Bad Beats and How They Affect You by David Stam

from "A detailed guide for No limit holdem strategies" by David Stam

BAD BEATS :mad:AND HOW THEY AFFECT US!!! 5 things we should avoid at any poker game we are in. Thought these might be beneficial to some... after 7 years of poker they were great to read to help shake some rust off and sharpen my game. hope they help you all;)

1. Taking It Personally! You will get back at that person, you will get your money back and all of his! This is a terrible way to play poker! It will ultimately hurt your chances at making ANY money! You will stop looking at how your opponents are playing or the flow of the table. For example, You will stop noticing how your opponents change gears from loose to tight or passive to aggressive. You may even miss when players leave the table or new players join the table. This is important because a few different players can change the table dynamics very quickly.

2. Thinking, perhaps I am not a very good poker player. I have coached players who fall into this syndrome and have thought this way for a short period. You have to realize that cards will not always go your way. There are ups and downs when you play poker and if you are a good player your bankroll will increase in increments, not all at once. Your bankroll will go down because of bad beats, short bad beats, or either long durations of having the second best hand. This does not mean you are a bad poker player, it is just poker. Try to remember this, remember when you were doing well and always had the best hand at the showdown. Use this time to study your game and increase your skill instead of beating yourself up. Feeling bad about yourself is really just a waste of time if it takes away from the time you could be spending learning more about being a good poker player.

3. Changing your game style to a tight/weak in fear of another bad beat. This is another way to feel bad about yourself because you will always be losing. You can break out of the slump if you take some swings at the pot when you have the advantage!

4. Changing your style to loose/ aggressive to make up for the lost money or have "the any two cards can win" mentality. This is called "steaming" and is a sure way to lose the rest of your bankroll. THE CARDS HAVE NO MEMORY AND THEY DO NOT OWE YOU A FEW BIG WINS TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR LOSES OR BAD PLAY! Good players will notice you are steaming and step up to the plate with premium hands preflop. YOU BECOME A TARGET WHEN YOU STEAM!

5. Slowing the process of rebuilding your bankroll! When you are far ahead after the flop, you over-bet the pot shutting everyone else out so you do not get full value for your good hands. This happens when you are afraid someone will draw out on you and you do not let the pot build to a decent amount. ESSENTIALLY, you want the victory but your not being patient enough for the fruit to grow on the vine....

I can so relate to number 5. its sickening... lol

-trix

ohh and had to type it , not cut and paste, since the book is copyrighted lol so I hope it sharpens someones mind as it did mine. thanks.

thanks for the read, hopefully players here actually read this and not use this for the 5 points. Also have to respect that you typed this in yourself for us to read.

Excellent points. It's hard to always follow the advice given here, but players would see a vast improvement in their game just by reading and following this post.

Thanks for this. I am afraid I have done all of this already, lol. Have to keep this in mind.

yep i can be a number 5 too lol

I find myself doing number 3 alot. I know im getting it in good but them 2 and 3 outers happen every time im in a big pot. Then i sink into a shell and find myself not even wanting to play a hand, cause if i cant win when im dominating what can i win with?
Good post, everyone should be able to find them selfs in one of these lines....

Think you could of skipped #2, no one here EVER thinks they are a bad player, maybe opposite is a problem, :). #5 is definately biggest problem for me, and not even after a bad beat, just having a badbeat in distant memory is enough. Playing in tournaments, my thinking is I'd rather take the pot down now then take a chance at a bad beat and get knocked out. Though sometimes depending on the quality of opponents, you get more value out of shoving big hands cause some people will call even with a weak draw.

Any way, nice post, very useful. Will have to reread it everytime i take a badbeat.

Very nice post and have done all of them during my online poker experience of 8 years, but used to take it personally but no longer do that - very insightful thanks

number 5 is a biggie for me, number 2 only ever occurs when my "friends" berate me about trying to make it big doing this LOL awesome read tho