Re: Tilt - O - Rama
 

You talk about 3am & 7am
It may be that your actually not on tilt, but just phisically/mentally tired.
Do you work/ go to schoold during the day?

I know for sure that I can not play my A game past 3am unless I took a nap say 9pm-12 just before my session.
It is very common for me to fall asleep in that 15 seconds of waiting even when i am multi tabling. The tables beep me to make an action.
I usually keep playing because it is small stakes limit and my play is usually robotic, but I am sure I would lose my stack if I was playing even 1-2NL.

here is a funny analogy
What we are talking is a McDonalds employee vs a Firefigher.
Person A can make minimum wage even when He is constantly half asleep, while Person B, (who can also be half asleep most of the time and be ok) Earns the bulk of his pay when the alarm goes off. If he is not alert when that alarm goes off, the house is gonna burn down!

Re: Tilt - O - Rama
 

[ QUOTE ]
Until you prove to yourself that you CAN stop at will, you need to set an arbitrary limit to the session. You have to set a time cut-off and stick to it. Otherwise, the only cut-off you have is when you lose your roll for the night.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am now set to cut off at no later than 3AM, regardless of situation. Last night, I went back in (Hawaiian Gardens 4/8). Found a juicy game, and:


1) Focused on playing my most TAGish A-game.

2) I made 2 notable mistakes. The first, I folded a gutshot draw ass last to act against a turn bet - and my card did come on the river. Later, I realized that implied odds would have been correct to call (loose players ahead of me).

The second: Raising my trips against a boat held by the most tagish player at the table. This second mistake sent my on "subtle tilt", and on the next hand I called a PF raise with something crappy.

3) On the next hand, I was about to call another PF raise in mid position with K7o (!!) - but stopped, mucked, and told the dealer to deal me out as I was taking a break. I realized that I was off my game.

I wandered around the casino, read some brochures, watched some poker tournament on EPSN, went to the restroom, and washed my face with hot water, like Jackie Gleeson in "The Hustler" (that film is required watching for all gamblers).

I went back to the table refreshed and didn't play a single hand for an hour (cards sucked).

When I did start to get cards, the game was as juicy as ever (family capped pots!!)

I left at 2AM after just taking a pot with a set of 4s, ending with a session average of 4BB/hr (12BB/100).


WHAT I'VE REALIZED:


Over the last few weeks, I've been on a downward spiral, with increasing tilt, resulting in increasing losses, resulting in even more tilt.

I re-read The Theory of Poker the last few days, and was determined to stick to the tried and true, tight aggressive style.

You might say that reading *yourself* is as important as reading other players. I'm determined to read my tilt level after every hand, and play or walk accordingly.

I'm also certain that I just can't play tired. I thought I could, really - but against alert players I'll just get creamed and outplayed.




AB

Re: Tilt - O - Rama
 

[ QUOTE ]
You talk about 3am & 7am
It may be that your actually not on tilt, but just phisically/mentally tired.
Do you work/ go to schoold during the day?


[/ QUOTE ]


I do work - in the film industry. I'm used to weird hours as a result. And days where I went to 7am were *not* work days.

But I have now set a 3AM cutoff. Guess at my age I'm not so capable of the marathons anymore!

Yea, on my last super-tilt session, I was very very tired.



AB

Re: Tilt - O - Rama
 

Just wanted to thank everyone for their comments - all were constructive and useful!


AB

Re: Tilt - O - Rama
 

The best way to control this type of situation is not to change your play at all. At all times you want to make the decision that maximizes your overall expectation, when you are down its sometimes hard to see poker as a game of making correct decisions. It is crucial at this point to minimize your losses. Lets say you lose $800 That is much better then $1200, at the time it wont feel this way in fact the extra $400 will seem like nothing. We all know though this is not the case that extra $400 is losing 50% extra. In conclusion just make the best possible decisions you can, losing is a part of the game we must all except. As long as you always make quality decisions you will win in the long run.