What Are Bad Beats in Poker and How to Deal With Them Adda52Live Follow Mar 26, 2019 · 3 min read

A bad beat is a situation when a Poker player loses a good hand which is statistically favorite to win the game. Many players find themselves unable to get over the frustration that comes with the defeat. The failure chips away their confidence and hurts their mental strength and ultimately causes “tilt”.

When things go wrong and we face an outrageous poker bad beat, we get consumed with anger and disappointment. The negativity we created in our mind encourages us to chase our losses by overplaying. We begin playing with weak starting hands with the eagerness to shove all chips into the pot. The lack of rational thinking prevents us to deliver our best performance on the table.

How to deal with this emotional experience?

Losing is a part of the game. There will always be a winner and a loser. It is important to realize that poker is an unpredictable game and you cannot control bad beats. Every player across the world experiences suck outs every now and then. Even the highly-skilled poker pros who have enjoyed great success on tables are not immune to the bad run of cards. Regardless of whether you play online or offline, tournaments or cash games — bad beats are unavoidable.

Leading yourself out of the emotionally distressed state when you lose a big pot is a tough challenge. It is okay to be upset over an unexpected loss even when odds were in your favor. But prolonged negative emotions start interfering with your ability to focus on the game. If you want to become a successful player in the long term, it is essential to learn how to manage emotions and turn the negatives into an opportunity to raise your game.

Just let it go!

Never finger point, mock, or intimidate the winning player. Just stay calm and concentrate to play the next game. Never show anxiousness, irritation, or displeasure on the game table. Your opponent can take benefit from your mental state by pushing your buttons to distract you from the game and make you suffer more losses.

Always assess the equity (the chances/odds to win the pot) before making your move while playing a hand. By calculating the outs, you can find out the possibility to form the best hand. If you have more than 50% equity, you can consider putting maximum money into the pot.

Remember that facing a bad beat doesn’t mean that you failed to perform to your capabilities. It signifies that although you played well, your opponent won against the odds. As your game play is based on mathematical calculations, you are definitely going to make good money in the long run.

Embrace your emotions. But rather than wasting time dwelling on things you cannot control, utilize those moments to identify the weak spots in your game and performance.

Losses are temporary. Losing a poker game is not the end of the world. Everybody wants success, but only those players who know how to balance their thoughts and feelings even in unfavorable situations manage to reach the top of the game. Whenever you face a bad beat, take a break to engage yourself in other interesting activities, and return to the tables only when you are psychologically prepared to give your best.