OK you lost that big hand and you were ahead. Yes, that was a bad beat. Now what?

First, Don’t Go on Tilt. Bad Beats happen, it is part of the game and you cannot let one hand that is over and done continue to negatively affect your game. Put it behind you, cool down and get back to your game. If need be get up from the table and take a walk to get yourself together. Whatever you do, if you are dwelling on that bad beat hand, do not play the next hand aggressively to “get it all back”.

Next, do not let your opponents see that the bad beat has you shaken. Never let them see you sweat! In fact, you can take advantage of a bad beat if your next hand really is a big one. Play it like you are tilting like mad and don’t care anymore.

Finally, do not tell and retell your bad beat story. We have all had them and we are all tired of hearing yet another bad beat story. Nothing will make you a social leper in the poker world faster then always having another bad beat story to tell.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #132

What exactly is a bad beat?

Technically, any time you are ahead in a hand and your opponent comes from behind to beat you, well technically that is a bad beat. But there is more to a bad beat than that. Let’s say you have KK and your opponent has JJ and the flop comes J84. Now if this is a no limit game and you both got all your money in before the flop, then this is a bit of a bad beat. However, what if the money went in after the flop, sure you still had those Kings but after the flop your opponent has a set of Jacks. Same hand but now when the cards are turned over, it is much less of a bad beat; you got your money in when you were behind. Now when the King hits on the river! that is a bad beat for your opponent because he was ahead and now you come from behind to win the hand.

So the essence of a truly bad beat is how far behind the eventual winner was and how late in the hand the winning card falls. There are so many examples, here is one more: You have AA and your opponent calls your all-in bet with AK. You have him dominated and when the flop comes 10-7-3, you are even further ahead. Then the turn comes with a Jack and you notice the awful straight potential that has just appeared (AKJ10) and sure enough a Queen hits the river. That is a bad beat.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #131

Tilt is a term for a state of mental confusion or frustration in which a poker player knowingly adopts a sub-optimal, over-aggressive strategy. [Wikipedia]

Putting an opponent on tilt or dealing with being on tilt oneself is a very important aspect of poker. Tilt is a relatively frequent occurrence, due to frustration, animosity between players, or simple bad cards. Experienced players recommend learning to recognize that one is experiencing tilt and to avoid allowing it to influence one’s play.

Being on tilt is to be avoided at all costs. Learning to deal with situations that can cause tilt in other players is part of the game that needs mastery. Putting another player on tilt is actually a strategy used by some players. A lot of table talk is aimed on tilting other players. Once a player is on tilt, you should recognize they will not be making solid poker decisions and you must take advantage of that situation. Tilting players are going to give away their chips, either you take them or someone else will.

Avoid Tilt yourself, minimize the effects on tilt on your game (take a walk) but you must use other player’s tilt to your advantage.; it is part of the game.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #130

In our continuing look at the Tournament Director’s Association rules, we come to one of the more general rules, this one on Poker Etiquette.

TDA Rule #36: Etiquette Violations

“Repeated etiquette violations will result in penalties. Examples include unnecessarily touching other players cards or chips, delay of the game, and excessive chatter. Players are required to act in turn.”

Notice how general this rule has been written with examples. Like any public gathering, a poker tournament can have and will have unique situations. What might be a violation in one setting might simply be player’s having a good time in another. A lot of interpretation is left to the floor staff and tournament director in the area of poker etiquette.

Check out our Poker Forum and read a discussion of one particular very interesting etiquette ruling, where a final table player was disqualified from play.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #129

When the flop comes with three different suits, it is called a rainbow flop. You may hear the tournament director call out a flop: “King, Ten, Four, Rainbow.” This means the K104 were of different suits and the odds of a flush are greatly diminished. To make a flush after a rainbow flop, you must be holding two of the same suit in your hand and one of the three rainbow cards must match your suit and the both the turn and the river must be that suit.

So the key to a rainbow is the greatly reduced changes of a flush and therefore the likelihood that anyone who had played suited cards will fold to a post-flop bet.

Sometimes you may hear the term: “Connected Flop” this refers both to a flop that has two or three of one suit and to flops that also could develop into straight. So a KQJ flop would be “connected” no matter what the suits may be. Conversely, J62 rainbow is a unconnected flop. Rainbow flops and unconnected flops can often be won with a strong continuation bet.

-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #128