The first step to a cure is understanding what ails you. Look at Jamin. He knows he goes on tilt and loses a lot of money because of it. However, he is one of those souls that tilts both ways. He probably doesn't even realize it.
People, in general, tend to have a double standard about things depending on the outcome. Take Phil Mickelson for example. Before he won a major golf tournament, sports writers were constantly dogging him for taking big chances. But where is that now that he's won a couple majors? He's still the same player but no one gives him crap for it anymore. Now move on to poker. For amateurs, people who play loose and aggressive are generally termed as fish and donkeys; however, listen to analysts talk about pros who play the same way. Often the words "great" "inventive" and/or "original" are used to describe this sort of play. The only major difference is that the players are proven winners.
Tilt is similar to this which is why I can say Jamin tilts both ways. Only it is called "riding the rush" when it is working in his favor. There was one day in particular where J rode his rush to near perfection. He twice flopped a flush draw that day and just pushed all in. He was so hot he knew he was going to hit it. His adversary knew it too but that didn't stop him from calling with two pair and trips. And guess what. Both were right. Jamin hit the flush to knock his opponent out both times. But that's a digression, not the point. J was tilting. Making a decision that he wouldn't normally make based on emotion.
So here's the thing. You will never be able to control your tilt until you understand in what particular manner it manifests itself in you. And there are many different types. For Jamin, when it is going good he sticks all his chips in the pot and when it is going bad he sticks all his chips in the pot. Reasons are different. On one hand he goes "I know I am going to get lucky" and on the other he goes "I know I'm going to get unlucky." Funny thing, he probably plays his best poker when things are just going okay.
When I look at myself in the mirror, things are very different from J. I tilt in multiple ways. There are times when I am frustrated from bad beats and suckouts. In these situations I am like J. I go "It doesn't matter. I'm going to lose it anyways." Being uncomfortable with the table also causes me to tilt. I feel overmatched and start looking at hands like pair of aces with jack kicker while thinking of all the hands that can beat me. This is before I ultimately fold.
I have a tilt for running well. I start playing more aggressively with middle pair or medium pocket pairs (sixes through jacks). I will generally build up a decent stack of chips playing like this and then it will bite me in the butt. I'll catch a hand like 10s in early position. Someone traps me and when I go all in they call, turn over kings, and send me to the felt. Finally, there are times when I am just plain ticked off. This isn't rip my hair out frustration but beat you to a bloody pulp mad. However, I am not sure if this is really tilt or just me playing better poker because I am using every ounce of skill and talent I have to take all your money (and anyone else's who crosses my path). Either way, it normally works out pretty well for me.
If, by now, you are lost and confused, GOOD. You should be. How can you even begin to fix a problem unless you understand what it really is. The best advice one can give to start out with is to anaylze your play and figure out exactly how tilt affects you. Both for good and bad. And remember, it may not just be one or two simple ways. It could be a half dozen. So study well. Who knows, it may help you win a world series some day.
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2 comments:
Hey, finally a comment from Jackaly
On tilt is just a stage when your mind is dominated by the results of previous hands. no matter what the results of those hands were, if you can't focus totally on the hand at hand, you are on tilt. People thinks that the only time one is on tilt is when they lose big after a losing a couple of big hands. This is only one small proportion, the most memorable. Try to realize when your focus is tainted, that's when you kno you are ontilt already. There is no need to wait till you lose big to stop.
Today, I talked to Jamin about my post. He pointed out that he thought I had nothing and that's why he pushed with his flush draws. He didn't think that he needed to get lucky but at least had some outs if I called. While I don't disagree with him on this, I just was trying to say he was more willing to push because he was on a rush. It doesn't matter really though. The point was that people tend to overplay their hands when they are on a rush and sometimes this works out very profitable in the end. However, more often it ends when someone has a monster and is clever enough to give you some rope.
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