Poker, like many other games and many other disciplines, has its good times but also its bad times for all players. In fact, in order for there to be good times for some, there must be bad times for others. The prizes in online tournaments and live tournaments come from the buy-ins paid by the participants themselves, so the winners collect the money contributed by the other players who have not been so fortunate. That is why there are also complicated situations that are not so easy to get out of, considering how psychological the cards can be.
Tilt is one such situation. The player expects to win a hand relatively comfortably and after discovering the cards he realises that he has underestimated his opponents. He then begins to develop a state of rage that leads him to make a series of bad decisions. It can not only be determined by a bad move, it all depends on the player. But basically being tilted means entering a situation of mental confusion in which the user does not know what to do and has a much higher risk of making mistakes. Mistakes that can cost you dearly, especially in Texas Holdem.
Even the most experienced players have been in this situation at some point and have had to fight against it. That’s why one of their goals in their daily training is to find ways to control the tilting and even prevent it. This is something that is probably not explained in the manuals on how to play poker, but it is important to know about because it can also separate success from failure. In any case, it should not be taken with fear and as something dangerous. As we say, even to the best players it happens.
Tilt is part of the game
One of the keys to combating it is probably the mentality that players take towards poker. There are many good players in this game, and like everything else in life, fortune also plays an important role. Poker leaves moments of happiness with a tremendous rise in winnings and stack, but also downturns in which you will generate losses. When everything goes well you are not the best player in the world, and when everything goes badly you are not the worst. Cards are to be taken with philosophy and not to radicalise the situations that each one of us is going through.
It may seem a cliché, but this is actually the case. There are players who, after a hand in which they are left with honey on their lips, lose concentration and begin to make impulsive decisions that can only complicate their situation at the table even more. Don’t think that the world is against you and that everything goes wrong for you. Going off your own strategy will only favour the strategy of others, which in part will also consist of getting you out of your own way. That’s why the image you create of yourself at the table is also important. If the other players know that you lose your temper easily, they will come after you.
As we are seeing, mentality is key to be able to prevent and fight against tilt. Breaks also play a key role and everyone needs them. In our Team, for example, it is also something that happens and is in demand. After finishing a playing session with results that are not as expected or that have been unfavourable, it is preferable to disconnect and allow time to pass until the return to action. There is time to analyse the mistakes made with a cool head and once despair is no longer part of you.
There are players who compete on the most professional and well-known poker circuits who stop competing for a long period of time when things don’t work out. If you play from home, poker is your livelihood and you can’t afford to leave it aside for a few days, at least do it for a few hours. Do other activities that de-stress your mind and make you forget that thing that has made you furious.
Thinking 24/7 about that bad move won’t make any sense
And if you get into a tilt in the middle of a long game, it’s best not to play the next few hands. A situation of rage can only end with the player betting impulsively, playing hands that at other times would seem impossible to play, and not controlling what is going on around him. In other words, in that instant the player has no control over the game and that is the worst thing that can happen. Relax, fold the next few hands and when you find a state of comfort again, get back into the action.
