. They repeat the same stupid mistakes for years. You learned because you looked honestly at yourself.
GG,
Al

[Peter Harris]

every time someone deals a bad beat, it encourages them to keep playing badly.

When opponents play badly, you win money.

Thus: Bad beats are good!

Type "nh" and encourage them to play sloppily. Tantrums and broken equipment decrease your overall expectation for the session, and thus your winnings for the year.

Regards,
Pete Harris