What is truly a "bad beat" in poker?

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We've all been there at the poker table. You hit your straight on the flop, and then the turn and the river cards give your opponent the winning hand. But is that truly a bad beat?

Is set over set a bad beat? When your Aces get cracked by 2 pair, is that a bad beat? When you make a huge bet (5x) from early position, and the big blind calls you with 35o, and then hits the nuts on the flop, is that a bad beat?

How do you define a true bad beat in poker?

 
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To there there are bad beats and then there are truly bad beats.

When you have kings and get caught by aces some would call it a bad beat. Its a cooler for sure but this is not what I would call a bad beat as this should happen 1 in 25 times you get kings. Dont get me wrong its close. but when would we stop calling it a bad beat? pocket 2's running into 3's have the same odds but I dont think many would consider it a bad beat.

So we get to the flop and I flop a king against your aces. considering the odds you had to win the had is only 17% preflop this is something I would call a bad beat on the aces.

So what is a truly bad beat? I have seen many over the years. I truly bad beat is a hand that should be so far ahead at the point they get beat that's is rare. if you hand has over 90% chance to win that is a true bad beat. There are 2 I can recall that really define bad beats. One was a player with Pocket queens vs AdJd. The flop was Qd Td and something like a 5. The turn was a Q. With quad queens this guy has 97.73% chance of winning the hand, Yes the Kd showed on the river.

Once I gave a players a bad one. I had Pocket Queens and he had Queens. The door card was a queen but the 2nd card was the king, Set over set. On the river the case queen showed up for a nice pot for me. That would be a truly bad beat.
 
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As there's a saying: " It's just a bad beat, you should move on". For me it is the closest to the reality - When you were logically right to get into that action, you had a big lead as well, but all of a sudden opponent hits the perfect out or runner-runner.

I think that bad-beats meaning is not a written thing in poker, in fact people pressing enormous numbers of cases under this name. In my eyes it's not really a bad-beat when both of you had a solid read and chance to grab the party, but one increased a huge lead by the cards fallen - but when s1 was out of the line or making a very weak or risky move and still gets there, the other could have a bad beat.

Good beat? Maybe a succesfull bluff or a very smooth overfold by a perfect read?
 
Today I played an insane hand. I had something like 9Jo and called the BB to see the flop. Then something like 399 came on the flop. I made a hand of 999. Then the villain who played before me went all-in and I thought: ''I killed one more''. I paid. Villain had something like T7s that didn't connect the suit on the flop. I died laughing when I saw his hand. Then the turn brought 'T' and the river brought another 'T'. Until now I don't believe it and I wonder if it's true that rooms rob us. How the guy goes allin with nothing in his hand and hits a fullhouse like that. He with TTT99 and me with TT999. That to me is badbeat!
But I can't rule out the possibility that it was stolen...
It's one thing for a guy to have a promising hand and hit the turn or river. Another thing is that he has nothing and still goes all in and crushes you...
 
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Any hand that one chooses to participate in & loses is a bad beat, The only 2 exception to this would be if you are playing on a site that has decided to steal your bankroll, those losses are known as; (weally, weally, weally bad beats & the worst of them all, loosing to a girl, which of course is so bad it doesn't even have a name. Shuffle em up & deal. 😉 👍
 
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when it looks like a pre set deck

7 clubs get dealt in a row
or something very rare

coinciding with a rare moment

thus, multiplying the odds that vegas would set on it happening.
 
In my opinion losing any hand/pot when you have 80% equity when the money goes in is classed as a bad beat.

Of course there is a scale from standard bad beat to the sickest of bad beat.

I've lost a pot with 98.8% equity when the money went in post flop before.

I had pocket Kings on a flop of KK4 opponent shoved into me obviously i called.

They tabled AA and the turn and river ran out Ace Ace WTF

Miracles do happen lol
 
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I have a good example of a true bad beat...
Many years ago I went to a live tournament, sat down and get dealt A9 on BB .
No preflop action 3 handed on the flop.
Flop shows :ah4::9d4::9c4:

I check obviously and it goes check check to the turn.

Turn shows the :jc4:. villain opens with the first bet, I raise 3bbs and the 3rd player mucks
Villain thinks for 3 minutes...then announces allin
I snapcall, river shows :10c4:.
Showdown: villain reveals :qc4::8c4: !!!
🤯🤯🤯🤯
 
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The 3 examples mentioned in the question are not bad beats in my opinion.
I think a true bad beat is when a hand is way ahead pre-flop and on the flop, like over 90% favorite to win, only to get sucked out on by some weird runner runner.
Here's an example I suffered on ACR a while back :

UTG, kind of loose player raised 3x. I made it 10x on the CO with AA, he called.

