Learning Discipline and coping with Tilt

Author: Simon Dexter

Poker is the type of game that can make players feel as though they can literally walk on water. Occasionally, things are going so well that the cards turn perfectly and even outrageous poker bets come off, but as in life, just when it looks as though you’re ready to hit the big time, the wheels can come off with a vengeance.

For all the possible poker strategies and playing styles, it is still a game of chance, which means that foregone conclusions simply do not exist.

I watched a televised poker game recently where one guy, who had been playing exceptional poker, then landed pocket aces. A slight smirk betrayed him, although his chunky raise ensured that everyone knew he had a decent hand. Things looked even better at the flop as the dealer turned over A-A-5. Four aces. The stone-cold nuts. How lucky could this guy get?

Cleverly, he feigned weakness, which drew several other players into a furious round of betting, raising and re-raising until just one other was left. On the turn, a jack of clubs turned up which suggested his remaining opponent was chasing a flush. The opponent then moved all of his chips in, to which our man rapidly responded by doing the same. The baize was suddenly awash with chips as the duo contested the night’s biggest pot.

As the hole cards were turned over, the opponent recoiled when he saw the aces. All he had was 10-Q of clubs; he needed a miracle. Then it arrived. The king of clubs. Our man’s four aces were broken by a royal flush.

Most of us will suffer similar experiences at some time. Indeed, recounting nightmare hands is akin to showing off battle wounds. The problem is we usually don’t care, until it happens to us. It is a fact that the majority of poker players do not remember the big pots they’ve won, but they never forget the big ones they’ve lost.

And how do you prevent this from happening to you? The short answer is you don’t. Wincing as you see your sure-fire poker hand trumped is part of the game. But the worst thing for amateurs is that together with the loss in chips comes a loss of composure.

Players who have suffered a major setback will often start playing recklessly in an attempt to recoup their losses. Their judgment becomes clouded and they begin to play marginal hands, something that compounds itself as reckless poker can ultimately send a poker player deeper into the red. Remember, poker is a game where success comes from applying logic and intuitive assumption. Playing on emotion, often fuelled by rage in an attempt to right a perceived wrong can cost you a lot of money.

It’s a phenomenon frequently evident across the sporting world: highly-paid footballers start missing penalties, golfers suddenly get the yips and boxers literally drop their guard. All types of players subsequently get angry and almost try too hard to rectify matters. Irrespective of the sport, however, the impact of what can be a loss of concentration, indifferent form or just complacency is exactly the same: high-profile sportsmen start losing.

The bad news is that poker players, no matter how good they may be, are not immune to a similar phenomenon, which is when they are most prone to start tilting.

There is a mistaken belief that should a poker player begin tilting, he immediately loses complete control of his game and collapses into a heap, a burnt-out wreck, but this is not the case. Tilting appears to creep up unannounced on the poker player, causing his game to deteriorate, with a corresponding negative effect upon his bank balance. Mostly, however, the phenomenon occurs following a bad beat.