Pokerstar Bad Beats specifically...

[CheeseMind]

PokerStars Game #2542143886: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2005/09/10 - 10:02:03 (ET)
Table 'Alcathous' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Molzar ($6.30 in chips)
Seat 3: Mattingly ($2.95 in chips)
Seat 4: Tom505 ($3.15 in chips)
Seat 5: fanas ($8 in chips)
Seat 6: CheeseMind ($2.60 in chips)
Seat 7: kerbe12 ($5.75 in chips)
Seat 8: SilverFox13 ($3.85 in chips)
Seat 9: Enty79 ($18.55 in chips)
fanas: posts small blind $0.05
CheeseMind: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to CheeseMind [7d 9c]
kerbe12: calls $0.10
SilverFox13: calls $0.10
Enty79: raises $0.10 to $0.20
Molzar: folds
Mattingly: folds
Tom505: folds
fanas: calls $0.15
CheeseMind: calls $0.10
kerbe12: calls $0.10
SilverFox13: calls $0.10
*** FLOP *** [7h 9d 2s]
fanas: checks
CheeseMind: bets $2.40 and is all-in
kerbe12: folds
SilverFox13: folds
Enty79: calls $2.40
fanas: folds
*** TURN *** [7h 9d 2s] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [7h 9d 2s 2h] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
CheeseMind: shows [7d 9c] (two pair, Nines and Sevens)
Enty79: shows [Kh Ks] (two pair, Kings and Deuces)
Enty79 collected $5.55 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.80 | Rake $0.25
Board [7h 9d 2s 2h Ac]
Seat 1: Molzar folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Mattingly folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Tom505 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: fanas (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: CheeseMind (big blind) showed [7d 9c] and lost with two pair, Nines and Sevens
Seat 7: kerbe12 folded on the Flop
Seat 8: SilverFox13 folded on the Flop
Seat 9: Enty79 showed [Kh Ks] and won ($5.55) with two pair, Kings and Deuces

I know my play isn't superb, I've only been playing poker 1 month.

This stuff is extremely discouraging. I seriously hit maybe 1 out of 9 flops here, and then even when I do, as you can tell I get bad beated most of the time. It's gotten so bad I dont even go all in with KK or Ak anymore. Only AA will I risk it. Anyways, criticism welcome.

andy.

[JDMcNugent7]

ya u called 1000 or so chips preflop with JQos, i think it's pretty obvious you are new. Also, you expect to win everyhand you have top pair it seems. I dn, but i think alot of here have been playing pokerstars for years and most have winning records so i really dont think the system is screwed up and rewarding only bad players.
Also, dont get discouraged, you will win money from these fish in the long run, if you become a better player yourself.
And, when u move up from those lower limits you wont be getting such strange plays happeneing to you and therefore less really strange bad beats.

[CheeseMind]

So my JQo hand was played badly? I would like you to explain how I played each hand badly, if you would. I know I'm new and I definately have alot to learn, but I don't think you really read the hands I listed. Only 1 of the 6 beats I listed, did I go all in with top pair. Also, on the hand that I went all in with top pair, I HAD THE BEST HAND. You wouldn't call these bad beats?
If I had won even an equal amount as I lost, I wouldn't think anything wrong.
Like Talking Poker said, even 4 to 1 advantage I can still expect to lose 20 percent. But I lost 6 out of 8 times I went all in, all night long. And the only
2 times I won, I had the WORST hand going in, both times!!

This might just sound like 1 bad night, or some type of fluke. But this happens quite a bit more than you might think. I have entire sessions as bad, or worse than this one. With number of all ins lost more than won, with
percentages most of the time. I don't call that statistical. I really wish I had some way of analysing my hands, because I seriously believe so far on pokerstars I am far from statistical normal. Here's an explaination of the beats, since I don't think you read them. And if you would be so kind as to explain which hands I played like a noobie, and maybe explain how you woulda
played it differently? I could use the help. Thx.

The first hand I have KK and the BB is 20. I raise to 140. SamuelRoth raises
all in with 10-4 of clubs. The flop comes 6 8 3 5 2 giving him the straight.
Did I play this wrong JDMcNugent??

