Tilt

[YuriDitz]

Hi all. I need your advice on fighting against tilt. I'm generally a plus player(NL2-10) But sometimes after losing a coin flip or losing my KK against AA and the like situations...
I'm getting mad and I want to win back, but I've lost control, I'm not playing by strategy and I'm not thinking about it. Thus losing even more money. Then the worst thing happens: I go to a higher limit, then higher and higher... and then my bankroll is on the verge of elimination. I'm in a kind of oblivion. Advise me how to stop myself and what to do! Please!

 

[Redman1902]

I know it only from pokerstars. If you play there, you can lock higher levels for you and until you unlock it again it takes at least 24h, so you have a cool down phase.

Doesn't treat the cause of the problem, but can help you in the short term to alleviate the consequences. Good luck working on your mental side.

 

[GreenDaddy1]

Been there done that. Lots of times!

You have to recognise the entire problem is YOU. Your emotions. Your expectations. Your sense of entitlement. Your lack of understanding of the truth of the game. Your lack of control.

There are 3 things I recommend doing.

1. Learn/revise the odds of hands hitting/missing and all about equity share. You have to understand that if you have 80% equity share you still lose 1/5. This knowledge helps soften the blow when you get sucked out on, miss your big combo draws, lose with AA vs KK etc etc

2. When you feel tilt take hold, when you suffer that bad beat, take your hands off the mouse/keyboard. Sit out a minute or so and take a few deep breaths if your blood is boiling. This costs you nothing. Get your emotions back under control before clicking again.

3. Before every session take a few moments to think about your mindset. Think about both the points above and how you'll use those tools to not get sucked into spewing due to tilt.

The best defense vs tilt is emotional control plus an understanding of why we tilt, and how we can use our basic knowledge of maths/equity share/odds to soothe our fragile egos before we lose control... and our bankroll!

 

[ronn6583]

Just stick to your advice in the theme « Leaving after a bad beat…»
Need a break in the game if emotions show up. And don't forget that there are days when you can't win anything.

 

[YuriDitz]

Thank you all for the advices, yes I did advise other people how to deal with tilt, but one thing to advise, and quite another thing to follow these rules.

 

[Vallet]

The thought process is very important. When you think that you have done everything possible to win a big pot, but instead lose big several times in a row, then a tilt may occur. You lose a piece of money from your pocket and the capital that you could multiply. Therefore, the desire to win back appears at the level of thinking. But now the thought process has to change.
Think about whether you will be able to withdraw money if you win? The information indicates that you are also from Russia. This means that the withdrawal of funds will be equal to the amount of the deposit, you will not receive a win in any case. Thus, the game for real money becomes similar to play money. Tilt rarely occurs when we lose play money, because we do not attach any value to them.

 

[redmast]

Usually players in such cases take a break in the game for a while. In most cases, this is effective but not always.

 

[blueskies]

If you get angry losing to AA with KK or losing a coinflip, what do you do when those river 3 outters hit?

For me the only way to stop tilt is to stop playing until I mentally reset.

 

[Amanda A]

If I'm on a losing streak I always go down to lower levels not up and study more. GL

 

[natsgrampy]

I will step away for a few days. I have done this for up to 2 weeks to get it out of my head.
I will step down in buy ins too. Although, this backfires sometimes due to players playing so loose.
Stepping away usually helps.

Kicking the dog helps too! [emoji240]