Take the Hit and Move On

Hi. Come on in. I have once again fired up my crockpot, this time with the ingredients for such a delicious beef stew that you'll think you're in heaven. Dig in.

With the thousands of new players coming into poker, the term "bad beat" is popping up in my mail all too frequently. The mail is mostly from people who have been regular players for several years and are getting beaten up in the no fold'em hold'em games that are so prevalent these days. Sure, you folks have taken some bad beats, but who amongst us hasn't?

My experience has been that many such tales are told by players who shouldn't have been in the pot to begin with. In most instances, the bad-beat storyteller probably wasn't quite the perfect player, and his opponent wasn't a complete idiot, as portrayed. Before you talk about taking a bad beat, make sure it wasn't a bad play. Even good players like you sometimes play badly. Really!

Now, let's look at the other side of the coin, and maybe make these beats more palatable for you. Think about the bad beats you have inflicted on other players. Can't think of any, can you? That's because you didn't consider them bad beats, but "brilliantly outplaying" your opponent. You probably didn't notice that your opponent went off to find a sympathetic ear to listen to his tale of sorrow.

I mentioned a while back that I was thinking about restarting my Bad-Beat Hotline (1-800-BAD-BEAT), but I got busy with other endeavors and it slipped my mind. Originally, I established this "poker player's friend" way back in 1985 to give the bad-beat sufferer a sympathetic ear for his tale of woe, so he wouldn't have to burden his friends with the story of his terrible loss at the hands of a no-skilled boob. But after a couple of years, we lost our funding.

Soon, the aisles of poker rooms were again crowded with bad-beat storytellers, and "listeners" waiting anxiously for their chance to tell an even worse tale, card by card, of their own green-felt horror story. (If you decide to listen while a friend tells his tale of woe, make sure you actually listen. "Wait until you hear what happened to me … ") And the beat goes on.

If I can raise enough money through public donations, I'll have the Hotline open on a 24-hour basis. I want to avoid taking any government money, because there are always strings attached.

As an update for those not familiar with this service, I quote from the Hotline brochure: "A player suffering a bad beat rushes to the nearest telephone and dials 1-800-BAD-BEAT. As he tells his tale of woe, he is answered by a soothing, motherly voice, saying such comforting phrases as, "There, there, it's all right," and, "Oh, you poor dear. You deserve much better." (During off-peak hours, this calm, consoling voice would come from an answering machine of the highest-quality sound reproduction, so that the caller would never know he wasn't being comforted by a live person.)

With the recommencement of the Bad-Beat Hotline, we can enter any poker room without fear of having our ears burned and our buns bored by those monstrous tales of injustice. (But, the beat still goes on.)

Many players consider any beat to be a bad beat. That's not true. In fact, most beats are not bad beats. Most times, the best hand holds up and the long-shot draw goes into the tank. We tend to remember it the other way because of the pain associated with the beat.

If you start a hold'em hand with a pair of kings while your opponent starts with two aces and wins the pot, you have not suffered a "bad beat." You probably have suffered, and you have taken a beat, but by definition, you have not taken a bad beat. Your opponent had the best hand at all times, was not on a long-shot draw, and was never an underdog in the hand. You just got unlucky by having kings against aces.

So, observe another of Roy's Rules: "Take the hit and move on."

We managed to down about two quarts of my magnificent beef stew. Take a baggie full and I'll have the rest for breakfast. Now, I require repose. Kill the light on your way out.

Editor's note: Roy West, author of the bestseller 7 Card Stud, the Complete Course in Winning (available from Card Player), continues to give his successful poker lessons in Las Vegas to both tourists and locals. Ladies are welcome. Call 1-800-548-6177, Ext. 03.