poker is a very cruel game!

[kevin562 0]

I've just come to realize that Poker is a very cruel game to play. If you are weak and can not take the bad beats that the Poker Gods will sometime give you, then you should really find a new game to play. For instance, I had A-Q on the button and I had raised it pre-flop and got 1 caller. The flop comes A-4-5 rainbow, he bets out and I re-raise with my A-Q, because I know he's a very loose player and will raise with A-8 or A-9 off suit. He then moves all in and I started to think at all the possibilities. He could of had two pairs with a A-4 or a A-5, then I made the conclusion that he doesn't have A-K, so my A-Q was the best kicker, if he had a weak Ace. He could also be on a draw if he had an A-2 or A-3. Then I made a critical decision and decided to stick with my read and call his all in. I mean if he had two pairs, so be it "I JUST GOT UNLUCKY AND GOT OUT FLOP" If he had A-4 or A-5. Well I couldn't believe my eyes, he had 2-3 off suit and he was out of position! What kind of bull is that? I was willing to lose to another hand but that one took the cake. I started to think to myself and couldn't come to reality that someone could play those type of hands and get so lucky. Then out of no where, the spirit of Phil Hellmuth comes inside me and I started whining about how poorly they played their hands. After a brief exorcism to get the ghost of Hellmuth out of me, then I came back to reality. That hand changed the philosophy of poker for me. I had to change my game and prepare myself for these kind of very loose, over-the-top, screwball type players. Well the last week or so, I think I played my best poker ever. Mind you that there will always be some bad beats but I've learned to brush it off and play my game and adjust to their style of play.

[akishore 0]

you have to understand that there is a difference between a bad beat and being outplayed. if he had 23 and the flop came A89, then he would have check/folded right away, probably. but he played the 23, knowing that you had big cards, in hopes of getting lucky. suited cards and connecting cards are great for this reason in NL hold'em, because if you get a lucky flop and can outplay your opponent, you can effectively double up. this idea is based on implied odds.it costs you a small part of your stack pre-flop (maybe 4 big blinds, and your stack is 100 big blinds), and even if you hit the flop 1 in 10 times with a strong hand, you can show a profit. 9 times you'll lose 4 big blinds for a loss of 36 big blinds, but the 1 time in 10 that you hit hard, you can win 100 big blinds, so you can show a huge profit.if anything, that hand should be a lesson in NL poker for you that playing big cards isn't always the best strategy. that hand wasn't a bad beat, it was a combination of luck and better play by your opponent.aseem

[Fire- 0]

Frankly, depending on how much you bet compared to the amount of money the person has, the implied odds (i guess this is what you'd call it) of you hitting a hand, and their normally crappy hands go way up. This is exactly the type of thing that can happen, noone will ever put you on 2-3 so if you hit the miracle flop you can get huge huge amounts of money. In the long run you'll absulutley destroy people that do this too often, but it can be a very profitable play to call smaller sized bets with these sorts of hands.Edit: well, uh looks like you beat me too it..

[JistTheFist 0]

funniest part is thats not even really that bad of a beat... it was 66%-34% preflop....try having your quads beat by runner runner to another quads.... That's a bad beat.

[Backler 0]

calling a raise preflop with 2 3 is a gutsy move, but it is something I have done once in a while, just to see if i can get lucky. That's not really a bad beat, just a loose caller who got what he was looking for. He know his 2 3 was a worthless hand, but he played it for a reason, and hit that reason.Sry.

[kevin562 0]

Okay I understand that its not a bad beat but I got out-played, that's fine. But you can't honestly tell me that you guys would of played that any differently? Mind you that I did raise 4x the big blind and he was in first position. His stack was only average so the 100x the big blind idea goes out the window. In the long run people like that are going to go broke if they keep playing the way they do but I do understand that I got out-played. It's kind of like Mike McD 9's Full with Aces vs KGB Ace's Full with 9's, he got out-played and that's how I see it now but at that moment I was just sick about it.

[troutsmart 0]

You either got outplayed by somebody who understood implied odds as Akishore described or you ran into what I call a "blank", or a player who has no idea why he does anything he does.

[kevin562 0]

Well if it was some1 who I think was a decent player or good player, then I would have to congrat them on how well they played their hand using implied odds to their advantage in that situation, but this guy is some1 who pretty much doesn't know or understand the game of Hold'Em so I would have to say he's just a "blank" and I got unlucky to run into that situation with him. I would have to say this lesson is somewhat bittersweet, in that I've learn a lot from it but thinking about it just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

[wannabe 0]

I can honestly say I would have folded in your situation. My best guess would have actually been a set, and I would have laid it down. Think about it a little bit... as long as he is not a complete idiot, why would he be raising you all in, after an ace hit the board, and you originally raised and came out betting again... you must be beat... MUST. Think about the times you call people's bets, and the times they call yours.... who usually wins each time. And after all, all you really had in the end is One measley pair... it takes a while to learn this, but, sometimes ya gotta lay down a good hand.

[kevin562 0]

it takes a while to learn this, but, sometimes ya gotta lay down a good hand.You are right Wannabe and I agree 100 percent. My mindframe at that moment was: 1. He didn't raise pre-flop because he was in first position, so it was kind of hard to put him on a set2. He's a very loose player and I've seen him play some worst hands and called with second pair or Ace high.So after all that time thinking, I made the call and I was wrong. He flop a straight with a 2-3 off suit. Kudos to him for getting lucky and out playing me but I would love to play with him again because you know in the long run, he's going to give his chips away and go broke period!Anyone remembers the first WPT episode when Freddy Deeb got busted by Gus Hansen and Freddy couldn't believe the hands Gus was calling and raising with. Then he made a comment to Shana like " I would love to play him for the rest of my life because in the long run, I would break him." I'm know that guy I played with is a player who has no idea why he does anything he does.