Poker Glossary

Bad Beat

Losing after getting the money in as a clear mathematical favorite — your opponent needed specific cards and caught them. It differs from a cooler: in a bad beat, one side made a losing play and the deck rescued it. Bad beats are the tax on being ahead; the same math that made you the favorite guarantees they land some percentage of the time.

At the table

All-in preflop, your A♠A♥ against 9♦9♣ — about 81% to win. The flop brings a nine. That other 19% has to live somewhere.

House note

Everyone remembers their bad beats in 4K. Nobody remembers their suckouts at all. Funny how that works.

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