I been thinking how to avoid bad beats and although i havent figured it out yet, i believe there is a way to do it. Lately I have been trying to only play ppl when i have position on them and to only call with Phil's top ten hands. I figure that being the aggressor more often means that i cant be the caller unless its Phil's lol top ten. So, i shortened my calling range outta position and slightly widened my late Position range calling range a bit. Lastly i don't call to many all ins pre unless i got a pair jacks or better and the ace king ace queen when the price is 2to1 or better. well there are many other factors i added but these are just a few. I mean theres ICM play and bubble play. rebuy games tend to change things for me anyway. let me know what yall beeen doing.
I've played Phil's "Top 10 Hands" before. In fact, it is a really good nitty strategy that will help beginners starting out. Just know that this simplistic approach is not going to minimize bad beats that much - it will simply mean you will be playing less hands and getting maybe a little more credit on your hands because opponents observe what cards you are turning over.
Just don't forget that in Hellmuth's book Play Poker Like The Pros (where you got the Top 10 Hands list I'm virtually certain) also has an intermediate section called "Majority Hands" and an advanced section where he could play any two cards (but with balance and selection; not playing 100% of the time to the flop).
Personally, I switch between these Hellmuth "gears" as well as that of other pros. At least for me, I try to adapt to what the table is allowing me to play. As for bad beats, playing more hands means you'll have more swings (up or down), but even the Top 10 Hands Hellmuth gives can get into trouble if not careful. For example, AQ is in the bottom of the Top 10 Hand list, but this hand is not one you want to keep firing away with if you hit nothing; it is still Ace-high if missed; plus, if you are up against a real hand, then any pocket pair may be ahead and even AK has you beat as AQ plays second fiddle to that too. Don't get me wrong, AQ is a nice hand, but just tightening up preflop a ton won't get rid of bad beats; you'll just face them less often because you are playing hands less often, but you'll also win less often too.
There is no way of really minimizing bad beats/luck from happening - that is just variance and statistics at work. The best you can do is get it in on +EV plays and hope for the best. Long-term, it will balance out; but in the short-term, luck is always a factor.
