The fact is that you will get a bad beat and there is just no way around it. Last night for example, I was playing in a small $1/$2 No Limit Texas Hold’em cash game. About an hour into the hand, I was dealt AK of spades. To my right, there where three weak players. The first of the three raised $25.00 while the other two called. I raised it to to $75.00 and one guy called while the next guy folded and the player after him re-raised all in (he was desperate and it was pretty much an all or nothing move). I decided that I had him beat, so I re-raised all in for $270 total, as I just wanted to go heads up with him.

Now, I am thinking that for sure this next guy is going to fold. If he had Aces or Kings, he would have re-raised me the first time I raised to $75, but he just simply called. I am thinking he has AJ or AQ. Well, he called me so we where in a 3 way all in, which I did not like with AK. To my surprise, both players flipped their cards. The player that ended up calling my all in had KQ! The player that went all in short stacked had AQ. Of course, I am very happy with my position as I have these two dominated. The only card I have to watch out for is a Queen. With the guy across the table yelling out that he folded a queen, I was feeling petty good.

Oh wait..There is only one card in the deck that could beat me (assuming a straight doesn’t occur, which is highly unlikely because we all had pretty much the same cards). Of course, the Queen comes on the river. So I end up losing to KQ and AQ both. This is why I love this game.

So then, since the story above was so long, I will make the next one short. I had AQ, I made a great call with just top pair (Aces), for $150.00. The guy I was up against was stone cold bluffing, and he had nothing at all (king high with a 6). As I am laughing, and I turn around to answer a question I hear some “no ways” “wows” and a “YEAH!!”. So, I turn around and what do I see. Well, I see $600 being pushed over to my opponent and I see two 6’s on the board. That’s right, he caught runner runner 6’s to beat me. How bad is that?

The next one last night was even worse than those if you could believe it, but the story is much too long to put into this post so I will post it some other time.

The point is, that last night I received three absolutely ridiculous bad beats, that are not suppose to happen, especially not in one night. The point is however, that it does happen. When I go into a poker game I am ready for bad beats, but that many in one session that are that bad is just not cool. I think that would really get just about anyone feeling a bit upset. Keep in mind that there was a third bad beat that was similar to the other two, but worse and had some other circumstances that was pretty much a crime.

If you are going to be a successful poker player, things like this cannot affect you. The mentality that “shit happens” and that you just don’t care about money have to come into play. Once you get home you can worry about the bad beats. Even after all of this happened, I still left up $400 for the night, because it really just fueled my fire. I realized how dumb the play of my opponents was, and I used that to prepare myself for revenge. I just try to remember that this stuff only happens 96% of the time, and I will win the next 9 out of 9 times.

Think before you Act

This is something that should be obvious, but I am telling you right now; most people do not do it. If you watch any great poker player play this game, you will notice that they think before they act. Every single time you see Phil Ivey play make a move, he takes his time and really thinks through the situation. I use him as an example, because he is one of the best players in the world. Following behind him is many other players that do the same thing. It allows you to really analyze the situation and figure out what is going on. I am guilty myself of acting too soon and realizing after that I should have know it was a bad move. Let me give you an example.

My 7-4 vs K-K

I am playing in a local game ($5-$10 No Limit Hold’em). I am on the button and I have 7-4 of spades. There is one player that raised it up to $40 (so there is around $80 in the pot). It gets around to me and I decide that I am pretty sure this kid has pocket kings, pocket aces or ace king. So I figure if I can pretty much win this pot no matter what if he doesn’t hit, because he is a very tight player, also very straight forward. If he does hit, it won’t be hard for me to get out cheap.

So the flop comes and I hit my 7. The highest card on the board is a 9 and there is no flush possibility. At this point I am pretty sure I have the best hand, but still he could have KK or AA, maybe QQ. He bet $30 and I just called. The turn came up and it was a 4. Now I know I have the best hand, because there is just nothing he could possibly have to beat me.

Now this is where the point to the story comes up. On the river a king came up and he bet another $30. I went all in over the top and he instantly called me. Now, this was just a very stupid move that really makes no sense if you think about it. He might have AA, QQ or AK, which all give him a decent hand, but they are not hands he could call me with when I go all in. The only hand he could have that he could call me with would be KK. If he has that, I am finished. Needless to say, he did have KK and I lost a nice chip stack. If I would have just stopped and thought before I made that move, I would have known the right play would have been to just call (fold if he bet anything more than what he bet).

All it takes is one little mistake to mess up a lot of big things in poker.

Playing Patient - Always

If you are going to be a good poker player, you must be able to play patient poker. You have to be able to go through hours of folding and hours of getting no good cards, and still playing well. There wil be times when it seems like you are winning every hand you play and things are just going perfect. There will also be times when things are the complete opposite. There will be plenty of times when things will go wront and cards will not fall.

The important thing to remember is that the cards will come. It may take some time–but the cards will fall sooner or later and things will turn around. The key is to be sure that you are not making any stupid decisions before this happens. Things like this should never affect the way that you play.

Tips for getting through Slumps

The easiest way to get through slumps is by being patient and having a good understanding for how things work. A slump doesn’t have to be frustrating, if you understand that they are going to happen. There is just no way around it. Being a good poker player means being able to make your way through slumps without any problems.

Unfortunately, most players are not this way and need some extra tips. There are some things you can do in order to get through those slumps.

• Take a break

- Even if it is just a short 5 minute break, this helps to switch things up and get re-focused.

• switch tables

- I actually do not recommend this, because you then have to get to know your opponents all over again, but sometimes it helps to get through a slump.

• Play a different game

- Sometimes it helps if you are a no limit player, to play limit for a session or maybe even playing a completely different game for a day or two.

• Play in a different room

- For online players, playing on a different site for a while often helps a lot.

For the most part, simply being patient is the best way to go. Wait it out and keep making solid decisions and before you know it things will turn completely around. You never know when you are going to hit that streak of good hands and winning pots.

Poker Hand Before the Flop

Before the flop there are several different things you should ask yourself. The thought process should go a little something like this:

• What position am I in?
• What opponents are behind me, and how strong are they?
• How much money is in the pot right now?
• How good of a chance do I have to come out on top at the end of this hand?
• Am I in the position to bet or raise?
• Is it worth it?

By asking yourself the above questions along with any other things you may think about (depending on your style), you will be able to make a lot better decisions. Most of the time if you lose a big hand, you can go back and think about how you played it, and see that you made mistakes that could have been avoided. Of course, you will lose some big hands but you do not want it to be your fault. Going into the flop, you will know you belong there if you ask yourself those questions going in.

Poker Hand After the Flop

After the flop, there are several things you should think about. You should ask yourself the following questions about your poker hand and your opponents.

• Do I have the best hand right now?
• Is my hand vulnerable?
• What kind of poker hand does my opponent probably have?
• Can I win the pot with a bet right now?
• How much money is in the pot?

These are all different things that you should be thinking about while playing poker. If you do, then you will make a lot less mistakes and a lot more good decisions. Poker is a game of decisions; the more good ones you make the more you will in. The problem is that many players lose focus and discipline. It is important to think about these things all the time during every single poker hand. Just one hand mistake during one poker hand can leave you with nothing.