Don't let a bad beat get you down!

You might have the best starting hand possible but you’re not always going to have the best ending hand. You’ve just got pocket aces (Ad As*) and your heart starts to pound. As part of your pre-flop strategy you’ve raised and re-raised and now only one other player has called you. The flop comes (Ah 4c 9h). You’ve got your third ace giving you a set. You bet out knowing you hold the strongest hand (nuts) at this point and your opponent calls. The fourth card (turn) reveals a (Kd). Your opponent bets into you and you just call figuring you’ll fake weakness and re-raise after the river (5th card). The final card is the deuce of hearts (2h). You bet and he re-raises you, which you happily call with your last dollar. As you're sitting there ready to collect your winning you realize he turns over a (7h 3h). He has a flush and has now taken all your money. Your mind races. You’ve just lost with pocket aces to an idiot who played a junk hand. Don’t worry about it. It happens. It’s very easy to start questioning whether or not you should play pocket aces. Get over it and get on with your game. The best players in the world can tell you stories of their bad beats and bad bets. One of the reasons they have become great players is because they’ve learned it is just part of the game.

(*d = diamond, s = spade, c = club, h= heart)