An unexpected made by the hand of fate winning or loosing of the pot. Taking a bad beat is to loose the pot even thou you had the biggest chance of winning until the last card was dealt. Laying a bad beat is to win the pot without working hard for it and only luckily catching a good last card. A term for a losing a poker game with a hand seems to be a good one. The term is subjective and players might argue whether a hand was a bad beat or not.