It’s All GoodGetting to the bottom of the bad beat syndrome.
You trapped your opponent perfectly with pocket aces, luring your opponent to bluff all-in before the flop with a measly J-8 suited. Before you pat yourself on the back, the dealer flops 8-8-2 and it hits you in the stomach. As the dealer pushes your chips to the other side of the table, your mind can hardly process what just occurred. If you play poker seriously, I’m willing to bet you’ve experienced similar circumstances.
After a very tough bad beat, your mind swirls in utter disbelief. I’ve labeled this especially damning and difficult tidal-wave of emotions “bad beat syndrome”. This is more than a simple case of tilt because it resonates. Even after you’ve left the table, the brain seems to remain in a continual fog. It infects us as we try to sleep, turning the circumstances over and over again.
Seemingly every online poker site has a popular area called the bad beat forum full of sob stories. At any home game, you’re certain to hear discussions on the “one that got away” as well. Frankly, many poker aficionados say they find these bad beat stories tired and monotonous. If we look at the psychology of bad beats, though, they should be an expected reaction. You see, all human beings are mired in a natural egocentricity. Along with that, we tend to expect fairness in the world. So we feel we deserve to win. A bad beat often brings on a common cognitive reaction: “Why me?” Whenever you push all-in with pocket aces to see J-8 suited hit for trips, your mind desperately searched for a reason why. The now-famous mantra of, “Hey, that’s poker,” is nowhere near an acceptable justification within our minds. The statistics showed you should have won. It’s virtually impossible for your brain to accept defeat.
Such intense reactions to bad beats are not limited to amateurs. Even professionals who’ve logged innumerable hours at the table and won millions get emotionally stung after a tough beat. Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth particularly come to mind. When I talked with Hellmuth, he was not apologetic for showing his emotions. “Hey, I’m passionate,” he admits. “I can bear-down when I have to at the tables, but I like playing with joy. I love the game.”
If the bad beat comes in a big event, the negatives are proportionate to the occasion. Bad beat syndrome actually has characteristics similar to shellshock. After a nasty car accident, for example, you may be less confident in your driving, or even have a complete fear of driving. I have witnessed players who simply lose the will to play due to the emotional cavalcade associated with bad beats. So how do you persevere? Typing bad beats into an online forum is a cathartic release. Your mind must process and work through the bad experience, so that is the fuel behind the effort. You essentially hope others will boost your questioned ego.
Most proven professional poker players, however, don’t need external reassurances to help get them back on track. I want to challenge you to live through a couple of bad beats without looking for emotional help to consol or reignite you. Focus on your thoughts and emotions to overcome the beats on your own. Get back to a table (without tilting) to prove to yourself that you can do it. You can overcome bad beat syndrome without any medication, without telling bad beat tales and without seeking therapy. Take each bad beat as a personal challenge to better yourself and your own toughness and determination.
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