Hello , I really enjoy poker but I have found that I have a bit of an anger/tilt problem that needs to be addressed.

I guess you could say that I am a results oriented player in that individual wins and loses are what drives my mood and how Im feeling. I hate to lose, its not about the money though. Its just that its I guess humiliating and frustrating.

If I lose its almost a 100% guarantee that I will flip out and tell the person off and this doesn't work well because nobody wants to play with me and also because I usually tell them exactly why I think they are an idiot which usually has something to do with play. The rest of the time its because I played bad and I'm just mad at myself.

I have some mental health issues , including bipolar and mood disorders. I'm wondering if maybe its best for me to just hang it up as the swings of poker may be making my disorder worse? Also I strictly play Omaha of some variation so of course the swings are worse( No I wont play anything else).

Anybody have any advice or suggestions.

I started playing poker to get out of my own mental health issues. Not tilting/berating is a habit that comes with experience for many players, regardless of mental health. Sounds like you might still be kinda new to poker? Part of winning poker is letting others feel OK about losing to you. If you berate everyone they may be less likely to give you action. (Trust me, I've been there, done that.) Now that I am friendlier it's better for everyone involved, including me. Getting into verbal spats constantly is stressful and bad for mental health.

If you feel tilt/word vomit coming on, just take a step away from the table and take a few deep breaths for 30 seconds or so or do some push ups or something. That usually does the trick. You need to change your environment at least temporarily so you are less fixated on the person you lost to in the moment. Gl, have fun.

1) You will NEVER be able to get your opponents to be better (worse) competition. Like you said, results orientated thinking is the worst kind since you will then want 'revenge', which leads to bad decision making most of the time.

2) Information on PLO is coming out quickly, so you should be able to tell the difference between bad poker and variance. Since you can't overcome/change your opponent's decisions you need to understand whether or not you made the 'above average' choice for you own holding and spot very quickly so your mind can move onto the next hand.

3) I've found that you can play an aggressive style of PLO and yet still feel pretty nitty once the Flop comes out against certain opponents/positions. Did you know that there's more than one bet size in PLO? Yes, you can actually bet less than 'pot'. It can grind your teeth to give someone better odds to call, but at certain stack depths it's much better to have a 'pot' left behind for the Turn/River than to charge a sticky Player 2 to 1 and they see you have very little behind.

4) As much as you shouldn't berate your opponents for bad play/good variance there's just as much to not feeling obligated to justify your play either. I've seen many a Player go to their phone to punch in an odds calculator and find out that a situation was not as they initially thought. GL

Poker amplifies all of your behavior, positive and negative. As I'm sure you are aware, you can't just decide to turn off your mood swings and bi-polar behavior, let alone when just playing poker. You have to work on it every day. Drugs can help, but also can have side effects that can be detrimental to playing poker. And at best, you're going to have to expend a lot of energy doing things that your opponents just do naturally.

TBH, you shouldn't be playing poker as you described your situation.

Respectfully disagree with the dangerous trope, “people with mental illness shouldn’t [ x y z ],” certainly when it comes to something as banal as playing poker. I’ve been doing it for years, successfully. While my symptoms sometimes manifest themselves this hasn’t prevented me from doing very well for myself anyway.

Reminds me of this attorney who was blind and was told when interviewing that someone like her surely couldn’t practice law.

We can and we do.

Thanks for the replies, my overall thinking in my original question was; Is poker bad for someone with bipolar with/without meds because of the swinginess of the game combined with the swinginess of the disorder. Perhaps this question is better suited for a Mental health professional.

Good idea. Especially due to the without meds part. At the end of the day you know your own tolerances/limits better than anyone though, so use that knowledge to guide you. Gl on and off the felt.

I think this is one of ymmv. Everyone's condition is different. You are putting words in my mouth if you thought I was saying everyone who has a mental condition should not play poker.

The OP wrote that he almost 100% will blow up any time he loses. Until that is resolved, he shouldn't be playing. My home poker room isn't in a upper middle class casino. We've got people who don't walk on the legal side of income generation and some guys that wouldn't appreciate being blown up upon at all. Both could easily decide to show the OP the errors of his way. That's why.

Thanks for elaborating! Must have misinterpreted.

Yes, OP, if you play in a rough-around-the-edges card room emotional outbursts will not be taken well.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that this is something you should ask a mental health professional about. I honestly don't know a person who doesn't experience some form of tilt (maybe not a blowup, but they certainly feel it). To be truthful, until you get to a point where the money is so plentiful that it doesn't bother you as to weather you win or lose (we all personally seen that), the loss or the win is always gonna matter to some extent. More often than not, we find ways to justify it (Not being results oriented over 1 session, or 1 week, etc., or thinking about it in terms of short term or long term results ) but that is not something that comes easily to everyone. Poker is a game about learning, just like life. You don't start off with knowing how to talk or walk, it takes practice. Same goes with Poker, it takes practice and patience and learning. You mentioned you've only played for about 3 years...I would say that Poker is still in it's infancy for you. Don't let your Mental Health issues take a front seat if Poker is something you really want in your life. Maybe it takes a little longer for you, but there is no time limit. If it's something that your into, and you want to be able to play, then you should find what works for you in controlling your tilt. It's different for everyone.

What stakes do you play if you don't mind me asking?

Are you Bankrolled enough to play the stakes your playing comfortably? I know a lot of people who play way to high for their BR and that really affects their mood (Playing with Scared Money).

Poker can be great hobby if your into it and it can really teach you a lot of things (on and off the felt) but, just like everything else, it takes a lot of work. If you really want Poker to be a part of your life (weather that's aspirations of becoming a pro, or just a fun/serious hobby as a side hustle) regardless of what obstacles stand in your way, you should work on it.

This is just my 2 cents dude, take what you will from this post. When I started my Poker journey, I had big issues with tilt. I did some reflecting, and realized that I wasn't mad at my opponents, I was mad at myself. I knew that if I was gonna keep Poker as a fun/serious hobby that I had to find ways to deal with it. Everybody has their own struggles, but are you the type of person who let's those struggles define who you want to be or how you want to live your life?

I always have this little thing I carry around with me in the back of my head: Someone is always better off than me, but someone is always worse off than me too...So I'm always grateful for where I am in my journey.

This is not meant to offend anyone at all, I just wanted to give you my perspective. I don't personally have Mental Health issues, but it is in my family and for them understanding and motivation seem to really work. So, I hope in some way, this gives you a little motivation to keep working at it, and always moving forward regardless of what you choose to do.

Good Luck with everything bro!

EDIT: It's a novel I know, I had a lot to say, damn lol

Read some books about the mental game; do some yoga; take a break from poker.

Don't go broke playing on tilt.

I recommend you read the Mental Game of Poker.

Yes .. MGP I and II are good reads .. GL

PS .. Jared Tendler is author

I'd advice to, first of all, be sure to be seeing a psychiatrist and to be on the proper medication. Not for poker, but for your life wellness. About poker, idk if PLO is a good game for someone with tilt problems...