What is the definition of "bad beat?"?

Question

Somebody mentioned this in another question...some beats are just normal, while others are "bad beats." What would you consider a bad beat?

Answer 1

A bad beat in poker is generally when the odds were in your favor to win, but you don't.

For example, this week my friend was playing Texas Hold'em in a pub poker league.  He raised pre-flop about five times the big blind.  He had AK.  The flop was AKQ.  He moved all in with his top two pair.

The other player had QJ and called.  Now in a situation like this QJ wins 25% of the time.  He can catch another queen, a ten, or in this case two cards of the same suit to make a flush.

That's exactly what did happen, two more cards came of the same suit, and the guy won a very large pot.

Now pre-flop AK beats QJ about 65% of the time.  It wasn't a great move to call a big bet before the flop with QJ.  When the flop came, the guy only made bottom pair.  He had a fairly unlikely draw to a runner runner flush, a straight, or trips.  All pretty unlikely.

So you would call this situation a bad beat, because the vast majority of the time AK wins in this situation.  But you have a bad call pre-flop.  An even worse call on the flop.  And a pretty unlikely sequence of events transpiring for the bad player to win the pot.

Unfortunately you can make all the right moves in poker, and still lose.

Answer 2

If you were all in with the best hand and someone caught a card on the river to beat you, thats a bad beat.  This answer is in reference to No Limit Texas Hold-Em.