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One of the biggest leaks at NL poker: TILT. How do you deal with it? (semi-long)

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  1. pheisar pheisar is offline

    Almancil
    Portugal

    Posts: 409
    Joined: Aug 07

    May 13th, 2008 (5/13/2008 8:57pm)

    I've been fixing my leaks, day after day. But there is one leak that is like the Cancer leak, undestroyable, cause even after i acknowledge it, it keeps hammering back, quietly and slowly, i don't hear it coming till... BANG, hits me in the face and i'm 3 buyins down in 2 minutes.

    I made a retrospective... again (have done it like everytime after tilting), trying to identify the events that happened till i tilted, and the conclusions are the same as always when i end my retrospective: i suffer 2, 3 or even 4 consecutive bad beats, i start berating pokerstars at the chatboxes and after like 2 minutes i'm 3 buyins down. Happens so many times, it gets to my nerve. It's easily comparable to the feeling when you try stop smoking, you achknowledge the facts, you establish a goal, and when you least expect you're smoking a cigarrette. WTF.

    I've wrote at my poker weaknesses textfile 'TAKE THIS LEAK F SERIOUSLY' at the tilt weakness writing, and now im writing this post to underline and register it in my brain.

    ALWAYS WHEN I GET 2 TO 3 CONSECUTIVE BAD BEATS, I STOP PLAYING THAT SAME DAY.
    ALWAYS WHEN I START RANTING ABOUT POKERSTARS AT THE CHATBOX, I STOP PLAYING THAT SAME DAY.

    I bet that many of you guys suffer the same problem, i hope this post helps you guys consider one of the worst and biggest leaks out there and start taking measures to counter it, like i'm trying too.

    There will be also a few here who mastered themselves and surpassed this leak. I would love to hear about the way you dealt with it guys.

    Thanks! and GL at the tables.

    (sorry for my english, not my mother language)
  2. kmil420 kmil420 is offline

    Los Altos, CA
    United States

    Posts: 1,858
    Joined: Nov 06

    May 13th, 2008 (5/13/2008 8:59pm) in reply to pheisar

    tilt is the source of most of my bankroll. Join a cash game, pick on the guy who is tilting, profit.
  3. Rocket Surgeon Rocket Surgeon is offline & brain scientist

    United States

    Posts: 12,012
    Joined: Apr 05

    May 13th, 2008 (5/13/2008 9:10pm) in reply to pheisar

    A lot of people ask this same question, and the answer I give is always very simple: self control.

    When I first started playing I would tilt over bad beats. Then I realized how incredibly stupid this was, because it just costs massive amounts of money for no reason. So now I don't do it. If i feel myself tilting, I take a deep breath, and I play normal again. If I can't do that (which is rare), then I stop playing for a little while. Pretty simple really.

    If you are ever going to be good at this game (especially cash games), you have to have self control. If you don't, then you're probably not going to be a successful player.
  4. treetopallin treetopallin is offline

    Astoria, NY
    United States

    Posts: 320
    Joined: Mar 06

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 12:39am) in reply to pheisar

    Tilt is something that affect most poker players. I have tilt problems as well. But I have gone a year or so without much tilting and won over 100K, now i am back to titlting and cant win a pot. My advice is look at poker and bad beats like they are meant to be looked at. For example you get a bad beat, rather then get angry think to yourself if the person is putting his money in bad thats all you can ask for. And if that person is putting their money in bad they will do it again very soon. All in all bad beats are something i dont mind, A)i know the person will put his money in bad B)I now know some of his range and will press the sht out of that person. Keep tilt in check turn off the chat and dont say anything even if you lose. The longer you do this, the less likely you are to snap and go on tilt. Sonner or later you will be sitting down taking a couple of beats and rebound right back from them, because you will realize that it is all part of the game.

    Good Luck
  5. threeven threeven is offline

    Tucson, AZ
    United States

    Posts: 18,612
    Joined: Feb 06

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 1:23am) in reply to pheisar

    marijuana
    2
  6. Dexa Dexa is offline

    Louisville, KY
    United States

    Posts: 161
    Joined: Aug 07

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 1:29am) in reply to treetopallin

    Turning my chat off really helped me too. Its kind of freeing in a way.
  7. FouTight FouTight is offline international super spy

    Montreal
    Canada

    Posts: 6,739
    Joined: Jan 06

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 1:39am) in reply to threeven

    Accepting and beleiving that poker is not about results.

