Poker Tilt
Tilt is never a positive asset for any poker player to have. While it’s most
prevalent in online play, there’s little doubt that it’s one of the primary
causes for losses in live poker as well. When you are sitting at a poker table,
it will be almost immediately apparent when one of your opponents is tilting.
Some will start cursing, making violent bets, or simply stay quiet, making it
clear that they want to be left alone.
'Tilting' is a term used in poker to describe the way a player changes his or her game due to the effects of suffering a bad beat. If a player takes a bad beat, they can be described as 'going on tilt' if they. Poker tilting evaluation. Successful players have the ability to offset the effects of tilt, which is why they are capable of being winning players at the end of the day. Going on tilt is especially dangerous in pot limit and no limit poker, because of the potential that most or all of your chips are at stake in any given hand.
Though it’s easy to identify when your opponents are on tilt, it’s not nearly
as easy to realize when you yourself are playing without emotional control.
Needless to say, a lack of control over your emotions is enough to bleed any
bankroll dry.
Before expanding into the causes of tilt in live poker, indications of tilt,
and ways to solve it, first take a look at some of the best and most well-known
live poker pros. Everyone knows who Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius are. They are
two of the mainstays and staples in live poker, especially when it comes to
televised events. They are very big winners in just about every game that they
participate in, and they carry many of the same characteristics.
The Professionals of Poker
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Perhaps the most notable skill that these players possess has absolutely
nothing to do with playing the game itself. Instead it’s their ability to remain
calm and collected at all times that truly sets them apart from the competition.
It’s no secret to top-level live poker players that emotional control is one of
the primary reasons for their positive win rates. You can analyze other similar
players, and you’ll generally find the same results. Tom Dwan, John Juanda, and
Jennifer Harman are all elite live poker players who always keep their emotions
in check.
Expanding on these examples, take a look at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Many poker fans know that Mike Matusow is one of the most irrational, wild, and
out of control poker players in any game. It should come as no coincidence,
then, that he is also a significant long term loser in high stakes cash games.
In fact, he’s more often broke than overflowing cash, barring a lucky run of big
tournament wins.
He is hardly the only player with emotional control problems who also loses
at the felt. Phil Hellmuth and Tony G. Both are poster children for outbursts,
and they are both major losers in high stakes games. If you want to use real
life examples as proof that tilt in live poker is extremely detrimental to your
success, look no further than these three players.
Causes of Live Poker Tilt
There are many different causes of tilt in poker, with some being more
obvious than others. The most common and recognizable cause of tilt in live
poker is a bad results in a hand
This can be from a few different things:
- Player misplaying their
hand - Player got unlucky
- Combination of the two
Some people will even tilt when they lose a hand that they weren’t even in,
just wishing that they had been able to see the flop. Though these are the most
apparent and widespread causes of tilt, they are hardly the only reason why
players lose focus.
Subtle causes of tilt are perhaps the deadliest because players tend to
disregard them. Here are some examples you want to be aware of:
- Lack of sleep
- Improper diet
- Lack of exercise
- Illness
Anything along these lines can all create internal tilt. If you are not
playing many hands and are hungry, you might start getting out of line by
calling off bets that you otherwise would not have. If you are tired, you may
very well pass up on spots where you would normally be aggressive and
pro-active.
Many players don’t think about these different factors that can certainly
throw off your game, but you should always have a clear mind that’s prepared to
play at its highest level. Otherwise, there will always be players waiting for
your money with open arms.
Stopping Live Poker Tilt
Putting an end to a tilting spree is much easier said than done. When you are
in the heat of the moment, it can be a great struggle to implement tactics that
you learned about when you were completely calm. No matter how difficult it
might be, regaining your composure is an absolute necessity if you want to walk
away from the table with money in hand.
It’s hard to stop tilting, but this is also one of the big reasons why
there’s money to be made in poker. If everyone always thought clearly and played
under control, there wouldn’t be nearly as much money, or at least easy money up
for grabs. Don’t make yourself an easy target by spewing off chips for no reason
other than to burn off some steam.
Walk Away
One of the best ways to stop tilting in live poker is to simply walk away
from the table. Not only is this very straightforward, but it will take the
least effort. In fact, you may even instinctively want to quit the game
altogether when you are in the midst of a bad run. While it’s not advisable to
rack up and leave, a short walk can be the perfect remedy to an otherwise
frustrating day of poker.
Sit Out
If you don’t have the desire to go for a walk in order to escape the game for
a bit, simply sitting out for an orbit will help your mind state tremendously.
The only trouble with this approach to ending tilt is that you will be tempted
to get back in the game and may not be able to forget about what put you on tilt
in the first place. If sitting out is enough for you to gather your thoughts,
this is an equally viable option to stepping away, but it’s not for everyone.
Stop Playing
The most extreme, but also the most effective way of stopping tilt is to stop
playing altogether. This doesn’t mean that you should quit poker, but there’s
nothing wrong with cutting a session short for the sake of your bankroll. Some
people simply can’t recover from tilt in a short period of time no matter what
they do. If you fit into this category and know that you are going to be very
prone to donating multiple stacks while you mull over your misfortune at the
table, calling it a day may very well be in your best interest.
Spotting Tilt in Opponents
If you want to make money from your opponents that are tilting, you’ll first
need to do these two important things:
#1 Determine which players are ready to explode
Any time someone loses a big hand, you should automatically assume that they
are prone to going on tilt. This doesn’t mean that they will go on tilt, but it
does mean that there’s an increased likelihood. A loss of a big hand is the
easiest way to prepare for a tilting player, but it’s not the only way.
#2 Watch for players that become frustrated when card dead
They may even bemoan their luck out loud to the table. Either way, these are
the types of players who are chomping at the bit to get into a pot at any cost.