Flop : :as4::2c4::kh4:, He bets 1/2 the pot, I raised pot, he shoved and of course I called. He showed :ks4::jh4:.

Turn : :kd4:, so I was still good with the boat.

River : :kc4:, Go figure !!!!!!!!!
 
Bad beat (the enormous one) has nothing to do with cards per se. A really, truly bad beat would be a huge mind boggling win that you have chased for all your life. The catch is that this happens so late in life that you no longer have the health, energy, mobility, and years ahead of you to enjoy it to the fullest.
 
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Bad beat in poker is a subjective term for a hand in which a player with what appear to be strong cards nevertheless loses. To me, this is just unlucky variance & happens a lot in the game. As long as I'm left with a stack I can play & not out of the tourney then I'm not "beaten".

The video clip is an example of a bad beat. Loosing to 1 or 2 outer on the river or runner runner that ends your tournament life is a bad beat. Anything else is just unlucky variance for me.
 
a bad beat in live poker is when the dealer messes up and costs you a huge pot . ( 'burn and turn' too soon, extra cards dealt out that foul the hand , etc ).
 
skaterick said:
a bad beat in live poker is when the dealer messes up and costs you a huge pot . ( 'burn and turn' too soon, extra cards dealt out that foul the hand , etc ).
Click to expand...
Online...but like this ? He bets strong on the flop I jam and he calls..... How can he possibly think he's good with A high...fukin lunatic ^^
Screenshot 2023 11 10 04 50 14 366 compyrsoftwarepokerstarseu edit
 
when you are dominating a hand by a big margin. usually 80% of better odds to win the hand and you lose. aces vs kings preflop. if a king cames on the flop, turn or river and you lose then i would consider it a bad beat.
 
A bad beat is when something bad happens suddenly and unexpectedly. For example, in sports, it can be when the team that everyone thought was the favorite ends up losing in the end. Or in card games, when you have a pair of strong cards and then you lose to someone with even stronger cards or even to so-called 'trash' cards. Some say it's just a coincidence or a result of statistics. But in any case, it's unpleasant and evokes negative emotions.
 
nabmom said:
We've all been there at the poker table. You hit your straight on the flop, and then the turn and the river cards give your opponent the winning hand. But is that truly a bad beat?

Is set over set a bad beat? When your Aces get cracked by 2 pair, is that a bad beat? When you make a huge bet (5x) from early position, and the big blind calls you with 35o, and then hits the nuts on the flop, is that a bad beat?

How do you define a true bad beat in poker?

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Hitting a straight on the flop and then losing on the turn or river is undeniably frustrating, but it might not always be a true bad beat. It depends on the circumstances and the opponent's chances.

In the case of set over set or Aces cracked by two pair, I'd probably acknowledge these as classic examples of bad beats, emphasizing the statistical advantage and the unexpected turn of events that make them tough to swallow.

Now, if the big blind calls with 35o and hits the nuts, I'd likely see it as a result of variance and unconventional play rather than a textbook bad beat.

Defining a true bad beat, I'd stress the importance of being on the statistically favored side and losing despite overwhelming odds, recognizing that these moments are an inevitable part of poker's unpredictability.
 
I think a bad beat is when you put all your chips in the middle with the best of it but end up losing on the run out. In the examples given, I don't think it's a bad beat where your opponent has flopped a bigger set than you and you put all your chips in only to find out you have 1 out, that's just a cooler imo. I also don't think it's a bad beat when you have aces and go all-in on the flop of 246 only to find out the big blind has 35 and you need a miracle to win, it's just some run bad. To me, a bad beat is where you have the best of it when all the chips go in the middle but end up losing, for example having AA and your opponent has KK and you both go all-in but your opponent ends up hitting a king and you end up losing. Good question though and I am curious to see all the different answers.
 
And I would like to show not my bad beat but my opponent's. The actions on the table were very clear and showed that I was collecting for a flush. On the turn I made a flush and went all-in and of course my opponent called. I only had a 2% chance of winning, he had a 98%. From his point of view it was "truly a bad beat in poker"
 

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For me, most of the "bad" beats are not really bad. Just bad luck..lol especially those going in with any two and somehow managing to win the hand. I get mad when they make their hand with the turn and river. They had crap all the way. Then bam, all your chips are in, and then you are all out. The other hand that throws me is making my straight or whatever on the river and damn sure they make their flush. Any pairs and sets, that's just that good old "variance" that everyone likes to blame.
 
This is a truly bad beat. Luckily it was in a micro stakes cash game....if it was in a High Roller table I would be pissed...😡 I said that I will be a nice player and run it twice...🤣 But I guess that when your luck is in is in...mine was not.

