There's a bad beat thread in here where everyone is reiterating the mantra: "Don't let it affect your game!"

My problem is that it does affect my game. The worst poker I ever play is at the table where the crazy gambler is leaving up $600, all of those chips leaving in the hands of the guy I'm trying so hard NOT to be.

Since I credit a portion of my income to poker, I started trying to develop a playing style that limits the bad beats and lowers my variance while still turning a profit.

I play scared. I don't raise preflop with AK, AQ, AJ suited or not (its only ace high!!!). If I flop a set or two pair on a drawing board, and I don't know if someone is going to raise, I bet the pot. No half-pot bets, no slow plays, just predictable, solid, tight, scared poker.

Enough of my opponents are bad enough to let me turn a profit playing so predictably. Try it out some time!

One note though, I play mostly Foxwoods, bar tourneys and side games. In online games I'm slightly better than a break-even player. I tend to be distracted while I play, but my strategies also may not be as effective.