When they finally enter a hand, they are definitely not looking to fold.
Poker Tilt Meaning
Profiting from Tilt
Using the two primary types of tilting players in the section above, consider
the ways that you can now profit. With a player who just lost a big pot and is
on tilt, you should be prepared for a lot of raises and/or erratic play. They
want to let out their frustration and make their lost money back all at once.
#1 The Optimal Strategy
The optimal strategy for combating these tilting players is to get into lots
of pots, but only with hands that can flop hard. It’s a great strategy to call
off larger bets than you normally would pre-flop with suited connectors, pocket
pairs, and other similar hands. You can safely give up if you miss, and the
tilting player may very well donate their stack to you when you hit, regardless
of whether or not they have any hand at all.
#2 The Passive Approach
For players who are dying to get involved in some hands, you’ll need to take
a more passive approach, all the while being aggressive in the right spots. If
you have a more speculative hand, simply call the bets ahead of you and see a
flop. Since much of the value in raising or re-raising with these hands is found
in the folds you expect to get, you’ll be wasting money by raising against a
player who has zero intentions of folding.
When you have a big hand, however, you should make very big raises. These can
be a fair amount larger than usual if only for the fact that you know the other
player is unlikely to fold for just about any price. Tilting players come in
many different forms, so it’s important to cater your strategy to their
weaknesses.
Tilt may very well be the primary reason why you lose money
when playing online poker. Even if you are a winning player, tilt may
still be a reason why your win rate isn’t as high as it could
otherwise be. Many players will openly admit that they have a
problem with tilting. Other players will say that they never
tilt, and they are probably lying.
The most common type of player will tilt from time to time,
but they aren’t prone to donating
their entire bankroll in a fit of rage. The first step to curing
your tilt, as is the case with anything problematic, is to admit
that you need to fix it. There’s literally nothing (aside from
incredibly terrible play) that’s more detrimental to your
bankroll than tilt.
One thing that players may disregard in online poker play is the
fact that tilt may not actually be taken out on money. You may
throw things or break things instead of spewing off chips at the
table. Though it may not be a straight loss of cash, these types
of reactions will also serve as a drain on your bankroll.
Anytime you are costing yourself money (or even time) as a
result of tilt in online poker, you are hurting your bankroll.
How to Handle Online Poker Tilt
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Handling tilt in online poker is much easier said than done.
It’s not a problem that is fixed with the snap of a finger. You
can’t just tell yourself to stop and have it be done. It’s a
problem that’s going to take a lot of time, effort, and
self-restraint to truly cure. A lot of players, even the
majority, will never put forth enough effort to control their
tilt, which simply means that they’ll never end up playing
with as much emotional control as they really should be.
Quitting
Simply quitting is the best way to ensure that you aren’t
going to tilt. The problem with this remedy is that it’s very
hard to put into practice. When you are losing money, the last
thing that you likely want to do is quit while you are down. The
more immediate reaction is to try and win back any of the money
that was just lost. While this is perfectly normal, there’s a
better chance that it will end up costing you even
more money in the long run.
Seldom does a player go on crazy tilt and end up making all
of their money back. If you start open shoving on every table,
it’s inevitable that you are eventually going to get called in
a few spots which will ultimately compound your losses. Beyond
this, losing in your tilted play will make you even more angry,
which is again only going to add to the already inflated losses.
It’s the simple chance that you might get lucky and win those
buy ins back that tempts players into playing like a maniac when
things are going bad.
To be perfectly honest, it makes more sense to play
roulette or blackjack when tilted than it does to continue
playing poker. The reason for this is that tilted poker play is
putting you at an absolutely massive disadvantage, whereas other
casino games give you a reasonable chance of winning or at least
losing the least. While casino and table games certainly aren’t
the most advisable place to head when you are on tilt, they make
a lot more sense than a tilted poker session.
Taking a Break
Taking a break is the second best option to quitting when you
are trying to eliminate the tilt that’s rushing through your
veins. The caveat to taking a break as a resolution to tilt is
that you’ll need to be able to ensure that you are quitting
for long enough periods of time. You should be away from the
computer for a long enough period of time that you eventually
have no interest in playing at least for a little bit.
Taking a break doesn’t mean that you should simply take a
short walk and then return to the computer. Though you
may attempt to trick yourself into thinking otherwise, a short
break won’t eliminate the tilt from your game. If anything, a
small hitch in your first few hands will set you off even more
than you were before. Taking breaks is something that could work
to reduce tilt, but you need to be careful that you are not
cutting the break short.
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Moving to Different Limits and/or Games
Another popular way for players to minimize the effects of
tilt is to switch games. For a tournament player, it wouldn’t
exactly make sense to go to a cash game table when they are
tilted as this would be expected to only add to the pre-existing
losses. If you are a cash game player and move to a much lower
stake, however, you may very well play differently once you
realize that the money won’t be easily won back through a few
fortunate double ups. Taking yourself out of the scenario
(limit) where you can potentially win back your money will also
mean that you are also out of the environment where you are
prone to losing more of it.
If you want to, you can even move to the absolute lowest
limit games and just go crazy. If you are normally playing
100NL, take your bankroll down to $.01/$.02 (that’s 1 cent/2
cent) and just open shove for several minutes. Not only will
your opponents go nuts in the chat boxes, but it’s a good way
to blow off steam without the financial loss. Most players love
sliding the bet size bar to the max and clicking bet, but it
will mean that you are losing a lot of money in the process.
Have fun and burn off tilt at the same time by losing $5 or $10
in super micro stakes games instead of $500 or $1,000 in your
normal games.
Poker Tilt
If you struggle with tilt in live poker and are looking for
ways to cope with it, make sure to view our strategy article on
stopping tilt in live poker.