The opposite of tilt. Playing scared and conservative.

[RickAversion]

Lost a few hundred in a cash game last week.
Bought in for less this week.
Normally, I buy in for 150BB, but this time I only did 100BB
Right there, was that a mistake?

I was then up to almost 275BB, and wanted to just walk, and started playing real tight.
Looking back, I gave up some pots. Need to be aggressive for better EV, but it was the opposite.

I also notice your entire stack can get blown out in 1 bad hand.
Last 2 times I played, I was gutted on a back call (His flush beat my straight, etc)
I guess that's poker, but I have trouble laying down a decent hand. This has been my biggest source of losses.

 

[Jblocher1]

Lost a few hundred in a cash game last week.
Bought in for less this week.
Normally, I buy in for 150BB, but this time I only did 100BB
Right there, was that a mistake?

I was then up to almost 275BB, and wanted to just walk, and started playing real tight.
Looking back, I gave up some pots. Need to be aggressive for better EV, but it was the opposite.

I also notice your entire stack can get blown out in 1 bad hand.
Last 2 times I played, I was gutted on a back call (His flush beat my straight, etc)
I guess that's poker, but I have trouble laying down a decent hand. This has been my biggest source of losses.

If you are properly rolled then just shrug off The Loss and keep grinding. Maybe read a book on the mental aspect of poker

 

[goodgameme]

Been there done that. It definitely helps to be really rolled so you can make the right decisions. Maybe move down for awhile?

 

[Stevepdx]

That's not the opposite of tilt. It's a type of tilt.

 

[OliverOliver]

That's not the opposite of tilt. It's a type of tilt.

Yep, what he said. Tilt isn't just freaking out and blowing all your chips; it's something that happens that alters your mental game in any way. Try to focus on your mental game and getting your head straight. Don't be so focused on the results, because it's poker, there is variance. Just focus on playing your best game, and things should balance back out. S**t happens sometimes.

 

[Aces2w1n]

The opposite of tilt is playing your best game.

And yes it was your first mistake not putting in full buy-in.

200 buy in you double up twice that's 800....

150 ... well that's 600 ... already noticing a 200 difference.

 

[scorpion1367]

Try looking up Jared Tendler ,he has some interesting insights on tilt and yes there are more types of tilt than you would ever guess......scorp

 

[shanest]

Try looking up Jared Tendler ,he has some interesting insights on tilt and yes there are more types of tilt than you would ever guess......scorp

I would recomend this too. I'm halfway through his book. Very interesting things I'm trying to apply to my game

 

[Swickster007]

You can always lose all your winnings in one hand. I sometimes like to switch tables if I double up or so. That way I can bank some of the cash and then my all in risk is not as large. Only downfall is if you win an all in, you now have less winnings. I prefer the better safe than sorry method. Live to play another hand. lol

 

[hashtag]

Hi. IMHO there is nothing wrong with tightening up and going NIT for a while, especially if you are card dead and not hitting the board. Doing this might mitigate the effects of torrid bad luck (being sucked out on, walking flopped monsters headfirst into bigger flopped monsters etc.). You are not making gains at the moment, so why not minimise your losses?

I find reading more about the game and forcing myself to learn new skills and solidify old ones helps me with the bad times. I also like to spend half a day at least on poker tracker going over old hands and stats analysis now and again, usually to take a break from playing card dead.

My problem was doing stupid things automatically on the felt, without putting any/enough conscious thought into the act (bluffing fish, crying calls etc.). I used my bad period to really work on this issue and a couple of others in my game. Because my issue was habitual (autopilot) it thus took a while to unlearn the bad habit. I found the back to basics NIT approach to be helpful while I worked on this.

For sure though, buy in for your usual amount, and don't change that simply because your confidence is shattered.

 

[Stevepdx]

Hi. IMHO there is nothing wrong with tightening up and going NIT for a while, especially if you are card dead and not hitting the board. Doing this might mitigate the effects of torrid bad luck (being sucked out on, walking flopped monsters headfirst into bigger flopped monsters etc.). You are not making gains at the moment, so why not minimise your losses?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler's_fallacy

Nitting up due to fear of future card deadness is fallacious and tilty, IMO

 

[hashtag]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler's_fallacy

Nitting up due to fear of future card deadness is fallacious and tilty, IMO

Agreed. And if you are already tilted due to a dead streak, is there any harm in pulling back a little and playing safer to regain your stride and confidence? I wasn't suggesting "play like that always", and I did suggest other things that might help. You might consider contributing as well.