    RESULTS DO NOT MATTER IN POKER.

    Why dont results matter you ask? Because we cannot control the short-term results in poker.

    So if you have NO CONTROL over the results of your session, why would you get angry at them ?

    The only thing we as poker players can control are the DECISIONS we take playing poker. Our DECISIONS will determine if we have long term success or not.

    I had this 'epiphany' 3 years ago and overnight learned not to tilt. (( look up the P5 article 'a poker epiphany'))

    HOWEVER

    Not that I place 100% of responsibility in my decisions (and not outcomes) I put myself on tilt when i make bad calls or play bad. When that happens, and i am just not in the mood to play anymore, i take a little break and do something else, usually sports.

    CLIFFNOTES:

    Results dont matter in poker, only decisions.
    730 
  8. Anonymous Anonymous is offline

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    Joined: Aug 07

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 1:46am) in reply to pheisar

    blame the RNG

    email the site telling them to piss off

    self ban yourself for 1 montho or longer if its on stars or tilt..

    deposit on bodog or cake and watch your profits double in the long run
  9. Jennifear Jennifear is online now

    Niagara Falls, NY
    United States

    Posts: 10,222
    Joined: Nov 05

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 2:18am) in reply to pheisar

    Talkin' About Tilt
    ^^hope that helps
  10. computerb computerb is offline

    Nashville, TN
    United States

    Posts: 10,169
    Joined: Mar 06

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 5:19am) in reply to Jennifear

    FouTight speaks the truth. You can only keep making correct decisions and let the cards fall where they may. If the loss of a buy in, or several buy ins, effects your play, you should either quit or step down in limits. It would appear that you are playing outside your comfort zone.
  11. xgolden4x xgolden4x is offline

    Rockwall, TX
    United States

    Posts: 99
    Joined: Feb 08

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 5:35am) in reply to pheisar

    i bought a stress ball sounds lame but it works. i just squeeze that bitch nonstop when im playing. working out helps too.
  12. ShipItSayFckMe ShipItSayFckMe is offline

    Salisbury, MD
    United States

    Posts: 23
    Joined: Apr 08

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 6:21am) in reply to pheisar

    i have tried everything, when im tired and on tilt, hot green tea really seems to calm me down, make me think clearly and play alot better..but thats me, who knows

    and a 420 session helps 2, gl lol
  13. kenn121 kenn121 is offline

    Australia

    Posts: 474
    Joined: May 07

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 6:39am) in reply to ShipItSayFckMe

    i dont care what anyone says if your on REAL TILT there is no such thing as a cure

    the only thing you can do is go OTT of every raise in every MTT your in and see if you can actually suck out in one - that helps a lot re-sucking out

    or go play HU PLO and just reraise every hand
    820 1
  14. lordxixor101 lordxixor101 is offline

    Westland, MI
    United States

    Posts: 6,364
    Joined: Mar 06

    May 14th, 2008 (5/14/2008 9:13am) in reply to pheisar

    I think you are on your way to managing tilt. During my recent downswing, I've come to the conclusion that, no matter what you do, you won't eliminate tilt. I thought I had at one point, but then it snuck back in. I think you just have to go one day at a time with it, one hand at a time.

    You know what sets you off, which is especially important for cash players. Now, you just have to follow your rules. Though, you need something more concrete. 2 or 3 isn't good, 2 or 3 turns into 4 bad beats, and then you trying to put 2-3 bad beats on someone else.

    I think a great rule for cash players is a loss limit. You lose X number of buy-ins, your done for the day. This at least stops the bleeding at some point. Also, so many losing sessions in a row, and you take a week off.

    Not sure exactly what your rules should be. I don't have hard stop rule anymore, but usually if I'm down $100 in tournaments, I'm done for the day, 4 consecutive losing sessions or 5 out of 6, then I take 5-7 days off. I trust myself now. If I can look objectively at the game, then I come back. If I'm still steaming, I take some more time off.

    It's also good to have another hobby available that you enjoy, so you can actually enjoy your breaks away from poker, that will help refresh you faster.
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