When the chips are all-in and you stare down out the bad beat you've just suffered, your pocket A's being sucked out to a 7 high straight. Don't think about the bad call by the other player, the total lack of respect to your preflop raise. Don't ponder over you're early exit after playing superbly and 'reading' other peoples hands. You've done nothing wrong but have suffered a reasonable beat. AA vs any two cards if 9-1 at best. Horses regularily come in at this sort of price,

so you've just lost to a reasonable chance.

Think about what happened to me below, and think how you've not yet suffered the worst feeling in poker.

It was only a £5 ($8) re-buy tournament. I had played well and had a nice stack of around 15k (1k starting) of chips. I had only re-bought a couple of times and had played a good standard of poker. (Let's just not discuss my 'blind' all in with 3 hands left of the rebuy period when I turned over 32off, and saw the turn and river of 3,2 beat QQ and AQ who had called me.)

Although after the freezeout started I did hit a monster.............I looked down on pocket 7's in mid-table position. I had about 5k, so raised (BB 400) to 2k, don't want too much action. I had a call across the table just before the button and the big blind called as well. So a nice pot if I hit.

When the flop came it was all I could do not to laugh. 726 rainbow.

Big Blind asked me how many chips I had. I told him 3.5k. He said he would put me all in. Now this time I needed to suck in the other player into the pot too. His reaction said he had something and was ready to get his chips in, but would he call two players............I made out it I had a piece, but needed help and pushed my chips in.

The other guy thought and asked in general about one of us having Aces. I knew he had must have Queens or Kings. I wanted him in that pot. He called, creating a tiny side pot of 600.

They both flipped over their cards BB had 99 and the other guy had KK, I flipped mine over and felt myslef grin...........max value, just avoid a K or 9......now flush possible and a remote straight for the 9's. The turn and river were 4's giving me a House and 15k in chips came my way. Best hand I've played at Jack Kings.

So I had progressed through to the freezeout part of the tournament with a nicestack when a guy in a Chelsea shirt joined our table. He had around 9k and played quite aggressively from his first opportunity.

After a dozen or so hands, and with the blinds moving up to 300/600 I looked down in Small Blind position onto a pair of Tens (not suited). Chelsea had raised to 2k from 2nd position. So I considered my options. I put him on either AK/AQ or a low pair, 9's downwards with his stab at stealing the blinds. I thought for a few mores seconds and then moved all-in. I would happy facing AK with my Tens with a chance to go through the 20k barrier, and of course would prefer to play a lower pair. But I was happy with my move.

Chelsea looked stunned for a couple of seconds, regained his composure and then thought about his move. He counted and recounted his chips, played with them for a few moments, and then called. He said he had a mid-pair and I felt happy that I had read him and turned over my Tens. Chelsea smiled and shook my hand that must mean 9's? He turned over Ten's.

I was disappointed, but not concerned. Twinned pairs result in a split 95.45% of the time, with 2.17% chance of either pair winning. The handshake was a gesture of poker etiquette and appreciated. All we had to do was take our stacks back and split the big-blind.

Aah, but of course the formality of a flop, turn and river. Purely a formality.

The flop was a innocuous, 9h, 2h, 6s...........no real problem, don't like those

Hearts, but still 94.45% of a split pot, still waiting to start 'clicking' my chip stack once returned. The turn was Jh, and now I'm a bit worried, in fact now I stand up. I say to the table and the poker gods, 'Don't do it, no heart!!' I'm pleading..........But still 80% of a split.........I'm ok with that.

The river was Qh...........'No!!!'............................time stood still for a moment, as what had just happened sunk in. I'd just lost most of my hard earned stack on the longest-odd's preflop draw possible.

What happened next is a blur, I know I found myself all-in against the big-blind a few hands later with 67c and lost to his 78s...................I was out.

Now like I said, it was only a £5 tourney, didn’t cost me much and as Steve as mentioned in his articles, it is good fun. But you cannot imagine how bad I felt. It played on my mind when I drove home, whilst I was laying in bed, and even the next day.

Crazy, because it is not the World Series, but what it made me realise is, "normal" bad beats are actually ok............this was entirely more soul destroying.

So next time you get sucked out, be glad you didn't suffer the Worst Pre-Flop Beat in Poker.