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[Article] On Tilt Control

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PanoRaMa   United States. Jan 01 2010 23:24. Posts 1655
There is a new magazine publication circulating in Asia/Oceania called Baller Magazine (www.ballermagazine.com) which focuses on the lavish poker lifestyle. They interview big names like Joe Hachem, Pokerstars Team Asia Pros, etc. have a lot of stuff on just being balla, etc. They also have some actual strategy content, and they've asked me to write a column for their metagame section (separate from their actual strategy sections). I may be a regular columnist for this specific part, I'm not sure yet.

The main audience of the magazine is mostly live players with very minimal critical understanding of the game, i.e. the first two metagame columns (I didn't write them) were on game selection and bankroll management. So my article might seem a bit basic for a lot of you, just keep in mind the audience I was trying to write for (and the 1200 word limitation I was given). Still, the main points are very important and are things everybody should internalize. Feedback on my content is appreciated (no need to correct grammar etc. as they have editors who'd do that for me before the real print anyway). Thanks to DJEtterstyle from TL.net for preliminary, yet significant, editing help .



It's no secret that poker is popular. In the past decade, poker has changed from a weekend diversion of the working class to a legitimate sport, replete with the high stakes, tension, larger-than-life superstars, and international appeal we associate with any sport. What separates poker from most sports, however, is that you don’t have to be the strongest or smartest to become a great player. Instead, successful poker players must excel in all types of different categories. Knowledge of game theory and probability, sharp intuition, and solid work ethic are commonly believed to be the primary factors, but ultimately, it's mental discipline—or more importantly, tilt control—that separates the great players at the top from those struggling to reach the upper echelon.

First let’s define tilt. To me, there are two forms of tilt:

1. Subtle Tilt – Not being able to perform at your peak at any given moment due to external or internal factors. Common inducers of subtle tilt include being distracted, bored, or upset. I have a college friend who plays casually. Whenever he loses a big pot against someone, he subconsciously (or not) targets that player and plays hands he normally wouldn’t out of an ill-advised thirst for “revenge”, leading him to play big pots with bad hands in bad situations, looking to gamble it up.

2. Monkey Tilt – This is what most people think of when they picture “tilt” in their heads. Unfortunately, it exists in 95% of all players. Some are just better at keeping it at bay than others. A well-known, high-stakes player in the Asian poker scene told me that, one evening, he lost one too many buy-ins at his normal poker game. He ended the night at the blackjack tables, down over $60,000 USD after trying to chase losses.

The problem with subtle tilt is that it induces small mistakes, which in poker can easily add up. A handful of small mistakes every hundred hands can take quite the toll on your hourly rate. It also paves the way for even more tilting, as tilting tends to snowball over time. Consider this scenario: you’re getting bored, so you decide to raise 52o in early position pre-flop. You get called by your mortal enemy at the table, who took a few big pots off of you earlier. The flop is 346 rainbow. You both get it in, and he shows 75o for the absolute nuts. While you didn’t necessarily make a mistake on the flop, you stepped into this cooler situation by playing a hand you wouldn't ordinarily. Now you’re down another buy-in to the villain, which just might push your subtle tilt into monkey tilt territory.

Monkey tilt is hard to describe; the psychology of every player is different. I'll only admit to monkey tilting once, back in 2007. I had lost so much, so quickly. It wasn’t a gradual process. I lost one more buy-in, and although it was partly my fault due to being affected by subtle tilt, it sent me over the edge. My face heated up—I must have been bright red—my posture collapsed, and a swarm of horrible thoughts entered my head. All I cared about was doubling up right then and there. I was playing any hand that had a sum of at least 8 when you added up the hole cards. It didn’t matter what my position was or what the pre-flop action was. I just wanted to see the flop and hope my 83o hit so that I would be satisfied going all-in. As you would expect, that night did not end well.

If any of the above sounds familiar, you need to come to the realization that this will drastically hinder your progress as a poker player and your bottom line. Chronic subtle tilt keeps players from progressing to higher stakes. Monkey tilt destroys players’ bankrolls and careers. Ideally, I could just tell you to acquire the mental discipline to never tilt again. But it just doesn't work like that, especially not in poker, where money is on the line. You’re going to have to make a conscious effort to prevent tilt. Here are some useful tips that, hopefully, will add to your bottom line:

1. Stop Losses – This one takes some discipline to follow, but is extremely beneficial. Set up a guideline before each session such that if you’re down x amount of buy-ins, you force yourself to quit no matter what. Whether it is net buy-ins or just buy-ins within a specific time frame, stop losses ensure that any negative momentum or monkey tilt cannot surface. Your bankroll with thank you for it. My personal stop loss online is 5 buy-ins, and in live play it’s 3 buy-ins.

2. Taking Breaks – Sitting for hours on end is unhealthy, anyway. Getting up every hour or so to walk around and clear your mind will do a lot for your mental energy and ensure you’re making the best effort you can to maintain your A-game.

3. Healthy Lifestyle – A lot of successful poker players stress that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Some like to drink tea to calm themselves down before a session, or do some cardio workout before or after sessions which help clear up their minds. It goes without saying that you probably shouldn’t be in an agitated, upset, or distracted frame of mind before and during a session.

4. Think Logically – If you begin feeling agitated or upset due to a bad beat or cooler and absolutely nobody can convince you verbally to not tilt, try to think rationally while you still can. Think about how awful it would feel to go on a tilt binge and end up losing 5 more buy-ins on the night, or if you’re a competitive person like me, think about the pleasure your opponent will derive from stacking you again and again and buying himself a new watch with your money. The only way to prevent that is to either stop playing or to continue playing only your A-game.

If you do find yourself monkey tilting either in the past or the future, do yourself a favor and turn the experience into a lesson. If you monkey tilt one night and lose $1000, consider it a thousand dollar lesson. The trick is to look back and realize how much monkey tilting has cost you. You have to be honest with yourself about your conduct at the table. And honestly, if it helps you control your tilt, $1000 is a bargain. There are players out there who spent ten times as much learning their lesson—and those who have spent that much without learning anything.

Economist Burton G. Malkiel wrote on a similar subject, albeit about too-good-to-be-true financial investments. “Experience,” he said, “is the toughest kind of teacher—it gives you the test first and the lesson afterwards. Perhaps by learning a bit of history, you can assimilate the lesson vicariously without bearing the costs.”

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http://panorama.liquidpoker.netLast edit: 01/01/2010 23:28

moonk379   United States. Jan 02 2010 00:30. Posts 355

nice read! hope you keep posting the column pieces on here as well ^^

ill wit it 

PanoRaMa   United States. Jan 02 2010 00:51. Posts 1655

yeah i definitely will if i keep doing columns for them, since in 2009 my entire blog was devoid of any strat and just full of no-content whining

http://panorama.liquidpoker.net 

 



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