Bad Beats: Control Them

So you’re having a run of bad luck playing at your favorite online poker cardroom and been cursing everybody from the cardroom opearator to your slow computer. Heck, you probably even blame the house cat for giving you the evil eye and bringing bad luck. Take a pause, a deep breath and blaming yourself. Agreed, one of the good things about ‘bad luck’ is that you don’t hold yourself responsible for the vagaries that befall you, but you seriously need to contemplate the possibility that you have a hand to play in it (forgive the pun).

One time when bad luck really seems to come by the ton is when you’re buried under bad beats. We talk not of the occasional bad beat – the law of averages dictates it has to happen sometime – but these becoming a regular feature of your game. But rest assured, bad luck has lesser to do with it than you think. Much likelier is the possibility that you’re messing up somewhere. So wouldn’t want to know where’s that? Better still, we could suggest some pointers to bring your game back on track.

Number of poker Opponents

Texas Hold’em is easier to win when you’re facing as few opponents as possible. While math sense tells you that the more players there are in the hand, the more the winner stands to gain in terms of prize money, you also need to realize that as the number of players rises, your odds of winning fall. Winning a smaller amount more often will be kinder on your bankroll than big wins that are few and far in-between. Why? Because the sooner you acquire chips, the quicker you can put them to work.

Choose the Right poker Game

Internet poker rooms have immense footfall but not a lot of quality players to boast of, especially in freerolls or low-stake games. You mostly get bad poker players who call when they shouldn’t, raise when they shouldn’t, chase cards when they shouldn’t, and refuse to fold when they should in fact fold. This affects you directly. It means that players are sticking around in the hand when they shouldn’t. It means more opponents for you, thus fewer chances to win and this translates into more bad beats. The reason they are playing in this manner is simple. They have little or nothing to lose, so they’ll try to double up and get lucky. They’ll make the most ridiculous plays and the most idiotic calls, and worse of all, they’ll beat you regularly. So, avoid freerolls and low stake games, if you can afford the expensive ones. When the game turns into a luck fest, where is the fun in that? You’re going for broke, there’s no risk, and poker strategy skills go for a toss. In fact, it’s more than likely that the players taking wild risks have little else except luck to get by on. That’s not poker. You might as well be playing bingo!

Learn & Improve

Sometimes however, the bad plays are occurring because of your own lack of knowledge and experience. In that case, all we can prescribe is to try to read up on game strategies, get familiar with the mechanics, and until then, stay away from real-money poker! We said it before, and we say it again: for the uninitiated, the play money table is your best friend. You’re unlikely to encounter good players there, but it will help you practice and hone your game.

We hope these pointers help. What it comes down to, in nutshell, is that there are three things that can make things go wrong: opponents, type of game and your own shortcomings. So figure it out and see the bad beats beat a retreat (pun intended!). Happy playing!

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