How Do You Handle Bad Beats and "Tilting"?

[Sil3ntness]

switch games or just stop playing for a few days if your playing mtts go to cash its help me be four good luck

Yeah I do that! Whenever I get bored of cash games, I play some SnGs & STTs if I have some extra time available.

I get to brush up on my push/fold and short stack play skills

 

[waterboy73]

Depending on how much you are playing (volume wise) and whether you multi-table, simply walking away and missing hands isn't an option. I try my best to let bad beats roll off my back like water off a duck's, but sometimes it isn't that easy. The more you play, the less bad beats should affect you. They are part of the game, the sooner we learn to deal with it and not let it affect us, the better off we are... Then again, there are some players I have been playing with for years that still bitch and moan every time it happens. As if it the first time they ever experienced a bad beat...

 

[titomurcia1214]

I'm used does not affect me as much as before, keep playing like nothing but not always the same

 

[BullWink]

I try not to let it bother me, but of course it does, which then makes it worse. If it is really bad, I will just quit for the day, as I know that it will effect my play and cause me to make stupid moves.

 

[Nintendo]

I think it really depends on how things are going on in general that plays a large role on how a bad beat effects you. If things are going great in life I think it wouldnt bother someone as much. if its been a rough day/week/month in general it can make all the difference.

 

[MPaz_87]

That depends of the kind of day I've had.
If I had a bad day I scream to my cats, to the screen and to the roof.
If my day wasn't so bad I take a deep breath, stand up, close my eyes and try to calm dowm. It happens, all the time, it's part of the game.

 

[Frank Burnette]

Haha Good question. I either stare at the screen in silent disbelief, or I yell something like this; "F****** online poker! These kind of beats happen so much more online. Why the hell do I keep playing online poker?"

 

[quick]

I used to tilt like a maniac.

Now I may give myself a moment to curse or hit the table. May say NH or VNH and focus on the next hand. If it was a bust out for my whole stack I'll generally reload and sit out an orbit or so before resuming play.

 

[UhhWee]

keep cool go outside and sometimes i go for a run that helps
but a bad beat shouldnt tilt you if you are a professional

 

[kentcen]

handle bad beat

I would just start a new game. but if I had the better hand I would tell myself that I played the better poker and be content with the way it ended

 

[donkcentralFF]

Also my main move is simply look at the percent or figure it out and tell myself well here it comes.. I either act really surprised or very agitated.. Even began to do this live when the cards get face up and they can only win with a gutshot

 

[yonosemanana]

a nice short walk does it for me.

 

[Sil3ntness]

I just had another bad beat yesterday. Someone min raised pocket Kings UTG in a cash game. I 3 bet for 8x the BB, they 4 bet shove... I snap call with AA.

I already had a gut feeling that I was going to get sucked out. DING! King hits the flop and I lose a 80/20 showdown.

When you tell yourself that the bad beat is coming before you even see the cards, it's easy to get over it.

 

[EvertonGirl]

I just had another bad beat yesterday. Someone min raised pocket Kings UTG in a cash game. I 3 bet for 8x the BB, they 4 bet shove... I snap call with AA.

I already had a gut feeling that I was going to get sucked out. DING! King hits the flop and I lose a 80/20 showdown.

When you tell yourself that the bad beat is coming before you even see the cards, it's easy to get over it.

I get that sinking feeling when I get it in good with kings just to see a guy with AK,Q,J or any ace that an ace is gonna hit. All you got to think is I played it right so it doesn't matter

 

[Alexsandr Kononov]

Perhaps now it may seem obvious to you, because you just need to stop tilt. This will significantly saving capital. But not everyone is able to cope with their emotions and overcome itself. Therefore it is necessary to understand that just will not. After some bad beats can be so terrible that closes minds and deprive players of rationality. In the end, they squander all the money in an attempt to pull the flush draw. However, the output of such a situation exists. You will take a series of actions that will help stop the senseless leak chips.

