Online Tilt - The Silent Killer

e_phemeral · #1 10-11-2007, 03:56 PM

I played 2 weeks of solid poker at $25NL and was up 16 buyins. I played 12 hours of monkey tilt poker at $25NL and lost 18 buyins. WTF?!?!?!?!

Tilting when playing online is so dangerous because all of your bankroll is right there, easily accessible and easily dumped onto a table. Time and time again, I build up a bankroll, only to tilt it all away. I am really trying to figure out how to stop doing this and need help.

How do people manage tilt online? For me, tilt is all about anger. I get angry because (a) I play a hand badly and lose money, (b) someone else plays a hand badly and I get sucked out on and lose money, (c) someone else outplays me and I lose money and (d) for various other reasons. Once on tilt, I stop playing poker and instead want to "get back" at whoever has "wronged me", which quickly turns into the entire table - soon it is me against the table and everyone is gunning for me because they know I am on tilt. Queue some more bad beats. INVARIABLY, this is when a string of really bad beats happen - I have used my tilty image to get it in good and some d()che sack sucks out. Now I go on super monkey tilt and start spewing buyins like they are meaningless.

HOW DO YOU AVOID THIS? Is it possible to have such a detached mindset that you never go on tilt? Or do all people, even the most disciplined, detached players, go on tilt at some point?

Once on tilt, it seems the only good thing that you can do is to stop playing. But how do you do it? I'm looking for mental tricks, gimmicks, ANYTHING, to help me control this awful problem. Whether it be some trick to stopping playing or some trick to stopping the tilt, give me your thoughts.

Having looked back at hand histories and graphs, I know that I could be a winning player if I could only control tilt. To me, tilt control is the main difference between winning cashgame players and losing ones.

Suggestions?

Rek · #2 10-11-2007, 05:56 PM

Everybody tilts and I mean everybody. However, there are varying degrees.

Your problem is when you tilt you are steaming. You will always be a losing player unless you can control it. Easy to say and hard to do if that is in your personality.

I have found that the more experienced you are the better you can control it. You have seen it, done it, repeated it over and over again. You know the beats will happen and can see the bigger picture.

Won't work for everybody but something that really helped me was when I decided I would not write dumb comments after a bad beat. It really calmed me down.

I am a fairly level headed realist and never really steam but I do know when I am tilting because I start to play looser. When I realise it is happening I tend to make out I am instructing someone on the playing of the cards. This helps me refocus and continue to play my normal game.

It is hard but good luck.

DoubleDog · #3 10-11-2007, 09:06 PM

[ QUOTE ]

For me, tilt is all about anger. I get angry because (a) I play a hand badly and lose money, (b) someone else plays a hand badly and I get sucked out on and lose money, (c) someone else outplays me and I lose money and (d) for various other reasons.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is difficult not to get pissed off when the forces are working against you, but your bankroll doesn't deserve the abuse. Get out of the game for half an hour, an hour, whatever it takes. And if you're still mad when you sit back down, STAY out of the game and protect your money.

Paul2432 · #4 10-11-2007, 09:45 PM

Switching to the play money tables has worked for me.

Paul

johnnyknish · #5 10-11-2007, 09:47 PM

you have horrible tilt problems, my suggestion set a stop loss limit like two or three buy ins. secondly i would buy your own worst poker enemy by alan schoonemaker or the poker mindset by matthew hilger. that is the way to get over your tilt. i never spewd as bad as you but i did spew. the pokermindset saved ny gane i have been so much better off

DCJ311 · #6 10-12-2007, 05:07 AM

I've always felt like true poker geniuses don't tilt, much like chess professionals don't tilt. You understand there is an optimal way to go about things, and if you deviate from it, someone else will find a way to capitalize on it. Once you put that into perspective and focus on it, then your tilt should subside.

inyourface · #7 10-12-2007, 05:13 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Switching to the play money tables has worked for me.

Paul

[/ QUOTE ]

Took the type out of my fingers so to speak! If I drop a buyin or two for whatever reason, bad play, cooler, misjudgement I'll open the play chip tables and win a few buyins back with 64os all in and the smile returns to my face lol and the anger dissapears!

luckyjimm · #8 10-12-2007, 09:09 AM

Great post, OP. You describe every step of tilt perfectly. The only answer is to turn off your computer. Ignore your compulsion to keep playing. Just get the hell away, the game will be there later. You want to be the cool, calm player picking off the action fish who's throwing his money around. Now you're the table target, time to get the hell away.

I find a wank and a sleep helps...

kingmack · #9 10-12-2007, 10:22 PM

I get away from the computer and go for a jog. If you've been a winning player you've got to realize all the money you've made from the donks chasing and missing. If the donks never sucked out they wouldn't make those crazy plays to begin with. I think Ace on the River also had a decent section about avoiding tilt if anyone else can recall it.