Tilt Issues

[TraptSteve 0]

A tl;dr version - I build a roll then when the inevitable downswing hits, I can not play through it. Handling a losing session or two is not an issue, even particularly brutal ones. When it is the prolong streak it becomes a problem. Seems like I get an intense rage as soon as I lose a hand in these cases and the ONLY way I can play well is if I get saved by a heater. I play horribly until that happens. If it happens. =/My question is that if these form of rage/tilt can ultimately be overcome... or do I just need to stop playing? Anyone have tilt issues (perhaps not as extreme as this) and how did or do you go about countering it? Thanks in advance.-Steve

[Canary3 1]

I've definately been through this. The best thing I've done is to play when I want to play. Don't play when you are in a bad mood or have had a bad day. Just play when you really feel like playing. Also, when you feel tilt coming on, just quit playing. I realize this is very hard, because you feel like you need to make that money back.

[TraptSteve 0]

I've definately been through this. The best thing I've done is to play when I want to play. Don't play when you are in a bad mood or have had a bad day. Just play when you really feel like playing. Also, when you feel tilt coming on, just quit playing. I realize this is very hard, because you feel like you need to make that money back.

That seems to be the key... the ability or in my case inability to stop playing when I know I'm headed for full blown tilt. Now did you find it easier to quit a game after first time?And thanks for commenting!ps I don't play online, so it isn't like you guys will be "losing a customer" by providing advice

[Canary3 1]

It's like any other behavior in life. Once you do it (tilt/rage), it's much easier to do it again. The same is true for learning to quit when you are not playing your best.

[serge 904]

The first step in becoming a good player is recognizing when you are tilting and playing bad. Most bad players think they are just getting unlucky, cashout curse , the sun is in the wrong place..etc..Like it was brought up, forget about how much you have lost..Dont play more to get it back..Take a break, do something else until your mind is calm and you are over the bad sessions.The difference between a good player and a great player is the ability to control themselves in this fashion.

[nutzbuster 7]

Taking breaks, long breaks, is key during prolonged bad runs. You are doing things wrong and playing badly when lost in the negative emotion of it all, even if you think you are not.I took the whole month of August off from poker last year. Played golf, traveled, did other stuff, etc. Cleared my head, ignored most everything poker. After that time I finally forgot how angry I was and how much I hated the game and I actually wanted to play again. That is key. I was positive and wanted to play instead of feeling like I HAD to play (for whatever real and imagined reasons)Get away from the game for a while imo. Then review honestly what was going on back when, mistakes you were making, etc. Become an uber nit for a while if you have to, review hands, watch some videos, build your confidence. Only take 2 buy ins to the casino if you play live just in case to limit big losses. Go slow coming back

[Sweet 0]

After loosing three buyins u quit and go for a run. Running clears ur head. It seriously works. And btw, if loosing three buyins is so much money that it tilts you, you should play smaller stakes.

[webber286 0]

I've definitely gone on tilt and let me just say I never win when that happens, well maybe a hand here or there, but not if I'm trying to work deeper into a tournament. Best thing to do is step back from the screen, count to 10 and take a look at where you are on the table you are playing. Chances are you will see players in worse position that you, so you can at least say, "glad I'm not that guy", then get back to playing the way you know you need to play to win.

[TraptSteve 0]

Thanks again for the responses!I think limiting the buyin's during the periods when i'm the most prone to tilt, as well as actually quitting a game when I know I can't play my best is key. I think the bottom line is if I can't display enough discipline and will to leave a game when I need to, then I won't be able to be a winning player. It may help to consider it a personal challenge, similar to the monthly challenge threads. Knowing people have had similar experiences and dealt with it is a relief... I just have to execute the advice

[MaxStPolish 4]

