I Have an Obvious Tell

[Clinger]

I went to a casino to play live 1-2 NL for the first time yesterday and encountered a pretty serious problem--I don't react well to pressure in a hand. My pulse gets so high that my opponents can see it from across the table.

I have this problem not only when I have a strong hand, but anytime I make a play for the pot, or value bet a strong hand.

Also, one hand where I made an unlikely straight on the river, I actually flinched when the card came (and thus didn't get paid off). This I can fix by watching other players instead as the cards get turned over, so it's the other problem I'm more concerned about.

Knowing that my opponents figured me for big hands when I was doing this, I did go ahead and treat the symptoms rather than the problem by bluffing a lot more.

A player who has shown he can get away from a hand opened UTG+1 for $8, and I call OTB with As9s with the intention of taking the pot away from him since I'm still pretty nervous from a straight flush I had a few hands ago. 2 to the flop Kd7d4c, he bets $10 and I pause 3 seconds and call. Turn is a 8s, he bets $15, I pause 3 seconds and raise to $45, and he insta folds AK face up...

I was able to steal two more pots in similar ways over the next two orbits. Another guy folded top pair face up too. It was nice to turn the weakness into a positive, but it also has the effect of preventing me from being paid off on my big hands. I heard other players at the other end of the table discussing my tells, so I know this isn't all in my head.

What can I do to calm myself down a bit (a lot) at the table? It's partly the money, but more of it is just that I'm too competitive.

FWIW, I am a somewhat experienced limit player and I don't suffer this problem in limit games.