Bad Beats
Bad beats are instances
in which a poker hand that is a strong favorite
to win the pot is beaten by an inferior hand
that catches a lucky break. Bad beats happen to
us all and they are incredibly frustrating.
Instead of winning money with a strong hand, you
end up losing money with it. It’s probably the
most frustrating aspect of poker.
There’s no way you can avoid bad beats. They
will always be a part of poker. The only thing
you can do about them is learn how to deal with
them. Some poker players are great about
brushing off bad beats but others allow bad
beats to affect their play and push them into
tilt mode.
Learn to Accept Them
You
don’t have to learn to love bad beats but you do
need to learn how to accept them. Bad beats will
always be a part of poker and there’s nothing
you can do about it. You have probably already
experienced many bad beats and will experience
many more in the future.
It’s
not a fun fact of poker but the sooner you learn
to accept bad beats, the better off you’ll be.
I’ve met many poker players over the years who
have learned how to brush off bad beats and they
are all winning players. It’s not a coincidence
– they’ve just learned how to play a strong game
at all times.
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Don’t Express
Your Anger Physically
It’s
easy to fall into a habit of swearing out loud,
throwing things or punching things but those
outward expressions of anger aren’t healthy.
Some people will tell you it’s healthy to vent
but that’s not true. The more you express your
anger outwardly, the more you learn to let it
control you.
When
you fall victim to a bad beat, take a deep
breath and consciously focus on not expressing
your anger outwardly. If you’re playing online
by yourself, think about how ridiculous you
would look if someone was spying on you. Don’t
get up and slam your computer chair against the
wall or punch your keyboard; try your best to
stay calm and collected no matter how angry you
feel.
The
better you get at not expressing your anger
violently, the better you’ll get at controlling
it. It’s perfectly fine to feel angry, annoyed
or frustrated as long as you can control it.
Over time, you will become better at dealing
with bad beats and not letting them affect your
game.
Take a Walk
An
easy way to deal with bad beats is to get up and
walk away from the computer / table. Sitting
there and staring at the hand history or the
person who beat you will only serve to kindle
your anger. A quick walk and breath of fresh air
will often be all you need to calm down.
Sometimes a single bad beat or string of bad
beats is so terrible that you need to take the
rest of the day off. There’s nothing wrong with
that at all because if you feel that frustrated,
you probably wouldn’t be able to play a
completely focused game. You will feel much
better when you choose to return to the tables.
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