variance?

what is it.... is it when you keep getting beat? because im having a dreadful time at the moment. everyone seems to be getting the one card that can beat me

Well, sorta. Variance is a part of poker because there are wide variations in hands possible. Even with AA you can be beat a decent percentage of the time. That means that even though you may be playing good poker you can have wild swings of your bankroll. The sticky at the top about bankrolls describes it well.

You can find a poker definition of variance here:
http://www.poker1.com/mcu/pokerdicti...ctionary_v.asp

Variance refers to the short term swings, both up and down, of poker.