We all know that bad beats are part of the game, and we all know that whenever we play a NLHE tournament, we are one donkey move or bad beat away from elimination. Even though we know that it's not really better to be lucky than good, we're going to have long stretches of time where the Poker Gods make us feel like it's really true. We also know that the best way to ease the pain of this reality is to always stock up on hookers and blow.

But some of us (well, okay, me. I can't speak for anyone else) aren't at a place in our life where hookers or blow are really an option. And since nobody wants to listen to your stupid bad beat story, Phil, we often turn to humor to cope.

Jason Kirk, aka Spaceman, gives us an example of the latter with a hilarious guide to playing this magnificent game titled "Jason's Secrets of No-Limit Hold'Em: How to Lose"

It's five simple steps to mastering this delicate art, including:

4. Make a badly-timed steal for all your chips.

It may be necessary to collude on this step to insure your opponent has a real hand. Don’t listen to those people who call collusion unethical or cheating or illegal - a loser does what he has to if he plans on losing with maximum efficiency. Many people lose their will to lose at this point. We call those people quitters.

Step #4 is gut-check time. You have to ask yourself: Do I really have what it takes to lose? Am I truly committed to the long-term path of losing? If the answer is no, by all means join the quitters. Losing isn’t for everyone. I would tell you there is no shame in quitting, but there is. Most people learn to deal with it in time, however, and chances are that if you quit the albatross will only hang around your neck for a short time.

If you ask yourself these questions and you find yourself answering “yes,” it’s time to steal. Try to find a hand like Q-3 or J-5 - something with little chance to win a pot - and make a normal-looking raise with it. Be certain that one of the blinds is holding a real hand (this is where collusion may become necessary). When he re-raises you, simply push all your chips to the middle and watch him call you immediately. You’ll feel a rush of joy when you realize you’re less than 15% to win the hand, a rush that only intensifies as your chances of winning drop closer to (and eventually reach) 0. That’s the Joy of Losing(TM).

Regular readers of Jason's blog, Catching the Antichrist, know that he's been getting kicked in the junk a lot recently, even though Jason clearly knows what he's doing at the poker tables. In fact, I think he schooled me a little bit in a cash game after a WWdN Friday tourney recently, but I'd never admit that in public. I hope that Jason's luck turns around sooner than later . . . but not if it means we'll lose entries like this.

Click the link below to read Jason's full post, if you think you've got what it takes to take your game to the next level.