Staying off tilt

[casey_brick]

Recently posted in the beginners about for advice about staying off tilt. One of the replies suggested posting here. Thought I might want to put a little background into this and see if anyone can come up with some helpful suggestions.

First off I find myself goning on tilt after taking two or three bad beats while at a table. One I usually shrug off as part of the game. I will also go on tilt from the mistakes I have made i.e. over playing high pockets, paying off a river flush/straight.

In my non poker life I have expert mental control. I am a staff sergent in the USMC with commmand over a rifle infintary squad(as military commands go bout as small as they get). I was also trainded how to deal with pressure situations and how to react in a calm, cool, thinking manner.

So I guess my question is this why am I not able to apply my training to a poker table?

[sethrsch]

one thing that helps me is staying within my bank roll... that way when a bad beat or a bad play owns me its not as much of a sting... what's your bank roll/what limits or buy ins are you playing?

[MJL]

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In my non poker life I have expert mental control. I am a staff sergent in the USMC with commmand over a rifle infintary squad(as military commands go bout as small as they get). I was also trainded how to deal with pressure situations and how to react in a calm, cool, thinking manner.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am sure you will agree expert is not the same as perfect. The question is why are you so controlled in your military life vs poker? I might suggest first is constant training and reinforcement. Second is the reward of being so disciplined. Of course the negative of not being disciplined could cause results as bad as death to you or others or the cause you fight for. Being more disciplined is a trait that is held high in your world so the emotional desire to be more disciplined is high.

For most anti tilt is created by constant training and reinforcement. The best poker players will look at discipline the same way you do. It's a pride issue to say I can control myself when others don't. The reward is emotional and of course money. If those rewards become bigger than the pain of discipline you will be an expert in control in poker too.

I thank you for your service

[hornpout]

at the poker table, your thoughts and feelings are usually secret. you dont have anybody to share the pain, shame, embarrassment, or anger with. tehrefore the thoughts/feelings stay with you longer.

the fact that you can not control the cards and others' play can magnify these feelings and cause poor decision making. "he sucked out a straight, why cant i?"
"figures the straight didnt hit for me."

with non-poker conflicts, you can re-assume control of situations by changing the approach or the environment. you can make yourself feel better afterwards by talking about/repremanding those who made mistakes etc.

if you sense tilt, try changing your approach. go to sleep, play monsters and make laying down a hand become easy.

try changing your environment by changing games or going for a walk/grabbing something to eat before returning to the table.

make a list of your own coping skills and bring those skills to the table. the best way to deal with the problem is to keep talking about it and taking responsibility for your poor decision making until you see a change. take care. -mj

[casey_brick]

I agree that expert is not the same as perfect, but wherever emotion is involved I have found there is no perfection. Training and dicipline are two things that fall right into my wheelhouse.

Can I ask how anyone trained themselves to stay off tilt?

[sawseech]

i think it's funny that you've find a way to proclaim yourself an expert and a commander at every opportunity

the game requires humility

there is no course in anti-tilt

[sawseech]

think of it this way

when you do a live-fire exercise, you generally expect the rounds that your squad fires to land within a specified, predictable arc

now imagine that every third round fired by every single squad member goes off 90 degrees to the right

your squad is no longer making effective suppressive fire and the plan comes apart

this is poker

[Usagi_yo]

Most players I see have two games. The game they play when they are winning or have won, and the game they play when they've been losing or have lost. In reality, your game should be based on table conditions and opponant rather then you've been running bad/good.

Tilt is synonomous with losing -- but if you step back and think you'll realize that people on tilt can also be winning and even winning huge. The tilt doesn't matter because the deck is hitting them.

So, with that in mind and you want to stay off tilt, make your game consistent, but not to the point of being predictable. If you wouldn't play a hand a certain way when you are winning, don't play it that way when you are losing and vice versa. You have to believe and have faith that each hand you play and how you play it against a given set of table conditions has profitability in the long run, until you find out or discover otherwise, then of course adapt.

Once you lose heart or faith in a given session, quit play and come back when you can play more confidently.

[svenson]

so far the best strategies I have found for myself are:
1. STAY IN YOUR BANKROLL
There is a huge amount of stress, that you might not even notice, when each decision is so important. Stress causes the body to shutdown a lot of resource hogging functions, including your ability to use logic. Of course the only way to learn this lesson is the hard way...usually a few times

2. Don't play when your tired
Again, you're logical mind will be functioning at less than capacity, and you will also have less control of your emotions. This also means getting a lot of excersize, so you won't be tired, although you're a marine so you're probably in shape.

3. Don't play hungry
Same thing as above, without nutrition (think running without anything in the stomach) you're functioning at less than optimum.

4. Learn to play well -- I'd suggest cardrunners or pokerxfactor. If you're not good, you're going to go on tilt when you make newbish mistakes. No cure for that except learning to play.

[Gugel]

make sure you don't express your anger in any way. that means don't punch the wall, slam your mouse down, etc. Act calm to be calm. Slow down your breathing, turn on some relaxing music, maybe even sit out a few hands and just close your eyes and chill. it works wonders.