IF WE KNOW WE DO, WHY DO WE DO?

How do we tilt?
Why do we tilt?
How often/sessions do we tilt?
How much does it cost us?

... Knowing all this, why do we then choose to KEEP TILTING?!

(YEP, I SAID CHOOSE! WE MAKE THAT CHOICE, IT DOESN'T CHOOSE US!)

Why wouldn't we make improving that part of our game #1 on our priority list?

Because there's such a short-term luck factor in poker, "cards," alone... or how we bet them, will never be enough. We're going to need something else-- something greater than the NEED TO RELY ON THE FLIP OF A CARD. "Burn-n-turn" will sometimes be our best friend, but like many friends... they come and go!

What are we going to rely on when that card DOESN'T hit? When we played the hand beautifully-- reraised to build the pot, while our equity was at it's highest... waited till the turn to pop, and thin the field, creating best chance to win pot. We played pre, flop, turn perfectly, but then the dealer turns over that dreaded river...

WHAT THEN??

How will our hand-reading skills help us then? How will our betting strategies we've learned from book 'X' bail us out then? We need something more, in order to keep surviving, to keep breathing.

What we will do when that nasty river snaps another buy-in? And another? How will we handle the 3rd straight losing month, when strategically, we did everything correct? We've done everything correct! We've done everything correct!

OR DID WE?

How do we really know we're playing our best? It's been 3+ mths. since we booked a winning session worth talking about... that can be incredibly tough on the mind. How do we know we've done all we could?

"Because I talked to friends," Joe said
"I asked questions on forum X," Shmoe answered
"Everyone says there's nothing I can do. The losing streak will work itself out," Moe replied.

Cmon... NO ONE really knows. No one but us! It's up to us to know we actually may NOT be fine. We may need to work on 'X'.

BUT, WHAT IS X?

I ask again. And I'll probably ask again and again:

What are we going to do when the cards we need don't show up? When they say, "screw you, Mr. poker player... we're no longer friends... at least not for a few hours/sessions/mths!"

How do you tilt? Why do you tilt? How often do you tilt? How much does it cost you?

... THEN WHY IN THE HELL DO WE KEEP CHOOSING TO TILT?!

Stay focused,
Dayne

wat

Indeed, Wat???
I choose not to tilt, and therefore, I dont tilt, simple as that.

Umm if I could simply "choose" not to tilt, then I obviously wouldn't.

Its not as easy as that.

sorry 4Aces, but for me it is. If Im about to tilt in a game, then I go play a micro stake sng and go all-in just to unwind.

After it happens enough, you learn to recognize it.

Things that usta make me tilt, now serve as a source of amusement for me.

I'm also of the opinion that if your playing with scared money, you tend to tilt easier.

When you're playing poker, it's not money, just duckets. Otherwise, you/I shouldn't be gambling.


---

We're always choosing to tilt... we just don't know it.

We CHOOSE to yell, scream, or cuss.
We CHOOSE to throw the mouse.
We CHOOSE to 'chat' something abusive.
We CHOOSE to play J5o because we're sick of losing w/ AKo.
We CHOOSE to defend BB w/ 73o when we're getting 12:1 to do so.
We CHOOSE to not fold, because oppnt. is donk, and we want revenge.
We CHOOSE to chase incorrectly.
We CHOOSE to complain about every beat we've ever taken, how bad everyone (but us) play, how online is rigged, players are cheating.

Tilt isn't always negative emotional responses, it's also choosing to play less than our best... (and yes, we choose that, too )

We CHOOSE to play when we're tired.
We CHOOSE to not quit when we're stuck.
We CHOOSE to not quit when we're ahead, then complain about losing
We CHOOSE to sit in a game where our edge is tiny.
We CHOOSE to play after fighting with spouse.
We CHOOSE to play limits too high for our bankroll.
We CHOOSE to play limits too high for our skill level.
We CHOOSE to play too loose
We CHOOSE to play too tight
We CHOOSE to play too scared.

We always choose tilt- it NEVER chooses us, ever!

WHAT WE DON'T ALWAYS CHOOSE... IS TO DO LESS OF IT!

lol, I don't choose to tilt.

Spot on! Plus all players

We tilt for the same reason we smoke, eat too much, etc. Every action we make is a choice, and if we make actions we don't want to, then it all comes down to discipline.

Some people find it easier to be disciplined than others, but every single player has the ability to avoid tilt.

BINGO!!

My definition of TILT is different than yours.

My definition: WHENEVER I'M NOT PLAYING MY BEST!

When I play my best, I win, when I don't, I lose.

When we "choose" to play in conditions, or for reasons I listed in my last post, they make us play less-than our best.

We've all chosen to play those conditions, therefore...

WE'VE CHOSEN TILT!

Tilt isn't always about "out of control, emotional breakdowns." Tilt, by my definition, simply means playing less than our A-Game.

You tilt, he tilts, I tilt... we all tilt! And, unfortunately... we've unknowingly chosen tilt. When we learn how to make better "choices," we'll play our best, more often... leading to better results... more often!

I think this topic just put me on TILT!
I think I'll go play WAY above my limit now. No BRM for me tonight.

I understand what you're saying, but how is "not playing your best" going on tilt? Believe it or not, Im almost never playing my best. I play when Im tired, I play when Im stuck, I play when Im bored. Every time I play in one of those conditions, Im not playing my best. But that doesn't mean Im on tilt, and it doesn't mean I shouldn't be playing.

The "tilt" Im talking about is when you have a 20K break even hand stretch, when you lose 10 buyins in a day, when you get KK 4 times and all times they have been up against AA. THAT type of tilt, we do not choose to have, its just there. Unfortunately.

Try using discipline on diarrhea.

For every action there is an equal or opposite reaction???

yeah, I agree with this, Im almost always not at my best, for whatever reason, tiredness, things on my mind,playing too long in one session, etc, but I wouldnt call it tilt.
but getting busted by KK when I have AA, or similiar, to me isnt tilt either, it's just a bad beat. It's how I react to that bad beat determines whether Im on tilt or not. Lately, I just laugh when I get bad-beated, and try to think, well, at least I got it in with the best hand.
At the stakes i play(micro) getting bad-beated isnt the worst thing in the world, it just happens.

I understand how you view TILT (90% players do), but my point here...

TILT doesn't only have to mean "emotional breakdowns after bad beat," as most think it means. There are many ways to tilt... but only one outcome:

BAD PLAY!

That's how I define it! Any time we're not playing our best, or thinking at our best, we're "tilting" at some level.

To "choose to play tired," or "too long" is choosing to play LESS THAN. You're choosing to deviate from your best.

TILT doesn't have to be thought of as this scary, bad word, that only losers feel. If we look at TILT as playing less than our best, we can learn how to improve it so much faster...

Which will ultimately lead us to playing closer to our best, more often.

Just food for thought