As dangerous as tilt may be, there is no simple\nrecipe you can follow to avoid it completely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everybody tilts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even the best players in the game you may have seen on TV playing in ridiculously high stakes cash games are subject to tilting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing that separates top players from the rest is the ability to concentrate on making decisions, rather than short-term outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you focus on your short term results, it doesn\u2019t matter how good you are, you will be tilting a lot. In fact, the better you play, the more likely you are to tilt when things don\u2019t go your way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sensation is caused primarily by a sense\nof injustice. You did everything right and still lost the pot or busted the\ntournament. How can you not feel bad about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By understanding the harsh reality of the game, you can make things much easier for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is a bad beat<\/a>? If you had AA against 22 and lost a preflop all-in, is it just very unlucky? <\/p>\n\n\n\n In reality, your opponent had around an 18% chance to win, and that is going to happen almost 1 out of 5 times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the long run, you\u2019re still going to win 82% of the time, so getting mad because now was your time to lose is ridiculous, to say the least. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this is just one example, and many\ndifferent things can trigger tilting for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you concentrate only on making the best\npossible decision with all available information and leave short term results\naside, you\u2019ll avoid a big part of negative emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you probably won\u2019t be able to avoid\ntilting in all of its forms, it\u2019s what you do when this happens and how you\nhandle your tilt that makes the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above example is just one of many causes of\ntilt at a poker table. Not everyone gets triggered by the same things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the most common tilt triggers are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These and other factors can trigger negative\nemotions, which can and will influence your play if you don\u2019t keep them in\ncheck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on your personality type, you might get annoyed more easily than some other players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While this isn\u2019t the best trait to have if you\nwant to make money in poker, it\u2019s not the end of the world, either, as long as\nyou understand the problem and approach it the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While some of the tilt triggers vary from one\nperson to another, most players are prone to tilt after an ugly bad beat or\nseries of coolers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Basically, an extended run of bad luck can put many\nplayers off of their A-game, even if they have good technical knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I\u2019ve already explained, this is just being human.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a scenario where you did nothing wrong and\nstill lost, simply due to another player getting very lucky, it\u2019s normal to get\nupset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you need to learn how to recognize it and consciously choose to not let your emotions control you<\/strong>. Focus on your decisions instead of results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thing is, bad beats will happen time and time again for as long as you play poker. It\u2019s just how variance works<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t afford to stay focused on the results\nof past hands as if these are somehow indicators of what will happen in the\nfuture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your pocket aces<\/a> got cracked three times in a row, you shouldn\u2019t play them any differently the next time you get them (provided you didn\u2019t make any mistakes the previous three times).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this is easier said than done. Once\nthat sinking feeling starts creeping in that no matter what you do, you\u2019ll\nlose, it\u2019s tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hardest part is recognizing and admitting\nthat you\u2019re on tilt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If things aren\u2019t going your way and variance is\nsmacking you in the face, you should be extra careful and take time with your\ndecisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you find yourself on a losing side of\nthings, you might start throwing good money after bad, playing hands you\u2019d\nnever play, either chasing your losses or adopting the \u201cit doesn\u2019t matter what\nI do anyway\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moment you notice this happening, it\u2019s time\nto act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people struggle to regain their composure\nat the table, so take a short break. Go for a brief walk, grab a snack, meditate\nfor five minutes, or do whatever it is that can help calm you down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you come back and still can\u2019t play\nwithout emotions getting in the way, call it a night if it\u2019s a cash game.\nYou\u2019ll be much better off coming back fresh another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s get one thing out of the way right at the start \u2013 you\u2019ll never play perfect poker. No one plays perfect poker and everybody makes mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll make mistakes and they will cost you money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, dwelling on these mistakes while\nyou\u2019re still playing can be very dangerous and lead to a completely different\ntype of tilt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you make a mistake that causes you to lose a\nsignificant pot, that\u2019s that. That opportunity is gone, that pot is lost, and\nthe best you can do is focus on the next hand and try to play it the best you\ncan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it\u2019s not uncommon to get into a frame of\nmind where you\u2019re stuck on that one mistake, and all your future actions are\nsomehow dictated by it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I screwed up already, so what does it matter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it does matter, of course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You lost one hand, but there are many, many\nmore ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As long as you have chips in front of you, you\nhave a chance to turn things around. Even if you\u2019re in a tournament left with\njust five big blinds, make the best possible decisions you have with those few\nchips. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There were plenty of times I recovered and even won tournaments after only having a couple of big blinds, and that\u2019s not as rare as you probably think. I<\/p>\n\n\n\n f you concentrate only on making the best possible decisions, you\u2019ll surprise yourself with the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One tip is to make a note of any hand you think\nyou played badly and mentally file it for later revision. So, you\u2019re not really\n\u201cforgiving\u201d yourself, but you\u2019re not letting it affect your play, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019re back home and ready for it, you can\ngo through any questionable hands and see what you could have done differently.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you adopt this strategy, it will be much\neasier to move on from poorly played hands and avoid compounding your losses by\nmaking more bad decisions just because of that one that got away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poker may not seem like a particularly hard\nactivity in a physical sense, but you can\u2019t separate your mental and physical\nreadiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to tilting, playing rested, well-fed, and leaving your other problems aside for the duration of the sessions is very important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll become much more susceptible to tilt if you\u2019re playing when tired or have a million things on your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking good care of yourself is probably one of the most basic but essential things you need to do<\/a> to be a successful poker player. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s much easier to deal with bad beats when you\u2019re playing a session after a good night\u2019s sleep than trying to power through it, having slept only for a few hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I have tried the latter approach many times over my poker career and can confirm that there is a vast difference between these options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same could be said about food. If you\u2019re\nhungry, it will be much easier to get annoyed, even at things that wouldn\u2019t\nusually bother you. So, tilt prevention starts long before you sit down to\nplay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not going to try and give you an exact plan of what you should be eating to improve your efficiency, but following a balanced diet and avoiding overly salty and sweet stuff can take you a long way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many great guides out there that can help with that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also worth mentioning that you definitely\nwant to eat before you start playing, especially if you\u2019re planning for a long\nsession. Either that or have a dinner scheduled at some point and make sure not\nto skip it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever problems or issues you\u2019re dealing with need to be put on hold until you\u2019re done playing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You won\u2019t be able to sort them out at the table, and they\u2019ll still be there when you\u2019re done, so focus on playing your best poker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know it\u2019s easier said than done but if you want to play seriously, you need to learn how to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing that helped me the most was devoting some time to prepare before every session you sit down to play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be as little as 5-10 minutes to review some hands, read strategy articles, or discuss poker theory with a friend to warm up your brains and get into the state of playing poker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It really helped me leave other issues behind, and hopefully, it can do the same for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On top of that, when you get used to doing a\nwarm-up, you\u2019ll be able to recognize your emotions and notice when you shouldn\u2019t\nbe playing at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Skipping a session when you\u2019re feeling bad\ncould be the best decision you can make. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all forms of tilting are caused by negative\nemotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can go on what\u2019s known as \u201cwinner\u2019s tilt\u201d just because you are feeling too good, as ridiculous as it sounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve probably experienced the feeling when you seem to soul-read your opponents and drag one pot after another your way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While it\u2019s a great feeling, it can quickly lead to playing sub-optimally because of the irrational belief that you can take everyone down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is, you never know when your \u201cgood\nrun\u201d will end, and if you start deviating from a solid strategy by playing too\nmany hands, your session is very likely to end in a disaster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The second problem that many players face in\nthis situation is chasing too many draws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could lose everything you\u2019ve been accumulating the whole night in a single hand, chasing your flush draw against the odds in the huge pot, simply because you feel it\u2019s your night.<\/p>\n\n\n\nUnderstanding Your Tilt Triggers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Consciously Decide To Not<\/strong> Let Your Emotions Control You<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/tilting-1024x768.png\")
Don\u2019t Be Too Harsh On Yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Physical Readiness Is Key For Tilt Management<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Take Care Of Yourself<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Leave Your Problems At The Door<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Fall Victim To The Winner\u2019s Tilt <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/celebrate-copy-1024x733.png\")
Accept That Tilt Happens<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n