The A-1 piece of advice I can give based on my history is to re-calibrate the SECOND you think to yourself about playing for the sole goal of getting "unstuck" from a particular session. It's impossible to give finite advice because everyone's playing conditions are different (bankroll size...what their online roll actualy represents, along with what their online roll is in relation to their IRL roll, etc.That said I cannot count how many times I've tilted off decently sized rolls (partly run bad, partly playing out of my range, etc.) leaving myself with a smaller roll, which I then pissed off in one tilted cash session or a few SnG's under the notion that I have to make up my losses NOW for immediate satisfaction. It rarely works. Most people that read this will undoubtedly agree.The first step you need to make, as noted above, is quitting the game when you are chasing. This doesn't mean you can't play in hopes of turning a losing session into a winner. It's really all about the mindset.....and therein it's really about being able to be honest with yourself and THEN having the ability to act on moment of clarity even though your pride and innermost desires wants you to win that money back NOW. Honestly when I think back to about 1-1.5 years ago when I started finally getting full control over my game, one of the first things I remember doing differently was when I was about to hit that tilt factor.....BOOM, 24 hour ban from poker. Not the self-serving kind you can back out on if you want. Both major sites have the option for a 24 hour self-imposed ban. Use it. I found that to be the training wheels for my self-control. As it's a lot easier to diagnose your tilt than it is to make wise decisions based on that diagnosis. So just hurry up and click a few buttons, then it's out of your hands.The next thing is figuring out realistic goals and actually putting them out there. For me poker really is nothing more than a hobby....but like most players out there, they'd much rather play this hobby showing some kind of profit vs. having to pay for it. But as working-class players, we (I) only have limited time for the hobby. So this cuts out a lot of the non-playing stuff like reading literature, hand discussions online, etc. etc. Honestly, the game I play 96% of the time I've gotten essentially no real guidance from online or in book outside of a couple small items here or there over the years. HOWEVER, I know for fact that all the random NLHE and PLO books I've read and hand discussions ive done on line have sharpened the critical thinking poker skills I use in that game. Moral of that story is that one really needs to study the game outside of the hands in play to profit long term (at least I feel like).I see veteran guys on here post every so often with some really good stuff. Hopefully this helps a little bit on the micro player level. Definitely repeated some other reply info, but just my 2 cents. IMO it just takes a little nudge to get a player to that moment of clarity if the player wants it enough. For the record, I still play in a range a true professional may consider bordering on poor B/R management, but as a hobbyist I find nothing wrong with that. With all the other pieces securely in place (tilt control, composed game, much closer table selecting, etc.) it's enough of a buffer for my volume, stake level.GL!!!

[rcgs59 15]

The A-1 piece of advice I can give based on my history is to re-calibrate the SECOND you think to yourself about playing for the sole goal of getting "unstuck" from a particular session. It's impossible to give finite advice because everyone's playing conditions are different (bankroll size...what their online roll actualy represents, along with what their online roll is in relation to their IRL roll, etc.That said I cannot count how many times I've tilted off decently sized rolls (partly run bad, partly playing out of my range, etc.) leaving myself with a smaller roll, which I then pissed off in one tilted cash session or a few SnG's under the notion that I have to make up my losses NOW for immediate satisfaction. It rarely works. Most people that read this will undoubtedly agree.The first step you need to make, as noted above, is quitting the game when you are chasing. This doesn't mean you can't play in hopes of turning a losing session into a winner. It's really all about the mindset.....and therein it's really about being able to be honest with yourself and THEN having the ability to act on moment of clarity even though your pride and innermost desires wants you to win that money back NOW. Honestly when I think back to about 1-1.5 years ago when I started finally getting full control over my game, one of the first things I remember doing differently was when I was about to hit that tilt factor.....BOOM, 24 hour ban from poker. Not the self-serving kind you can back out on if you want. Both major sites have the option for a 24 hour self-imposed ban. Use it. I found that to be the training wheels for my self-control. As it's a lot easier to diagnose your tilt than it is to make wise decisions based on that diagnosis. So just hurry up and click a few buttons, then it's out of your hands.The next thing is figuring out realistic goals and actually putting them out there. For me poker really is nothing more than a hobby....but like most players out there, they'd much rather play this hobby showing some kind of profit vs. having to pay for it. But as working-class players, we (I) only have limited time for the hobby. So this cuts out a lot of the non-playing stuff like reading literature, hand discussions online, etc. etc. Honestly, the game I play 96% of the time I've gotten essentially no real guidance from online or in book outside of a couple small items here or there over the years. HOWEVER, I know for fact that all the random NLHE and PLO books I've read and hand discussions ive done on line have sharpened the critical thinking poker skills I use in that game. Moral of that story is that one really needs to study the game outside of the hands in play to profit long term (at least I feel like).I see veteran guys on here post every so often with some really good stuff. Hopefully this helps a little bit on the micro player level. Definitely repeated some other reply info, but just my 2 cents. IMO it just takes a little nudge to get a player to that moment of clarity if the player wants it enough. For the record, I still play in a range a true professional may consider bordering on poor B/R management, but as a hobbyist I find nothing wrong with that. With all the other pieces securely in place (tilt control, composed game, much closer table selecting, etc.) it's enough of a buffer for my volume, stake level.GL!!!

