Heater

A heater is a series of events in any game of chance occurring within a short, concise time frame, and resulting in a positive outcome for the player involved. This term is very popular within the poker community, particularly when it comes to describing the shift in the psychological attitude of the winner.

It is worth pointing out that while nobody would say that being on a heater is a bad thing, it poses a danger of affecting the play style of the winning player and consequently putting him or her on tilt. Please note that a heater doesn’t have to refer to a specific gaming session or tournament. In fact, if a player proceeds to win a number of important events, it would also be considered a heater.

Example

1. A player picks up pocket aces in two consecutive hands and receives plenty of action on both, winning both major pots. If the player lost the second pot, it would likely be an example of a cooler.

2. A professional poker player gets to the final table at a World Series of Poker event and proceeds to win a World Poker Tour tournament later that year.

Trivia

Viktor Blom is notorious for kicking off his poker career with a massive heater on Full Tilt Poker, where he went on to win $6 million over a period of two months by playing against well-established poker pros like Tom Dwan, Phil Ivey, Brian Townsend, Cole South, and Patrik Antonius at stakes as high as $500/$1000.