Tilt – The Concept, not the TV Show

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005 (Bob Acton)

What is tilt? Arguably, tilt is the single most destructive thing that can happen to a poker player. Tilt can cloud your mind worse than too many shots of Jose Cuervo. Tilt can make you think that you are more clever than everyone around you. Tilt can keep you up at night. Tilt can destroy your bankroll.

Again, I ask the same question, what is tilt? By definition, tilt is to play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.

How can you tell if you or a player at your table is on tilt? Tilt comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes it happens to a player dealt Q-Q and there is a K or an A (or both!) on the board, yet they refuse to lay down their hands and then afterwards they rationalize it by saying something like “Pocket Queens was the best hand I’ve had in hours, I just couldn’t lay them down. If you come across this player, sit tight as he is the ATM of the hour. If YOU are this player, sign off, take a nap, read a book, DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING that will clear your head. This play will only lead you to ruin and further depths of tilt.

What causes tilt? Well, there a number of situations that cause a player to play poorly and on tilt.

Here are the most common reasons:

• Losing a lot of money on a big hand
• Losing a big pot on the river when our opponent had no business hanging around.
• Losing a hand when at one point you clearly had the best hand and other players wouldn’t fold.
• Playing correctly and still losing
• Slow-playing big hands only to be outdrawn at the end.

For some of these, there is really nothing you can do. Being outdrawn is a part of poker. It happens. But for others, such as slow-playing are definitely avoidable. Remember, it is much better to win a small pot than to lose a huge one. Unless you flop the absolute nuts, do not slow play. Many times, I’ve seen a player check post flop even though they have top pair. What is the point of that? After all, all you have is a pair, that’s not quite a Royal Flush now is it?

Most people you play against aren’t playing a high caliber of poker as not everyone has put in the time and effort to master the craft. When a good player goes on tilt, they are stooping to the level of these other players. They begin playing marginal cards in early position when they are most likely to be raised and possibly re-raised. These actions waste chips. They begin to become AT&T…calling everything to the bitter end even when it’s obvious that they’re beaten. These actions further weaken your stack as well as your self-esteem.

How do you overcome tilt? Anything I say is in theory because it is virtually impossible to play poker and NEVER go on tilt at some point. It just happens. I’m guilty of it as well. The goal is to minimize these occurrences and then minimize the damage caused by them. If you have a bad beat, or feel that you were beaten by a player playing badly, forget it. Control your emotions. You are not going to win every hand you play, it’s a part of the game. Just absorb the loss and move on. If you’ve had several bad losses in a row and feel yourself losing control of your emotions, take a break or call it a night. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen is a player trying to get it all back in the next hand and then digging themselves a deeper hold. It’s ok to have a losing session. It’s not ok if the losing session completely breaks you.

Sometimes, the best way to end a losing streak is to just simply walk away. It’s easier said than done, and requires discipline but it may be the decision that saves you. Stop playing marginal hands. The best way to get your head back in the game is to tighten up and start with better hands to play. If you do this, your results will improve.

Well, these are my thoughts for now.

If any of you out there have any examples of tilt and how you overcame them, just send along an email to info@pokerstrategyking.com and we can discuss it in a future column.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.

(For more poker strategy and tips, please visit the PokerStrategyKing’s website at www.pokerstrategyking.com )

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