I apologize in advance for not being the best writer. We can't all be Dogishead. My thoughts might seem jumbled/all over the place but try to bear with me.
Tilt
Okay so its around 4AM in the morning and I just finished watching a few AEJones/Leggo vids. Much love for AEJones/luckychewy and the rest of the Leggo crew. Would probably say that they've taught me a decent chunk of what I know, even though lc sunran me (prob karma for not paying for memoirs of AEJones). Also railing a few 1k decent 1k regs starting tables together and taking notes.
Anywho, thought I might as well get started on this topic of tilt. Let's start by trying to define tilt. My definition of tilt is "when a player becomes emotionally attatched to the '[table/session/game/villain]' such that he is no longer making the
best rational decisions he would be making not in this state".
Tilt is -EV.
Now tilt in more practical terms.
"Getting Even and Gamble plays"
Gamble plays can be defined as: chasing draws, playing flushdraws very/too aggressively, going for thinner than normal preflop plays, calling down much ligher, 3betting at a higher frequency than you would normally, 4betting at a higher freq than normally, flatting 3bets then folding flops, flating 3bets then flatting flops then folding turns,
setting money on fire and whatnot. You know what I'm talking about.
"Emotionally attatched"
I think the core of tilt comes from being in some way emotionally attached. Ideally, when you play poker you should be always have a completely rational mindset, no emotion involved. If at any point you find yourself pissed off at a player, you're no longer making rational decisions, you are making emotional decisions.
Poker isn't a dickwaving contest. Most of you are here to make money, not get in pissing matches. For you ego maniacs, go ahead and move to HU and try to beat all the regs. (Not to say that doing this won't be good practice and improve your game greatly)
If at any point you are afraid of losing money, you are no longer making the most rational decisions, you are making an emotional decision. Common situations where you find yourself playing
scared money would be when you are moving up,
playing stakes you aren't rolled for, or
'tilt moving up' to chase losses. Be rolled for the games you play so that you won't be in the situation to begin with. You should never be afraid of losing money. Don't become emotionally attached to your roll/money. Your bankroll is not (should not) be a part of your life roll. Treat it as an investment.
To me, poker is just a game and $/bbs is how I keep track of the score. My dad thinks I'm insane for being able to "lose" 8 grand in a day, but if you don't have some way of distancing yourself from the money aspect, you won't get very far in the game.
You should never be afraid, be
confident.
You should always 100% confident when you start a session. You should also feel 100% confident in all your decisions throughout the session.
#confidence. Don't settle for your C game, bring your best to the tables and maintain it.
When you feel your heart racing, you're also likely playing on emotion. Just something I've noticed in my own play. "Winners tilt" happens. Listening to fast paced music or music in general can also cause your heartrate to go up. I don't advocate listening to music while you play.
Tilt at the tables can also be a self fulfilling prophecy. If you're running ridiculously bad and feel like you can't win a single hand, chances are you won't.
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The best way to not tilt is to not put yourself in a situation to tilt to begin with.
Starting a session suboptimally is ******ed.
If there's a reg who pisses you off at the table, don't sit there. There's plenty of other tables. If you are tired, don't play. You can play later. If you feel yourself tilting and you can't control it, leave the tables.
If you tilt/spew just 1BI away every 1000 hands, that's shaving off 10bb/100 off your winrate. That's HUGE. Think about it. I'm sure most of you can find at least one hand where you spewed off 100bbs. That's a whole 10bb/100 you just threw away. Next time think twice before you decide to do something ******ed.
Be honest with yourself. Know your tilt signals and don't leave yourself open to making mistakes. If you know you 3bet too much, consciously stop yourself from 3betting. If you know you call 3bets too light, consciously stop yourself. 4bet too much? Stop yourself. Chase draws? Stop. Try to win every hand? Fold pre.
If you can't control yourself, GTFO the tables.
Know that when you are playing poker, you are playing for the long run. Coolers happen. Running under EV happens. Getting sucked out on happens. **** happens. You need to move past that and keep grinding. Have good bankroll management so that you won't ever feel out of your comfort zone while playing. The earlier on you realize all of this, the easier it will be to control your tilt.
If you have a really terrible day, go ahead and take a few days off to clear your head. Poker will be there tomorrow. It's not like FTP will run away with 85% of your net worth. #toosoon?
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Once you've mastered your tilt, here's the fun part.
Manipulating your image due to perceived tilt:
If you get coolered/sucked out on for a big pot, players at the table are going to notice. Expect what they expect and do the opposite. If they think you're going to go on mad tilt and 3bet more, actually 3bet less and always get action when you have premiums. This will also help you keep your tilt in check because since you know that they know you're going to 3bet more, you will outplay them by not 3betting more and putting yourself in ****ty spots.
Learn what ways they will play back at you due to your "tilting image". Adjust appropriately.
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There's definitely more I can write but I'm kind of tired so I'll leave it at that for now.
I think I'll end here with a quote from Phil Galfond's well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jman28
I think this is a huge part of poker. Almost everything there is to say about emotional aspects like this has already been said. Definitely read everything that Tommy Angelo has written on it.
It's been said before, but it's so true: It's easy to play when things are going well. How a player deals with a bad run is what defines him as a poker player.
The most important thing is the be honest with yourself. Admit when you aren't focused or playing your best. Take breaks all the time. Get outdoors if you can. All the time means every 90 minutes or less.
If you're afraid of losing your seats, take 3 minutes and walk into another room, do 20 pushups, go to the bathroom/grab some food, and come back.
Taking time off when on a downswing is always a better idea than you want to admit. Getting away from poker for some reason usually helps you get your confidence back.
As far as tilt, everyone tilts. Some more than others. The edge in many high stakes games shifts from one player to the other based on the way the match is going, and how well they each handle losing or winning. Yes some people tilt when they win.
Be willing to quit games when you find yourself tilting at all. Most people tilt by going on autopilot and don't realize they're tilting.
I think it's probably possible to stop most of your tilting. It's very difficult though. Understanding that you tilt, and being able to identify it and quit is your best bet by far.
Also don't play tired, like I am right now, unless there's a very big fish in the game.
#tilt #strategypost #4AM #confidence #BRM
#thismahnewjam #ratatat #jumbulayathoughts #wat #sharkbait
Last edited by sharkbaitOHH; 07-19-2011 at 09:00 AM.
Reason: #prettify