 

[dhix]

i lost 30 dolares .
My hand J diamond 9heart
player against 10spades 8 spades

Table : J J 9 Q 4
WTF i lost with fullen -.-

 

[Stevepdx]

Agreed. And if you are already tilted due to a dead streak, is there any harm in pulling back a little and playing safer to regain your stride and confidence? I wasn't suggesting "play like that always", and I did suggest other things that might help. You might consider contributing as well.

The harm in "pulling back a little" is that you're sacrificing EV, provided you're a winning player, because for whatever reason you can get tilted due to being card dead.

I can't imagine complaining about my distribution of hole cards. You can still bet the button with ATC and cbet good flops. Your cards don't matter there.

As far as a cure for tilting due to "card deadness", players should read up on things like the gambler's fallacy as well as variance. All players get the same distribution of random cards. The guys who win aren't always the ones who get the best cards.

You need to extract value even when you're "card dead". You're going to get rags on most hands you get, and you're going to miss most of the flops you play.

 

[hashtag]

The harm in "pulling back a little" is that you're sacrificing EV, provided you're a winning player, because for whatever reason you can get tilted due to being card dead.

I can't imagine complaining about my distribution of hole cards. You can still bet the button with ATC and cbet good flops. Your cards don't matter there.

As far as a cure for tilting due to "card deadness", players should read up on things like the gambler's fallacy as well as variance. All players get the same distribution of random cards. The guys who win aren't always the ones who get the best cards.

You need to extract value even when you're "card dead". You're going to get rags on most hands you get, and you're going to miss most of the flops you play.

Yes, there are mathematical reasons not to do it. Consideration has to be given to the human element of poker as well however. Tilt is an emotional/psychological issue and sometimes a non mathematical approach is needed. I don't think reading about Gamblers Fallacy or variance is much help to those frustrated by 'card deadness'.

Also, I was assuming OP plays microstakes. I should have said that I would not do any of this at higher stakes, because as you said, you can still win with ATC by cbetting, stealing, bluffing and you don't go to showdown often etc.

Different story at microstakes where you are likely getting called down often, involved in multiway pots a lot of the time, getting sucked out on more frequently and so on. There are some regs you can beat up, but for the most part, you need to hit the flop your fair share to have a good session. This is where I was suggesting it is okay to NIT up for a short while until tilt has passed, the cards are running good again and potentially necessary improvements have been made to your game. And it was a suggestion at that. One of a few offered.

 

[Stevepdx]

Yes, there are mathematical reasons not to do it. Consideration has to be given to the human element of poker as well however. Tilt is an emotional/psychological issue and sometimes a non mathematical approach is needed. I don't think reading about Gamblers Fallacy or variance is much help to those frustrated by 'card deadness'.

Also, I was assuming OP plays microstakes. I should have said that I would not do any of this at higher stakes, because as you said, you can still win with ATC by cbetting, stealing, bluffing and you don't go to showdown often etc.

Different story at microstakes where you are likely getting called down often, involved in multiway pots a lot of the time, getting sucked out on more frequently and so on. There are some regs you can beat up, but for the most part, you need to hit the flop your fair share to have a good session. This is where I was suggesting it is okay to NIT up for a short while until tilt has passed, the cards are running good again and potentially necessary improvements have been made to your game. And it was a suggestion at that. One of a few offered.

Tilt is a leak and should be treated as such. Don't use a aid for a bullet wound. Address your tilt issues - the symptoms are not solutions.

 

[RickAversion]

The opposite of tilt is playing your best game.

And yes it was your first mistake not putting in full buy-in.

200 buy in you double up twice that's 800....

150 ... well that's 600 ... already noticing a 200 difference.

On the flip side, when you call an all-in and lose, you only lose $200 instead of $300, which is basically what happened. So, the $200 buy-in saved me from losing another $100. Win.

 

[RickAversion]

i lost 30 dolares .
My hand J diamond 9heart
player against 10spades 8 spades

Table : J J 9 Q 4
WTF i lost with fullen -.-

Straight beats your trips?
Welcome to poker!!

The harm in "pulling back a little" is that you're sacrificing EV, provided you're a winning player, because for whatever reason you can get tilted due to being card dead.

Great point, but that's a major assumption.
I am not sure I am a winning player with EV+.
That is why I pulled back, I am a new player, and probably will lose over time.
So, I might as well lose less. But, good point about EV+.