friend for accountability with tilt

[strider]

Hey guys, I have been a lurker for about 2 years and I can say 2+2 has helped me greatly in improving my poker game and also provided me much entertainment. I have played poker live and online for about 3 years and always built my bankroll to 3000,5000,7000 on like 4 different occasions from a small starting bankroll.

In all of these occasions, I would be playing like 2/4 NL max buy in 400 dollar buy in. I would lose my stack due to a bad beat or a bad play and then I would go on tilt and probably proceed to lose another stack in the same game which would get me on even greater tilt. Now, in this stage of super tilt I would go into higher limits to get my money back and sometimes it was successful, but in the long run I would lose my whole bankroll.

This year, I moved into an apartment with a couple of guys and we have grown close to each other. I deposited 50 dollars a week ago and now have built it up to 3000 and I feel a strong sense of deja vu. Of course, I lost a buy in at 2/4 tables but now since my friends were around me they helped me to stop while I was on tilt. I gave them my password and they changed the password so I couldn't log on for one week. Now instead of being bust I have a good sized bankroll to play 1/2 NL. The point of this post was the emphasis of how important friends are and how now I can be a successful poker player because my tilt will not destroy me anymore. I think the people here that are struggling with tilt should find someone that could hold them accountable meaning that would stop them to play when they go on tilt.

[Carlson411]

Not sure if you are looking for advice, but your idea is very good advice to me. I busted a bunch of bankrolls online and it was due to trying to move up. If I had somebody there that can tell me to leave when Im up or help me to manage my money I wouldn't have busted out so many times.

[Shizzle12345]

I dont move up when im tilting, I only move up when my roll can handle it. I just get a tunnel vision when im tilting, Im a timebomb, I just want to get a shot at a big pot, and when i get QQ or something, its all or nothing, even if its obvious the guy hit with AK i cant lay it down.

I dont go crazy like some, pushing every hand :P . I just overplay hands and dont get max value out of sets, straights full houses, cos i just push them allin. So someone advising not to play like that when im tilting helps alot.

[The Velour Fog]

i used to tilt a lot, a friend of mine said i would be a great player if it wasnt for my tilting issues. so one day i just made a conscious decision not to tilt any more. sure i can soft tilt if i take enough beats but its not the monkeytilt throwing buy ins away anymore. nowadays i hardly feel emotional about the game, sometimes slightly exhilarated during a big pot. its great.

so, uh, yeah friends are great i guess

[TonyDanza]

I think this is a good plan to help work on these issues. Ideally, we should all be personally accountable and recognize when we are tilting/not playing our best/playing in a game that is not the best EV situation and stop playing, but I think most people (probably everyone) have experienced these issues and found their own way to deal with them. I have gotten better about dealing with the types of situations described in the OP but I still have relapses. One thing that helps me is to ask myself a series of questions as I'm playing:

1. Am I playing my best poker? Yes - Keep playing, No - see below

2. Why not? Tilt? Tired? Drunk? Bad table? Bad image?

3. What can I do to change it? Recognize how other people are perceiving me and adjust? Change Tables? Move down in stakes? Take a break? Quit for the night?

If you decide to ask yourself that question every 30 min. or so or after you lose a big pot and you are honest with yourself, it helps. The problem is that when you are tilting, you are by definition not acting rationally.

Cliff Notes: I like your plan.

[Hince]

I'm not a fan of giving passwords out.

Most sites have an "exclude me from playing" option. You select it and all you playing activity is suspended until the selected period has expired.