A common phrase that you will hear around the casino is something called the ‘poker tilt’. It refers to a player’s inability to remain rational and not get emotionally involved in the game, whether they are stressed, angry or completely depressed. This then leads to bad decision making and eventually bad poker playing. It is not unusual for many players to suffer with this problem from time to time so you’re not alone if it affects you. What you really need to know however is what you can do to successfully control the ‘tilt’ on a regular basis.
What is the cause?
If you want to stop tilting you’re firstly going to need to figure out why you are doing it. This will be different for every player and entirely individual to you. For some people making small mistakes and playing worse than usual on a specific game can make them agitated, stressed and of course ‘tilted’. This knock to their confidence can then have a detrimental effect on their playing for the rest of the night. Alternatively there could be an issue going on at home or at work that could distract you and stop you from playing your best. Whatever it is, it is best to know exactly what is bothering you before you continue your game.
So once you know what the cause of your poker ‘tilting’ is it is then time to consider how you are going to address it to make it stop. Here are a few tips that work for many players already:-
Only play when you really want to
You should play only when you feel like it because playing non-stop poker can lead to exhaustion, followed by anxiety and depression. You will also become bored of playing poker pretty quick if you play it all the time, even when you don’t want to. You could perhaps try switching between land casinos and playing online with sites like www.ukcasino-club.co.uk to keep things fun and interesting.
Keep your emotions in check
If you want to be a great poker player you need to be in tune with your emotions at all times. Winning players will know when they are throwing away all their money and assess quickly why they are doing it, and stop. When you feel yourself getting stressed in a game, you will need to quickly realise this emotion and try to correct it.
Take Breaks
When you are feeling agitated it is best to stop for a short break to calm down and resume when you are feeling better. This will prevent you from making further bad decisions while you are playing. You will also find that playing for long hours will cause your brain to become fatigued, hence the reason you make more mistakes. Breaks will give your mind time to relax and then re-focus on the game ahead of you.