This is not an article where I hold your hand and whisper soft words of encouragement to make you feel better about having your aces cracked by 56 suited for the eleventh time in a row. Nor will I commiserate with you and share my own bad beat stories. Instead, my point in this article is simply this - bad things are going to happen to you. Stop whining, pick yourself up and move on. <READMORE>In my long years of playing this game I have seen strong men broken by poker more often than I can count. I have witnessed first-hand huge muscle-bound bruisers on their knees crying to the heavens “Why me?” My response has always been the same: Get up and deal with it or get out of the game.
To be fair I have seen many too many folks opt for the latter choice. Some of my most promising friends did not have the stomach to handle the inevitable one and two outers that always seem to come at the worst possible time. And it broke them, both their wallets and their spirits. Some of them took some time off and then returned to poker and some of them never did come back.
In almost thirty years of casino poker play I can honestly say I have very little company these days. Most of my poker playing friends are relatively new to the game. Unfortunately, I can count on one hand the remaining few who have stayed with the game as long as I have.
Most people want to place the blame for their failures anywhere but on their shoulders. I stopped listening years ago to the whiny stories about how this or that donk’s play cost them this or that pot. I politely nod and pretend to care as they rail on about their bad luck. The honest truth is this. Don’t put the blame on others, or bad luck. Just be the best you can be all the time and success will follow.
The people who are not successful are the ones who are afraid to make mistakes or the ones who make mistakes and don’t learn from them. It is unfortunate that school and sometimes life teaches us that making mistakes is terrible. Mistakes should be viewed as opportunities for learning. Make your mistakes in poker, but don’t waste them by blaming other things for them. Instead learn from them. Don’t be afraid to blame yourself for your misfortune.
Fear is the worst thing. If you are afraid that somebody has the better hand you will always fold away your chance. If you are afraid that your opponent will fold when you have the nuts you will not bet and you will never make any money. If you are afraid to admit you made a mistake you will never learn anything from it. Sometimes the biggest mistake you make is not having the courage.
Winners in this game have all kinds of courage. It’s a shame that the kind that gets the most press is the easiest kind – the courage it takes to risk all your chips on an all-in bet. What about the courage it takes to fold your hand in a bad situation? What about the courage it takes to accept responsibility for your results? What about the courage it takes to take a bad beat in stride and get back in there and play your best afterwards?
All of these things are essential to long term success at poker. Have the courage to get past your ego and admit you may have made a mistake and you are free to learn from it and improve yourself. This is how the best players deal with bad beats and stay on the road to success.
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