 

[casey rolen]

it happens to me so much that it don't even bother me anymore.

 

[jgdesabato]

I am very nervous, the will to break the computer, alias broke my notebook once. lol

 

[SlavaUa]

It depends how i played hand if it was not my mistake it is alright, but if not... i try to relax and read some book. But it halps me not always((

 

[timfbmx]

If it's at a higher stake where the money means a lot to me I will get really pissed off for about 10min than I'm over it for the most part. That's why I play at stakes I am alittle more comfy at

 

[jgdesabato]

Once I broke the notebook with a shitload. lol

 

[Bob23bk]

I just laugh and quickly take notes of the player that sucked out on me.

This is the proper reaction. Kudos, I envy your vigilance

For example I had KK and someone called my raise with 68s (Full ring cash game). We were heads up & he flopped trips on a 88Q board. (DONK) I fired couple barrels because I thought maybe Qx hands were in his range. I was a little bit stressed to see small suited gap connectors, but I just made note of his loose calling range and moved forward.

You don't specify the size of your raise here.. Although it's important to keep big hands small to capitalize, you should at least 3-bet KK (if not more, depending on the other players)

TT+,AQs+,AKo 71.89% equity (EP tight raise)
86s 28.11% equity
---
KK79.17%
86s 20.83%

Who wouldn't barrel away with these odds? Not to mention your opponent is a phone-booth and you have an overpair! :icon_sant

I guess for 86s we're looking for implied odds if it's 100 BB deep play?

Please note that if your opponent is tighter, you should be wary of set-mining...
Imagine the feeling you get when he shows QQ or 88, flopping full house/4OAK!

If you tilt every time you take a bad beat, you're going to have a long journey.

Exactly, and in the long run this isolated event is insignificant with proper BRM.

how do you handle it?

TBT I react in anguish by exclaiming 'Damn!' at my computer screen while I quickly type in 'nh' or 'gg' before my chat is cutoff because I just bubbled the tourney

Remember the odds above? 86s is going to beat KK 1/5 times, so I find solace in the fact that the next 4 times I have cowboys they will hold! (Please, let's not get into any Gambler's Fallacy or Monty Hall discussions)

 

[tothbopo]

If it wasn't for variance poker wouldn't be profitable.

 

[Robadob925]

So bad, its just rough when you have been playing for hours just to get own by bad cards

 

[satirist]

I agree with the fact that it all depends on the decisions that I made. If I got beat by a 3 outer or 1 outer, usually, I just chalk it up to the percentage of the game that exists as luck. In my long run, I feel like I've hit 4% outs about as much as they've hit me. If I lost due to being out played or just being an idiot (isolated incidents when semi-committed late in MTT's, for example with solid equity value and no hit with tons of missed outs on river, which I may win with bluff shove 50% or so of the time) then I have to take a break and remind myself that I didn't lose because I'm addicted to gambling, I lost because I falsely interpreted the info/numbers that I had, and I do tend to make the right decisions way more than I screw up. That being said, I don't typically splash my chips without the nuts, and the 80%/20% ratio of skill/luck usually ends up, for me, 78.5% making the right decisions, 1.5% failing to make the right decisions, 10% good luck and 10% bad luck, within a couple percent margin of error. My "bad decisions" late in, say, a $.50 MTT on the bubble, would be like calling a 4 bet cold shove preflop with QQ after I put 40% of my stack as a 3 bet. (Terrible move, I'd say, usually, but marginally unsubstantial loss.) I'd still give myself a little time to examine what I did wrong and why I made the call, determine that, if it was, in fact, the wrong call, I can't blame luck and once again, remind myself that I'm not an addict. (Whenever I lose a decent amount [$5 or more] I feel like I'm addicted to gambling and should probably cash out now, or seek help or something... But you're not addicted if you're winning!)

 

[UhhWee]

turn off the computer and go outside or sports