Bad Beat Review

What Is a Bad Beat ?

A Bad Beat refers to the subjective term used in poker where a player has a hand that appears to be of strong cards but loses in the end. It occurs most often when a player bets stronger and while the opponent makes a poor call that would eventually win the turn.

Although there is no consensus involved, most Poker players who constituted a Bad Beat often end up in disagreement as to whether a specific hand was in fact a Bad Beat or not. Some of the examples are Quads over Quads, small Full House over the Better or Full House, Straight Flush over Quads and Quads over full house.

Bad Beat Explained

A Bad Beat is simply the term used to describe when a Poker player is the favourite to win the hand but loses the game against the underdog’s hand. This is where the big underdog will not just catch up with the favourite, but actually beat it.

In Poker, there are two common types of Bad Beat scenarios. The first is when a player who wins due to a Bad Beat will be rewarded for mathematically unsound play. Placing a bet despite having the best hand or implied odds or right pot odds to call, then eventually wins is one characteristic of a Bad Beat. Also, it can involve the inferior’s hand that catches the running cards when requires two cards in a row coming from behind to win the pot. For example, a player is catching cards on both the turn and the river in Texas Hold Em which complete a Flush or Straight.

The next type of Bad Beat is when a player has a very strong hand but loses to a stronger one which is known as ‘cooler’. This type of Bad Beat is commonly seen in movies, including The Cincinnati and Casino Royale. In the films, the players lose the game with a Full House against the Straight Flush. Based on the movie, both players can play their cards well however avoiding a Bad Beat couldn’t be achieved without committing a mistake.

Suffering a Bad Beat also means that the losing player is ‘getting the money in good’ and mostly, the player could win by playing a similar hand in the same way. Also, the more stoic players accept the Bad Beats unpleasantly, the more they develop a drawback to a tactic that will work the majority of the time.