Heads Up and Bad Beats
Posted by Adam Ralph on 13 Oct 2008 at 11:10
Just writing this blog today causes the seething bile, brought on by the memory of my bad beats, to rise up into my throat. I’m almost considering calling it a day because after last week’s performance I can’t see any way forward – unless Waldorf1 can work some magic on me.
I played in a heads-up tournament with three other people. I was drawn against Ben Chesters, a rank amateur who insisted he didn’t play much poker. Seven hands later I wasn’t so sure.
I was dealt A-8 suited and raised to 100, which is double the big blind. Ben called and the flop (the first three community cards) came A-5-5 off suit. Cautious of the set, I checked to Ben who checked straight away, the tell of someone with no hand yet, I thought. When a Jack came on the river (the fifth and final community card), I bet 400 thinking I still had him beat and Ben raised to 800. Right, I thought, he doesn’t think I’ve got a decent hand and is trying to bluff me off it. So I called his raise and a 2 came on the river. With the action on me and Waldorf1’s words, ‘be aggressive’ ringing in my ears I went all-in, only for Ben to call and turn over K-5. Argh!!!!
Disappointed, but determined to still spend my night playing poker I went home and got straight onto www.circuspoker.co.uk with a $0.50 & $1 cash game online, starting with $40. And this is when I realised quite what a cruel mistress Ms. Poker can be.
After a few hands, finally, I landed pocket aces. I raised before the flop and got a caller. I raised all-in for $63 and my opponent called, turning over K-K. The perfect result. Even better I landed another ace on the turn to give me the set and $148.
So, all was good with the world. I had triple what I started with and was playing exactly as Waldorf1 had taught me. Then, a few hands later, I landed K-K again, my fourth of the night! I raised to $10 before the flop and got one caller. Brilliant, I thought. The flop came 6-J-3 off suit and didn’t look at all dangerous so I tested my opponent’s hand by putting him all-in, about $72. He called, turned over A-10 and an ace came on the turn (the fourth community card). Noooo!
It gets worse. I was dealt pocket aces about 30 minutes later, my fourth of the night (these are the best hands I have been dealt in all my short time of playing poker) and raised all-in pre-flop. I got called by one player who turned over K-7 suited diamonds who then landed the flush on the river, leaving me with $30 after four hours play.
Well, that was it for me. I proceeded to play like an idiot, and went all in with Q-7 suited spades only to lose to kings. Bah!
What I learnt tonight
- Despite what you know, unless you’re a truly great player poker is still a gamble.
- Even playing the right cards in the right way won’t always result in what you expect. Namely, winning fair-sized pots with strong pocket cards.
For playing tips and a guide to poker jargon.
All Comments
It's called being 'On Tilt' when this happens to you. Everyone goes through it at some point - when you lose a few bad bets and then start to throw your money around like a petulant child. But it's important not to let it get to you. Don't let them grind you down. Other players can often sense that this is happening to you and they'll take you to the cleaners. So rise above it. Easier said than done though most of the time but remember, even the best players get this!
If you make a raise pre-flop, it's always worth making a continuation bet on the flop. About 2/3 of the size of the pot is generally a good size, as he won't be able to call it, unless he has a hand. Since you checked, you learned nothing about his hand, which led to your later misjudgement. My view on bad beats is this. You only get bad beats when you outplay your opponent - you have to be ahead of him when the chips go in, or it isn't a bad beat. The better you get, the more often this will happen. All I can advise is that unless you have the nuts, you don't push all your chips in. There is always a possibility that you can lose, and particularly in the case of tournaments, one bad beat can end your evening. Think about this. If your pocket Aces run into pocket Kings, your chances of winning are about 80%. But if you do this three times, there's a 50% chance that you'll be out of the tournament. Finally, there's a big difference between Aces and Kings. Aces are 80% to win against anything (more or less), but Kings are only 66% against a rag-Ace, which is quite a common holding.
