Tilt is a term used in poker when people let previous results in a hand affect their performance and more importantly their decision making process. It often has an adverse influence on how they would normally play a hand and as a result causes them to spew money away. Throughout this article we will look at what causes tilt, how to control tilt and different forms of tilt.
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What Causes Tilt?
There can be many different reasons why someone would go on tilt, the most coming being the outcome of a hand they have played which has gone against them. An example of this would be getting their money is a big favourite before consequently loosing the hand due to a bad beat.
Over a larger sample size, a string of poor results and generally running badly in all in situations can also cause players to tilt. They can become disillusioned with the game and see no let up in these bad results. This will affect how they perform having a massive impact on their decision making during a hand.
How to Control Tilt
The first thing you need to do to control your tilt is merely understanding when you are tilting or recognising if you are about to tilt. This can be a skill in itself and often the best players in the world will recognise this early in a session before subsequently ending their sessions early to avoid tilting and making poor decisions.
It’s also important to realise what situations will put you on tilt and finding ways to overcome these factors. Bad beats happen regularly in poker and to every player at some point in time, but the best players will recognise this as a part of the game and ultimately not let that affect them.
One of the easiest (and more often than not cheapest) ways to control your tilt is by simply taking a break. Time away from the game to regain your focus and to learn why certain things happen in poker can be a priceless asset in your armoury.
If you are on tilt or feel yourself about to start tilting then it’s important that you completely remove yourself from poker. Get away from your computer for a while and do something else that completely takes your mind off it, at least for a few hours. This can be a great way to regain perspective and come back with a clean state of mind before considering playing again.
Different Forms of Tilt
Tilt affects people in different ways, but each variable of tilt will result in you not playing you’re A-game. Let’s take a look at some examples:
- Monkey Tilt- This is a situation where you just shove any two random cards at any point. You hold no disregard as what your opponent has or who they are, more often than not you don’t care!
- Getting Even- This is where we find ourselves looking to get even with a player who has taken money from us either in a bad beat or with a call down that you think they should have folded. Here we will be trying to get involved in more pots versus that opponent in an attempt to regain some money and probably some dignity.
- Soft Tilt – This is more of a subliminal form of tilt and is often harder to spot. You may be down on the session, not necessarily through bad beats or poor play, just sometimes that’s how poker goes. You find yourself chasing more pots in an attempt to get even; consequently not playing your A-game. If you find yourself doing this then this can also be a form of tilt and a good time to end your session.