2022-09-15_01_53_pm_-0-01_-0-02_-hd958920645-png.312634
 
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As we all (hopefully know) a bad beat occurs when a player with a strong hand loses to a player with a weaker hand that catches up, often against significant odds. Here is an example from a Triple Draw just to have a change from all the NLH:


A cooler on the other hand (no pun intended) is a situation where two very strong hands clash, resulting in one player losing despite playing their hand well. OK, the river call I consider bad in this YT-example that I also think has an incorrect title (since the stronger hand is in the lead all the time):

 
Claudiunm said:
Today I played an insane hand. I had something like 9Jo and called the BB to see the flop. Then something like 399 came on the flop. I made a hand of 999. Then the villain who played before me went all-in and I thought: ''I killed one more''. I paid. Villain had something like T7s that didn't connect the suit on the flop. I died laughing when I saw his hand. Then the turn brought 'T' and the river brought another 'T'. Until now I don't believe it and I wonder if it's true that rooms rob us. How the guy goes allin with nothing in his hand and hits a fullhouse like that. He with TTT99 and me with TT999. That to me is badbeat!
But I can't rule out the possibility that it was stolen...
It's one thing for a guy to have a promising hand and hit the turn or river. Another thing is that he has nothing and still goes all in and crushes you...
Click to expand...
that was truly a badbeat

RhinoRyan89 said:
In my opinion losing any hand/pot when you have 80% equity when the money goes in is classed as a bad beat.

Of course there is a scale from standard bad beat to the sickest of bad beat.

I've lost a pot with 98.8% equity when the money went in post flop before.

I had pocket Kings on a flop of KK4 opponent shoved into me obviously i called.

They tabled AA and the turn and river ran out Ace Ace WTF

Miracles do happen lol
Click to expand...
That was really a badbeat, a rare badbeat for that matter

G0930 said:
I have a good example of a true bad beat...
Many years ago I went to a live tournament, sat down and get dealt A9 on BB .
No preflop action 3 handed on the flop.
Flop shows :ah4::9d4::9c4:

I check obviously and it goes check check to the turn.

Turn shows the :jc4:. villain opens with the first bet, I raise 3bbs and the 3rd player mucks
Villain thinks for 3 minutes...then announces allin
I snapcall, river shows :10c4:.
Showdown: villain reveals :qc4::8c4: !!!
🤯🤯🤯🤯
Click to expand...
If maybe you could have bet the flop, he could have folded, sometimes slowplaying our hand cost us

najisami said:
The 3 examples mentioned in the question are not bad beats in my opinion.
I think a true bad beat is when a hand is way ahead pre-flop and on the flop, like over 90% favorite to win, only to get sucked out on by some weird runner runner.
Here's an example I suffered on ACR a while back :

UTG, kind of loose player raised 3x. I made it 10x on the CO with AA, he called.

Flop : :as4::2c4::kh4:, He bets 1/2 the pot, I raised pot, he shoved and of course I called. He showed :ks4::jh4:.

Turn : :kd4:, so I was still good with the boat.

River : :kc4:, Go figure !!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
you suffered!!! you mean you lost this hand?

G0930 said:
Online...but like this ? He bets strong on the flop I jam and he calls..... How can he possibly think he's good with A high...fukin lunatic ^^
View attachment 346924
Click to expand...
That is a bad play by a villian, obviously he was chasing your bouty of which he got at the end 🤣🤣
 
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nabmom said:
We've all been there at the poker table. You hit your straight on the flop, and then the turn and the river cards give your opponent the winning hand. But is that truly a bad beat?

Is set over set a bad beat? When your Aces get cracked by 2 pair, is that a bad beat? When you make a huge bet (5x) from early position, and the big blind calls you with 35o, and then hits the nuts on the flop, is that a bad beat?

How do you define a true bad beat in poker?

Click to expand...
A bad beat in poker is losing a hand in a situation where you were a clear favorite with about a 90-95% chance of winning. When your opponent, in the process of fielding on one of the subsequent streets, “reaches” his 1-2 outs, then such a distribution will be a clear bad beat for the player.
 
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For my part, I consider bad beat only the pre-flop all-in in which the opponent has a weaker hand than yours (player 1: A-2 player 2: AK) and yet, based on luck, ends up winning. (in this case get a pair of 2).
Since once the flop is played, we can talk about the odds and, knowing what hand you're up against, you think they're enough to pay you.
I wouldn't consider bad beat, for example, in the following situation
Player 1: KQ clovers
Player 2: flop AA
: 10-J of clovers and another x letter.
In this case, if they go all in, player 1 could equalize having a worse hand, but knowing this he decides to equalize waiting for some of his opportunities to be completed.
 
maronza1 said:
That is a bad play by a villian, obviously he was chasing your bouty of which he got at the end 🤣🤣
Click to expand...
Well it was a juicy bounty 😅 but still absolute lunacy with 47 players remaining out of over 750
 
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