Playing on tilt

Author: Simon Dexter

Hi guys,

I’m an ok poker player who often lets his emotions get the better of him. I suspect I’d be a much better player if I didn’t go on tilt as frequently as I do whenever I’m on the receiving end of a bad beat. I know the old saying about keeping emotion out of the game, but it’s difficult: is there another way?
PT
Carlisle

Well PT,

It’s fair to say that most of us are pretty average when it comes to willingly accepting advice.

Poker players are among the worst recipients of wise counsel. Their desire to drive headlong into battle usually ensures they ignore all manner of recommendations proffered in an attempt to help them save money and a variety of exhortations designed to assist in the making of it. Until it’s too late of course.

As you say, one of the most frequently-aired recommendations is: “Don’t bring your emotions to the poker table”, dispensed in good faith from the pages of books and by wiser coves, but usually only recalled after a player has gone on tilt. Suggesting that players should leave their emotions outside the poker room is akin to asking them to leave their clothes there too. When there’s money at stake, players are bound to become emotional and if we acknowledge this, then we may be better off asking: ‘Why did I tilt in the first place?’

Many poker analysts suggest the answer lies with the player’s state of mind before he reached the table, hence ‘leave your emotions outside’, but as that is nigh on impossible for all but a tiny minority, perhaps trying to find a more effective way of avoiding tilting is the answer.

At some point, every poker player will tilt, which is why many observers recommend a post-game analysis of this stack-draining phenomenon in much the same way as they suggest an analysis of regular play. Tilting usually occurs when players suffer from a loss of focus; it is the subsequent negative reaction to say, a bad beat, that invariably costs them money.

Accordingly, it can pay to watch how other players react to a bad beat. How can some people nod their head appreciatively and say: “Well played” after an opponent lands an impossible card to trouser a burgeoning pot? Their reaction is also emotional, but shorn of the histrionics. It is clear that such a response gives the calmer player a much better chance of playing the next hand in complete control of himself.

It’s also worth noting that even when players have a 95% chance of winning on the river, they’ll still lose 5% of the time. It follows that preparing for these bad beats is crucial to longer term success at poker than is what sunglasses a player wears.

The wisest poker sages acknowledge that setting emotions aside is an almost impossible task. They say that instead, players having problems with tilt or with their emotions when involved in a game should keep an eye on those who react calmly to those occasionally stomach-wrenching bad beats and ask, ‘Why does he not start cursing’, or ‘How does he keep his emotions under control?’.

The answer lies in preparation. Bad beats happen to everyone; they’re part of the game. Rather than spending inordinate amounts of time learning how to riffle poker chips, amateurs would do better learning how to react to these inevitable situations. It may not look as cool, but it will increase their winning percentage and is probably much easier than divesting oneself of emotion before playing.

Tags: bad beats, Poker Strategy, Poker Tips, tilt

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 11:25 am and is filed under Have Your Say!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply:

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Contact Us | Affiliates | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Security | Sitemap