Are you kidding me....???

As sure as birds fly and babies cry, you are going to take a bad beat in poker if you play long enough. A "bad beat" is when you have the best hand and it takes only a few cards to beat you because your opponent made a crazy or stupid play, and like a miracle one of those few cards comes out to beat you. Those beats sting like getting turned down by the pretty girl at school....but those rejections rarely cost you any money and a bad beat could break you.

I have already written about some pretty nice beats I have taken, and I have also discussed solutions around these beats. One of the best ways to deal with them is patience. Take some deep breaths, do some of that Yoga stuff....whatever. Everyone needs to find a method to deal with this frustration because it is going to happen.

Please believe me that kicking the dog, punching holes in the wall, or screaming at telemarketers don't really help (well maybe the telemarketer thing works sometimes!). As a poker player, you really need to determine how to manage this without going broke. BROKE? Yes that's right, most players will play very errattically when they tilt (get mad) after a beat. It's almost like you "give up". I have seen it so many times , and it is almost criminal to take advantage of other players that "tilt" but you can't pass it up.

One way that I deal with substantial beats in No Limit Hold'em Tournaments is I fold the next hand that I get regardless of position and the power of the hand UNLESS I have AA, KK or AK in late position, the button or in the blinds. If the player that gave me the beat folds pre-flop I will push all-in.

You do not want to play a marginal hand in this situation. PERIOD!!!! Do not play pocket Q's, J's or 10's. These are beat too easily by someone calling with Ax or Kx.

Pushing all-in (assuming what I stated earlier) will make players call with MUCH WEAKER HANDS. And player with hands like 10/9, K/8, A/10 or a small pocket pair will call your all-in almost EVERY TIME.

If you win the hand, then you can calm down because you probably doubled up and perhaps took someone out. If you're out, then you can fel good knowing that you pushed your money in with the best hand.

Although many situations like this happen in a tourney, it is the disciplined player that rides out the storms by playing smart and patient poker.

See you at the tables.