Tilt in Poker - 7 Unknown Factors: Part 3

Dear friends, it is time to firmly bash the final nail in the tilt coffin and start to evolve our game! I strongly suggest reading the first two articles if you haven't done so already and pay attention in full and understand completely the concepts presented there, because reading this part of the article alone is like only eating the cherry on top of the cake. It's the most important part, the cherry on top, but without the cake, it's just a cherry.

That's how I see this article. It's the most important one of the three, but without the yin, we only have yang.

So getting ahead I'd like to present you the most dominant and unexpected factor that can lead you to a harsh and eventually painful and money-costing tilt.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you:

I consider this to be the leading factor in tilt inducing, monkey spewing, mindless clicking, self-destroying your poker game. This deficiency can take you to the brink of bankruptcy in an instant and will - and I kid you not - in some cases, turn you from a winning player to a losing one.

Then you might ask me...well Tudor can YOU be mentally stable after losing 20 buyins? The answer will all the time be yes, because I've taken some steps to ensure that I never ever go on tilt again and that in any situation that might occur, I am at peace with myself and the ones around me.

Tilting at the poker tables can also have a negative impact on your loved ones; anger and emotional disorientation will start flowing into different areas of your life and trust me you do not want them to interfere in your interpersonal interactions.

This is exactly how people get addicted to poker for the wrong reasons and not for the right ones. Instead of creating the dream of some day becoming a professional poker player and trying to accomplish that using every last resource that you have and feeling the glory every time you outplay someone through every bone of your body, wanting to excel by all means and master the game, being one of the best, you start getting addicted to the swingy aspect of the game.
Let's say today you lose 50£, tomorrow you lose another hundred but you have a friend who won 1k£ playing spin'n'go's and you think to yourself hey I'm kind of stuck, why not play some spin'n'go's and some omaha because you obviously were unlucky at Hold'em, instead of working on your mistakes and flaws and taking your game to the next level.

What I'm trying to tell you right now on the most serious de Niro voice is:

Get addicted to learning the game and how to play it perfectly inside out and make the perfect adjustments versus different types of players, and not to getting back the money you lose in the first sessions.

I will be very honest and tell you that you will probably lose around 200 to 500 dollars playing those 2$ tables until you will start profiting constantly.

These are the things that will make you ultimately improve your poker game stability and keep you running and running. Do you think those players who play 100 to 200k hands a month have time to tilt? No! They're improving their game constantly and searching relentlessly for leaks in their overall game, how to exploit certain regs and their tendencies.

Your goal is to beat those guys, and the truth is no matter how talented you are, others' work will overpower that. I'm not saying go play 100k hands a month, I'm saying study more than they and do this passionately and powerfully, and dedicate your 110% to your dream.
  
Even if all you see are mountains to climb, once you're on top of one of them, the point of view changes drastically, doesn't it?

It is of the utmost importance that you solve your physiological needs before the session, because of aspects discussed in the first article. Get snacks beside you and a lot of water, eat healthy and wise, so that you don't feel bloated or energy-crashed after eating. Soda has a really bad effect on the bloating/energy part so avoid at all costs. Water is the poker player's ambrosia. It keeps you hydrated and going on and on.

1.2 Check your general energy levels and mood. If you're tired, sad, depressed, or any feeling that could affect your poker game in any way, stop. Solve your current state, sleep for half an hour, take a walk, talk to a friend, or just smile because life is more than meets the eye!

1.3 Check your mental state. Are you at peace with yourself? Are you prepared for the best session in your life but also for the worst? Will you start getting tilted if you get KK under AA 3 times in a row? Mentally imagining that your Zen stays intact when dealing with bad beats actually helps later in the session. Meditation also helps a whole lot, there is a recent thread open in the forum with a meditation challenge, I suggest reading it thoroughly.

2.1 You've lost two stacks: don't worry about it, as long as your intentions are good and your play is excellent, you can't do anything about flopping middle set and getting beat by a running flush. Think about the all in spots and if everything is fine, go on.

2.2 You've lost four stacks: at this point it's time to question your game a little bit more, seek your big spots and replay the hands in your head. Were any of them rash moves that could have been influenced by an emotional disorder? Is a player at the table running you over?

Either way, a 30 minute break is in order right now, and a walk is the best way to do it. Go to the corner shop and get a coffee, go to a neighbor and have a chat. Walk on the streets and call a friend. These are all good ways to spend your well-deserved break.

2.3 You've lost six stacks and probably your mind right about now. It's time to quit for the day, even if you're still playing your good game you're bound to be making a few mistakes, so until you've mastered the whole mental game and have zero and I mean a full zero percent tilt rate, I suggest this be your stop-loss for the day and insert another coin tomorrow.

That's about it for this one guys, I hope this is helpful to a lot of you guys, and in the next article I'll be sharing with you guys the most important personality traits of successful poker professionals and a lot of things that you can do outside the tables to make your poker sessions more profitable. See you guys next time!

Now that we have learned the 7 Unknown Factors of Tilt and how we can avoid them to improve our game we should also say that one factor that can improve our game is knowing the Poker Rules.