Players and psychology
Cooler in poker
Definition
A situation in which your very strong hand runs into an even stronger one and you could not reasonably have avoided losing.
In a cooler both players hold very strong hands and the money goes in with neither able to fold sensibly, for example a set against a higher set or a full house against a bigger full house. The difference from a bad beat is that you were never a big favourite to win the hand.
The term is also used for a situation where a deck seems to be set against you, but over the long run coolers happen to everyone.
Example
You flop a set of kings, and your opponent flops a set of aces on the same board: a classic cooler.
Related terms
- Bad beatLosing a hand that was a big favourite to win, usually when the opponent hits a long-shot card.
- SetThree of a kind made with a pocket pair and one matching card on the board.
- VarianceThe swings in results caused by luck, the gap between your expected result and what actually happens in the short term.