In order to have a true bad beat, you need to have what would be considered a winning hand in most situations and still lose because of a statistical improbability. However, what is actually considered a bad beat hand is usually fairly subjective.įor example, newer poker players who are overly confident in their hands may believe they had a bad beat, but in fact their hand was never particularly strong to begin with.

What is a bad beat?Ī bad beat is when you have one of the statistically strongest poker hands possible but it still turns out to be the losing hand.īad beats are commonly depicted in high-stakes cash games and poker tournaments in movies and television shows because they offer heightened drama. Read on to learn about bad beats, what they are, and how to recover from them. Taking a bad beat may be the most upsetting and egregious way to end a game, but all poker players go through it from time to time. No matter how skilled you are at the poker table, you know that losing is just part of the game.

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