Dealing With The Tilt

Poker Articles

14/10/2009

Dealing With Tilt

Whether you get angry easily, or consider yourself to be a strong player who keeps there wits about them, going on tilt is something everyone has to face from time to time, knowing how to deal with it will save you money in the long run.

To beat tilt we first have to clarify what it is, usually a player will go on tilt after losing a big hand particularly if it is a 'bad beat' - say your aces get cracked by a low pair. Tilting means a player will let their emotions govern their poker playing, often making bad decisions and betting irrationally out of frustration. However, tilt can also happen at the opposite end of the scale on winning streaks, when someone becomes too happy about winning, again letting their emotions take control and recklessly betting and raising without thinking it through.

The first thing you can do to deal with tilt is spot it. A lot of players are unaware of this and will go straight into the next hand betting with nothing - only to lose another hand. So after something has happened sit back, take a breath and notice how you feel. No doubt you would be disappointed at your recent loss, that's only normal, but if you feel overly stressed, angry, frustrated or bet happy, then you know your tilting, here are some simple steps you can take to help;

1. Fold your next hand. This is the best advice you can take, unless the next hand is an absolute monster, fold and sit out that go. If you end up playing with marginal hands, the temptation to bet wildly whilst tilting may take over and if the other players on the table are good they will recognise this and take your chips in no time.

2. Get up, take a walk, get some fresh air or have a (non-alcoholic) drink, all these things take your mind away from the game and hopefully after a few minutes you will be refreshed and back to your normal poker playing self.

3. Learn from your mistakes, everyone suffers 'bad beats' but there is always a lesson to be learned. How could you of played the hand differently? Should you of raised earlier to get the low/marginal hands out. Should you have spotted signs from other players about the strength of their hand? Taking this information and turning it into a lesson is hugely beneficial and will improve your future game play.

Things not to do obviously include getting aggressive with other players around the table, no matter how angry you feel there is no excuse, it's rude and unprofessional. This also goes with shouting expletives through the chat box to other players. Chill out, relax, learn from your mistakes and remember it's only a game.

tags - dealing with the tilt, aggressive, bad beats, poker, monster, sit out, fold, marginal hands, winning streak, low pair, tilt, strong player

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