Tilt in Poker is something that refers to an agile state of mind when a player is facing different issues like bad beats, failed bluffs, losing to a player who was considered as a less potent one, or cards being dead since along and many other adverse factors. These and many other factors not even related to Poker pull the player in distress and start losing control of their emotion.
It is of utmost importance to have proper control over this tilt as Poker is a decision and logic game. Anything that stops a player from being logical and making a proper decision will stop the player from playing his or her best game. Given that the Poker market is now so competitive, it is important to deal with the tilt when the player is on a Poker table, be it a traditional one or a virtual one.
Reasons behind tilt in Poker
There can be several reasons which can cause a tilt in Poker. We will be briefly discussing some main reasons among those.
- A bad beat is the most common reason for the tilt in Poker. It might happen that you are really playing well against your opponent, but suddenly the less potential opponent beats you in a game, and it will cause psychological distress. And this distress, in the long run, makes the tilt further worse.
- Despite putting in the best strategies, you might experience a serious downswing, which adversely affects the bankroll, and this can also cause a tilt.
- What we call sledding in cricket, that a player can experience on a Poker table too. It is trash talk that comes from the opponent player. Poker is a game of psychological warfare so these trash talks can manipulate it to divert the opponent, and the distress caused by this can make the player lose rationality and get play worse.
How to handle the tilt in Poker
Now let us discuss how to deal with these unavoidable circumstances briefly.
- There is a famous proverb that goes like “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.” Though it holds for most of the situations in the case of Poker, it is not something we should always abide by. We must learn in Poker that it is okay to quit. Learning how and when to quit in a game of Poker is something that needs mastery.
There are days when nothing on earth can make you win. Every single flip will be lost, every draw will be missed, and over that, the opponent will have every card that will be hit to crush you. In such situations, there is no point banging your head against the wall and keep on playing. It will be a wiser decision to quit the game and leave the table without making further losses.
- As discussed in the previous point, the bad days are not very common that you will face very frequently. It may happen that in most of the casino games, you are not getting good cards that can help you, but still, you can play through those cards by reminding yourself about the maths.
Understanding the math of a Poker game always helps you to play a good bet, and you will be in very bad shape if you act stubborn and try to go against the maths. Following the maths will help you to be in the game and win it in the long run.
- The other proven strategy to avoid tilt in Poker is to congratulate your opponent after losing in a game. It is very common for people to get aggressive after a bad beat and congratulate an opponent in a very sarcastic or passively aggressive manner.
On the other hand, you also have to be thankful when the opponent gets a bad beat, and in this way, you can approach them to come back in the game again and again to maximize your profit.
- Taking short breaks after having a bad stretch of hands is one vital way to get out of the tilt. By taking a break of 5 to 10 minutes, you can cool down yourself and rethink the few hands that had been already played.
Taking a few deep breaths or short meditation during this time can help you to decide if you are still fit to continue with the game or is time to quit. There is no point sitting forcefully in the chair and losing your money and getting more tilted.
This strategy is widely applicable in the case of cash games rather than tournaments where you can sit out without having to pay or just quitting the game whenever you do feel like so.
How to use tilt in Poker to make yourself advantageous
Apart from the above-mentioned points on handling tilt, one more part can surprise you that even you can take advantage of this tilt in Poker.
- Observe for changes in the behavior of your opponent. It can give you the signal if your opponent is going on tilt, and you can take advantage of the situation. For example, you can see if the opponent is breathing heavily or drinking too much on the table, or playing too many hands.
- Benefit from the pain threshold. The tilt will show in various manners in every person. Seeing how every one of your rivals is influenced can give you significant data to misuse them. Each time your opponent experiences a piece of misfortune, it builds their dissatisfaction level. This continues until they arrive at their pain threshold when the pattern of their game changes impressively.
- If you are a beginner, then this might not work for you, but in the case of pro players, they show a bluff on the river in a big pot.
Finally, it can be said that don’t let your emotions take control over you in Poker, and if you allow so, it has been proven historically that many good players have just ruined their game because of the tilt in Poker.