Cooler
A cooler is a hand in which a very strong hand loses to an even stronger one, so that the loser could hardly avoid losing.
The simple explanation
A cooler happens when two big hands meet, like aces against kings, and one of them has to lose. Neither player could easily fold, so the loser loses a lot of chips. If you lose a cooler, move on. There was little you could have done differently.
A closer look
The classic cooler is pocket aces against pocket kings preflop, or a full house against a bigger full house. The loser has played correctly and could not have avoided it. The word comes from cold deck, a cheating technique. Players should not blame themselves for coolers, and they should not change their strategy because of them. A cooler can happen in any game, from cash games to tournaments.
A practical example
Player A has a pair of kings and Player B has a pair of queens. The flop brings a king and a queen. Both have sets, the chips go in, and Player B's lower set loses.
Full explanation
A cooler is a hand in which a very strong hand loses to an even stronger one, so that the loser could hardly avoid losing.
A cooler is a pot in which two extremely strong hands clash and one loses a large amount. Typical coolers include pocket aces against pocket kings or a set against a bigger set.
The term comes from the cold deck, a rigged deck used by cheats. In a real cold deck the cheat made sure that the victim had a strong hand and the cheat a stronger one.
Unlike a bad beat, a cooler does not involve one hand being far ahead until a lucky card arrives. Both hands were strong from the start, and the pot would almost always get all the chips.
The practical lesson is that you cannot avoid coolers by playing better. You can only avoid paying off too much when the signs say you are beaten.
A cooler
No-limit Hold’em · Blinds 1/2 chips · No rake
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
Read the example transcript
Player A has the button (BTN) and posts the 1-chip small blind (SB). Player B posts the 2-chip big blind (BB).
- Preflop · Pot: 3 chips
The blinds are 1 and 2 chips. Heads-up, the dealer (D) also posts the small blind.
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 199 · In this round 1
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 8 chips
Player A raises to 6 before the flop.
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 198 · In this round 2
- Preflop · Pot: 12 chips
Player B calls. Each player has put in 6 chips.
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 194 · In this round 6
- Flop · Pot: 12 chips
The flop gives both players a set. Player A has kings and Player B has queens.
Board: KKing of diamonds (Kd)QQueen of hearts (Qh)33 of clubs (3c)
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
- Flop · Pot: 18 chips
Player B bets 6.
Board: KKing of diamonds (Kd)QQueen of hearts (Qh)33 of clubs (3c)
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 194 · In this round 0
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 188 · In this round 6
- Flop · Pot: 38 chips
Player A raises to 20.
Board: KKing of diamonds (Kd)QQueen of hearts (Qh)33 of clubs (3c)
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 174 · In this round 20
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 188 · In this round 6
- Flop · Pot: 92 chips
Player B raises to 60. Both players hold very strong hands, and neither can fold. When strong hands meet like this, one of them loses a lot: a cooler.
Board: KKing of diamonds (Kd)QQueen of hearts (Qh)33 of clubs (3c)
- Player A BTN / SB KKing of spades (Ks)KKing of hearts (Kh) · Stack 174 · In this round 20
- Player B BB QQueen of clubs (Qc)QQueen of diamonds (Qd) · Stack 134 · In this round 60
Cards are shown for learning; totals are displayed before pot collection.