I suppose if a bluff has a second cousin twice removed, it's probably the bad beat. Both are born out of hope rather than intention, and while both leave you staring in amazement, it's usually for entirely different reasons.

That amazement has been the standard working environment of the people behind PokerStars.tv lately, who have been sifting through their coverage picking out the top five bad beats.

Jason Mercier on the receiving end

For us neutrals they make for some great poker television. For those involved - the likes of Vanessa Selbst, Jason Mercier and Phil Hellmuth, they're more of an excruciating reminder of how fickle the poker Gods can be.

Still, their loss -financial and sanity wise - is our gain, as the video, available on PokerStars.tv and our YouTube channel, demonstrates.

You no doubt have your own bad beats, after all, after hand rankings they're the first thing you learn (and have to listen to), as a new player. Still, at least the video shows they can be enjoyable.

Do you agree with our selections? Or have we missed anything? Tweet your suggestions to us at: @PokerStarsBlog.