About Tilting

Introduction

In this Article

• Symtoms of being "On Tilt"
  
• Reason and Treatment
  

Tilting – Danger and Reality

You've all
read about it:

I
put him on tilt.

You're
on tilt!

If
you think you‘re on tilt, stop playing!

Yet the
exact nature of being “on tilt” is
never clearly explained.
After many months of playing poker I've noticed that I'm slowly becoming able
to tell the difference between the times when I’m just having some bad luck and
the times when I've lost control of my game.

To
lose control of one's game is almost certainly the best definition of being “on tilt”.

Being “on tilt” doesn't necessarily mean
that you're capping every hand like a maniac or that you've turned into a rock.

The origin
of the term “tilt” is likely in
reference to tilting a pinball machine. When the ball’s path was certain to
pass between the flippers, players would literally tilt the machine in order to
alter the path of the ball. Often times this would trigger a mechanism within
the machine which resulted in the flippers freezing simultaneously while the
word TILT appeared on the scoreboard. The metaphorical sense
of the term is that when one plays in an overly-aggressive manner, thanks to
frustration, one’s game is likely to suffer.

In this
article, I hope to provide a window into the various symptoms and causes of tilt
using my own experiences as well those of others with whom I have discussed
this issue. I do not claim to have actually overcome tilt myself. I only hope
to explain what I have learned of this condition so that others can learn to
recognize and deal with any of the symptoms of tilt that appear in their own
game.

Recognizing the symptoms of being “On Tilt”

The symptoms
of tilt vary between individuals, so I've put them on a scale, ranging from "subtle" to "obvious", to which everyone here can
easily relate.

Something
triggers a lack of trust in your own game. And slowly, something about your
game begins to change. Maybe you play more hands, or you react in an unusual
manner in cut-and-dried situations.

This can be
especially damaging when your pre-flop game changes while your post-flop
behaviour remains unchanged.

For
example: Suppose that you no longer bet in unraised pots in heads-up play, but that
you persist in making continuation bets on the flop and turn at 6-man tables
when you're the pre-flop raiser. Imagine the effect that this nearly invisible
leak could have on your long-term winnings.

These unconscious
and contradictory changes to playing style are among the most subtle and
insidious effects of being on tilt.

I'm talking
about a change to your AF of +/-1 that is more than just a temporary
statistical fluctuation and which eventually becomes a long-term trend. I'm not
talking about some change that you consciously decided on, but rather something
that just seemed to happen.

Every ten
or twenty or even a hundred hands, you sometimes just hit the raise or fold
button for no reason. You tell yourself that you did it because you're bored
and you want to mix things up, but the truth is, you're on tilt.

I think
this is the most common manifestation of tilt:

He
can't possibly have hit something again!

And my personal favorite:

This
time I HAVE to have the best hand.

If you've
never had these thoughts yourself, then you've never played poker. If you've
ever given into these thoughts then you've been on tilt.

Not much to
say about this one. You are simply too afraid to hit the call button, not to
mention the raise button.

The Reasons

The main reasons for going on tilt are bad beats as well as downswings
lasting over several thousand hands. But for many people a single lost pot,
which was certain to be won, is enough to make them lose control of
their game for a few hands.
It is important to bear in mind that
tilting not only appears due to downswings or other, negative
experiences: An upswing can just as easily be the trigger, like, for example, an
incredible suckout on your preferred opponent.
As a general rule of thumb
you should always keep in mind that the quality of your play is not measured by the number of pots you win.

Now to the really complicated part. On
one hand, you have to diagnose your condition, and on the other, you have to determine the best treatment for your condition.

The diagnosis

The most complicated and difficult part is self-confession: “I am currently tilting. I am making stupid
mistakes.” There are several reasons, the two most important being repression and ignorance. I don't mean the bad ignorance as in
“I would rather look the other way while that old woman on the other side
of the street is beaten up”, but the more subconscious variant of
“I think I have a bad wisdom tooth, I'll have to check later”.
Often
a small warning light flashes in your brain after a badly played
hand. This warning light is in the most cases really small, extremely tiny, even. You often only see it for a millisecond and if you don't react
then, it's too late. Thus one diagnosis tool could simply be to slow
down a bit. Maybe close one of your eight tables, or lift your hand
from the mouse before each click. Forcing yourself to watch the
screen without acting could already help you notice that you were
about to make a stupid move and thus avoid disaster.
Unfortunately,
it's not always that simple, especially in the case of long-term tilting
which stretches out over several sessions, so one part of the diagnosis
is very clear:

Game reflection

Thousands of tips are spread over the forum and most of them
are useful. I will summarise the most important ones here:

Post sample hands

Nothing better than that!

Intensive sessions

Only play one or two tables at the most, for one or two hours.
Think about your actions. Ignore the PA data, get your own idea of
your opponents. Don't make a “gut-feeling” based-decision, even ponder
over standard moves: “Is this really standard? Could anything
deviate?”

Theory absorption

Cut your playing time in half, and study articles during the rest,
browse the forum or read a poker book. This does not only strengthen
your self-confidence (you reaffirm your knowledge or else find mistakes),
but also leads to a deeper understanding of the subject matter, which
is always good.

Post sample hands

If I didn't know that you'd ignore this advice, I'd go ahead and write it three more times.

Another, essentially less safe diagnosis
method is to watch your bankroll. A 100BB downswing is normal, 200BB
can happen. However, should a downswing move towards 200BB over and
over again, then a range of bad beats is probably the trigger for you
to no longer play your A-game and then to go from bad to worse.

The Treatment

Before you really and consciously debate over your own tilt
behaviour, you first have to pin down the source, as that's where you
should begin. There is no 100% certain cure for tilt, no antibiotics
against downswings. That's why I only want to provide impressions and
share some food for thought.

If I notice that I am no longer playing
100% starting at 50BB down, then maybe I should simply take an
hour break. Eventually, it's enough to know the reason in order to get
rid of the problem: As soon as I cross this – from a psychological
point of view – very important line, I look over my own shoulder so
that I no longer tilt.

Should you notice that sometime
during the last swings/beats your gaming behaviour changed to the
worse, things become more difficult. Now you have to be ready to
slide back down the learning curve and start lower again. To question
allegedly sure knowledge probably falls under the category
“especially difficult”, but there's no way around it.

If I
have the feeling that I am no longer playing my A-game, then this feeling
is justified as this feeling alone is, in part, responsible for no
longer playing your A-game. This is an ideal gauge of your quality of play, even if
you've played your best game until then. If this feeling appears and you
aren't used to it, or unable to deal with it, it'll soon become a
self-fulfilling prophecy.

People often notice that they play
worse when others are watching them, compared to when they play
alone. This is no accident: Under observation, you are under twice
the pressure to perform, as you also want to impress the observer and
not “only” play good poker. Should you belong to this category,
look for people who are willing to observe your game and are able to ask questions.
Ideally, look for people who are either above or below your level: If
a better player is observing you, you are under pressure not
to make mistakes as he would immediately notice them. If you play with
a worse or an inexperienced player, you could be faced with being questioned
at any moment about any action, and you could be hard pressed to
explain yourself.