The second hand I get KQ spades and the BB is 50. I raise to 200. 2 people call. The flop comes 7c As 8s. Now I only have a nut flush draw right here, and I probably shouldn't go all in. But its been probably an hour and I hadn't hit a single flop. This is the best lookin one I've seen in a while. I go all in figuring that unless one of the 2 hit the flop hard, I could steal the pot and I have decent outs if I get called. I am also the short stack right now, and I'm needing the chips. The guy who calls me has 6h 4s. That's right, he's got an inside straight draw. The next 2 cards are 4h and 4d. Come on.

The third hand I get AKo and the BB is 50. I raise to 250. Sexy frenchy calls with 65 clubs and is all in. The flop comes 773. Right here, I predict the bad beat, and declare that the underdog will win. The turn comes Q, the river 5 giving sexy the win. This is probably my weakest all in hand of the night, altho it was only 150 chips, and it is closer to a coin flip than any other of the beats I have that night.

The 4th hand I get QJo and I'm the BB at 150. Someone raises to 1k, and I called. You can say this was a bad call, but old boy was shortstacked and needing to make a move, and the call was 1/7th of my chips. I figure if I dont hit I only lose 1/7th of my total. One person behinds me calls also. The flop comes 2h Qd 8h. I have top pair and I guess that I have the best hand atm (which I did) so I go all in to push the guy that called after me, out of the pot. He has Ah 7d. That's right, he has nothing but an overcard, and a possible flush if 2 hearts come in a row. Guess what happens. That's right, 2 hearts in a row, a 4 and 5. I played this hand badly? This is the only one where I have top pair. Probably shouldn't have made the first call, but I don't think I played this hand as badly as you insinuate.

The 5th hand I get pocket 7's with BB at .10cents. Someone raises to .30cents and I call to see the flop. The flop comes 2d 9h 7s. That's right, I hit my set. Now my opponent has TT, so he was better pre-flop, but now I have him right? He bets .70cents and I go all in. The board pairs on the turn with a 9 giving me a full. The only thing that will save him at this point is a 10. 2 outs to save him. Guess what. 10 on the river.

The last hand I have 7d 9c in the BB at .10cents. I only have to call another .10cents to see the flop so I do. The flop comes 7h 9d 2s. I know someone will call, as there has been a ton of dumb calls at this table, so I go all in. Someone has KK and calls me. Yes, he was better pre-flop, but after the flop I am better. I understand his call though having an overpair, although he should have known I wouldn't go all in with just a top pair, as I've been playing extremely conservative and haven't bet much at all this table session. Anyways, the board pairs on the turn giving him a higher 2 pair. This is the only one I would consider not a bad beat, even though I did have the best hand when the money went in.

So as you can see, every beat I named, I had the best hand going in, most cases by far, and ended up losing. Now if I had won more than lost, on these types of hands, I wouldn't be here right now talkin about it. But these were the ONLY TIMES I was confident enough to go all in the entire time I played that night. There were only 2 other times I went all in and I actually won those, and you know what's ironic? Both of those times I had the WORST when the money went all in, and those are the only 2 I won.

So when I see myself losing 6 out of 8 times going all in, where I had a better hand all 6 times when the money went in. And then the 2 times I have the worst hand are the only 2 that I win. Now I understand that poker is like that, and such. And if I won alot of all in pots that night, and I have these beats, then it would totally be within normal variance I'd think. Bad beats do happen. But on the only large pots that I decide to play? And on every single one where I am ahead when the money goes in? That doesn't seem "statistically" right.

P.S. This happens to me almost every day here. I guess it's just me. I'll start waiting for the nuts before going all in, if I'm playing these hands wrong. I am a newb, but this doesn't seem right. If it is, then I need to play more conservative than I have been. Thx for your time.

[Talking Poker]

Maybe you are an unlucky person. If so, poker probably isn't for you.

Or maybe you are experiencing what we call short term variance. Don't complain when you take bad beats 6 out of 8 times. Complain when you have taken 600 out of 800.

You won't be able to, because that won't happen. It's just math.

[Talking Poker]

Well, here is your first problem. You are letting a few bad beats affect your play, and that's going to cost you dearly on the hands you DO win.... you won't be winning as much to help offset your losses from the bad beats.

As for the beats, yes, some of them were pretty big, but others weren't THAT bad. Remember, even when you are a 4:1 favorite, that still means you should expect to lose 20% of the time in the long run. The best hand doesn't always hold up... it's just math. Play enough hands, and you'll see all sorts of stuff.

I'm not going to go into the whole "Is online poker rigged" thing (we have threads about that though, if you feel like searching for them), but it certainly is not.