[IvanDrago]

Ahoy this is professor Drago and i shall tell you of something which will help decrease the amount of bad beats you get. First off I suggest getting Phil Gordan's "Little Green Book". I got it out from there and it also tells you great stuff in that book. HE is honestly the best poker player without a bracelet right now. But anyways back to reducing. I find that people today play hands to poorly and not aggressively enough, and just plain out make bad plays. Ways that people do get bad beats is from people allowing other people to get free cards, not betting enough to get them out of a small pair or a draw...etc. The key is to be aggressive. How many times have you read to just call with AA and when you slowplayed it you got owned? "Raises hand" I have with AA more times than i won playing it like that. You got to realize that if you have control of whats going on you can control the bad beats. One way i like to do things is to just put all of your money in on the best hand preflop or after the flop so that they wont want to see the next two cards thus giving you the pot right then adn there and now doing anything fancy. Now keep in mind this doesnt always work, but i have seen less bad beats because of it. I will always take a guaranteed pot right then and there now instead of trying to do something fancy and have a chance at losing a big pot. Ever heard the saying that whenever you get AA your either going to win a small pot or lose a big one. This is a classic example. When you play smart players they know not to call an all in on the flop with just top pair descent kicker or a flush draw because your telling them you got them beat right then and there and there just isnt enough pot odds to keep them in there. If you can stop a hand from going to the flop or river it decreases the chances of you getting bad beats. Try experimenting with this, it might not be just for you. But this is a way i have found to be successful in my style of playing to control my bad beats. This is professor Drago and good night

-Drago
To the End!

[IvanDrago]

Sorry i have lost playing AA's like that more times than I won

[iceberg]

I have to agree that it is wise to raise with a premium hand to weed out junk hands and small pairs. I like to narrow the field to only one or two opponents. Then take down the pot depending on the flop or make the guys pay to chase you. Been burned too many times slow playing AA or KK.

[wptdreamer]

I believe the best way to control bad beats is to play your position, bet accordingly, and make it seem as though you always have a great hand. For example, if you were always told to limp in with a small pocket pair and you never change that up you may become predictable. Chances are if you play online most people won't notice, but if you show down a few times starting the hand the same way then your cover is blown. People get used to the fact that you limped in therefore you have small pocket pair and want to see a cheap flop, or maybe that's how you always play suited connectors or suited gapped. My strategy to reduce bad beats is a simple one. Make people believe that you only raise with good hands, and that you will punish them for trying to draw out on you. I raise the same with AA as I do with 10-10, 7-8s, etc... Now if they re-raise I may change it up, such as trying to get all of my money in preflop with AA whereas with suited connectors I may just call. I don't want people to know that if I bet a lot of money I have AA and I'm trying not to get a bad beat. I want them to never know what I have so I can steal more blinds, and their raises. If you feel that people are figuring you out, switch gears. Being able to switch gears is one of the most important skills you can have. If you become predictable any good player will use this to their advantage. So basically, if you decide to get in the hand, don't half-ass it. Play it like you have the nuts and push the others out. Say you are in a pot after the flop. It's their turn to bet. They bet $150. You call. Turn same, river same. If you don't have them beat and you just called down you lost $450 plus whatever you bet to get in the hand to begin with. Now let's say they bet $150 and you raise to $300. If they call you have a much better idea what they have and can see if they were trying to steal. Assuming you don't have a great hand...if they re-raise you should fold, if they just call, then after the turn they bet again, you can fold feeling much better about your read and you lose less money. So playing aggressive can save you money and save some bad beats. I may be wrong, but I believe I have built a solid game around being tight/aggressive with the ability to loosen or tighten up according to the table. But no matter what I am aggressive. If they hit me with a bad beat after I bet a lot of money and they kept calling, well I just hope they keep calling like that all night because they won't always beat my hand and I want them to keep playing bad. But if I don't bet it, it's my fault they are still there to catch those cards.

[IvanDrago]

Playing position does help.... if your going to allow people to see the river cards. In the long run it would save you bad beats, but not as much as stopping it from getting there. your ideas are good though if your being aggressive and you reach the river.

-Drago
To the End!

[cobbweb_ok]

well put wptdreamer. I think that position is the most important aspect of online poker. The reason it works so well online is that their is so many bad players out there. nobody takes time to learn how to play aggressively in position.

[nredd376]

nah u cant avoid it. lost toomany times with AA vs QQ and with KK against JJ ....ppl are just crazy

[iceberg]

If I can win 3.5 out of 4.5 times, I'll go all-in every time. Narrow the field and let the odds take care of the rest.