Poker Bad Beats - How to Avoid Bad Beats in Poker
Every poker player has his fair share of bad beats. The good poker player knows how to turn the bad beats into an advantage by learning from them.
Meeting the Shark
Most players will sit down at a poker table and know that the chances of meeting a shark are very great. This is the reality of online poker. The good players seek out the weak ones and beat them to build on their bankrolls. Bad bets are not necessarily the result of a beginner player meeting an experienced one. Even in the big finals that are aired on TV you will see the greatest pros experience bad beats. A bad beat is when a hand you expect to win looses.
You can’t get around the element of luck in poker. Even if you are a pretty good player you could experience a bad beat from the fish sitting right next to you. Accepting this is the first step to take when trying to understand the nature of the bad beats. Of course, it makes sense for a fish to try and stay away from the worst sharks. In the big online poker rooms you can get help with picking the right tables for your level. This could be a preventive strategy for avoiding the worst bad beats.
Dealing with a Bad Beat
You’ll just have to face it, there is no way that you will be able to completely stay away from or avoid bad beats. Once you’ve lost with a promising hand to a player that outsmarted you or just had better luck you need to handle this in a proper way. If you play in the small stakes games chances that you lost a lot of money aren’t that great. For sure, what is considered a lot of money depends on your bankroll but it helps to put things into proportion. Take a look at the big and famous games and consider what a bad beat in these does to the finances of the loosing player. You’ll feel a lot less sorry for yourself with this in mind!
Sometimes it is a good thing to lose with a hand that seemed like such an obvious winner. This will teach you to be less sure about your situation and keep a better eye at the game in the future. By analysing just where the game was lost you can gain a lot of insight to your poker gaming and thereby improve your results.
Avoid Future Bad Beats
When you lose in a game where everyone had counted you in as the winner the first reaction is often to whine about it. This is OK. Telling your friends and family about your “bad luck” is normal and even complaining a bit in the player forum can be considered a perfectly acceptable behaviour. When you have cooled down a bit you should take a look at other bad beat stories. Give your fellow players some compassion and take the chance to learn more about how to avoid future bad beats by hearing their stories as well as sharing yours.