good post Max

[TraptSteve 0]

The A-1 piece of advice I can give based on my history is to re-calibrate the SECOND you think to yourself about playing for the sole goal of getting "unstuck" from a particular session. It's impossible to give finite advice because everyone's playing conditions are different (bankroll size...what their online roll actualy represents, along with what their online roll is in relation to their IRL roll, etc.That said I cannot count how many times I've tilted off decently sized rolls (partly run bad, partly playing out of my range, etc.) leaving myself with a smaller roll, which I then pissed off in one tilted cash session or a few SnG's under the notion that I have to make up my losses NOW for immediate satisfaction. It rarely works. Most people that read this will undoubtedly agree.The first step you need to make, as noted above, is quitting the game when you are chasing. This doesn't mean you can't play in hopes of turning a losing session into a winner. It's really all about the mindset.....and therein it's really about being able to be honest with yourself and THEN having the ability to act on moment of clarity even though your pride and innermost desires wants you to win that money back NOW. Honestly when I think back to about 1-1.5 years ago when I started finally getting full control over my game, one of the first things I remember doing differently was when I was about to hit that tilt factor.....BOOM, 24 hour ban from poker. Not the self-serving kind you can back out on if you want. Both major sites have the option for a 24 hour self-imposed ban. Use it. I found that to be the training wheels for my self-control. As it's a lot easier to diagnose your tilt than it is to make wise decisions based on that diagnosis. So just hurry up and click a few buttons, then it's out of your hands.The next thing is figuring out realistic goals and actually putting them out there. For me poker really is nothing more than a hobby....but like most players out there, they'd much rather play this hobby showing some kind of profit vs. having to pay for it. But as working-class players, we (I) only have limited time for the hobby. So this cuts out a lot of the non-playing stuff like reading literature, hand discussions online, etc. etc. Honestly, the game I play 96% of the time I've gotten essentially no real guidance from online or in book outside of a couple small items here or there over the years. HOWEVER, I know for fact that all the random NLHE and PLO books I've read and hand discussions ive done on line have sharpened the critical thinking poker skills I use in that game. Moral of that story is that one really needs to study the game outside of the hands in play to profit long term (at least I feel like).I see veteran guys on here post every so often with some really good stuff. Hopefully this helps a little bit on the micro player level. Definitely repeated some other reply info, but just my 2 cents. IMO it just takes a little nudge to get a player to that moment of clarity if the player wants it enough. For the record, I still play in a range a true professional may consider bordering on poor B/R management, but as a hobbyist I find nothing wrong with that. With all the other pieces securely in place (tilt control, composed game, much closer table selecting, etc.) it's enough of a buffer for my volume, stake level.GL!!!

Thanks for this post... You mentioned having realistic expectations, which is something I didn't have. I played in one of those Rio deepstack events at the WSOP this june and took a deal worth over 13k. Since then I've lost heavily due to complacency. When I had 10k I should have focused on Live 2-5, something that would have stimulated my critical thinking. Instead I played 1-2 like the swings didnt mean anything and pretty much donked off a decent chunk, meanwhile spending a lot of money. Had I set a few goals... mainly become a winning player at 2-5 and supplement my income with the profit, while playing in different tournament series that (like the upcoming Chicago Poker Classic at the Horseshoe and the many series in Vegas during the WSOP), I would have been better off. Now I'm in a position where i can still rebound, but I need to have realistic expectations about the stakes / games I play. Part of that is realizing that I can be the worst player at the table when I try to play through tilt. Some people can do this; I'm not one of them and trying to play while stressed/tilt/raged is ignorance of the worst kind. So the next time I play and realize tilt around the corner, I'm going to leave. That is my first goal. Forcing myself off the table, into my car and on the expressway back home when before tilt hits. If I can do that, it will be a giant leap for me

[MaxStPolish 4]

Yeah, i forgot you were live. So the "ban" doesn't quite work the same In your situation I think it's honestly a situation of bringing x amount of buyins and leaving all forms of cash and cash cards at home. GL tho man!!!