Controlling Your Emotions and Avoiding Tilt in Poker

By [http://www.articlesengine.com/Author/Thomas-Kearns/20208/1] Thomas Kearns

Most folks when asked about what constitutes a really good poker player will respond with such qualities as calculated thinking, talent, lack of risk aversion and so on. The one aspect most mentioned by all, however, is psychological toughness and endurance.

The term tilt is one just about everyone has heard of and refers to a change of course in the game at a downturn. Tilt represents a specifically poker-related mental and emotional state, one where the player is irrationally influenced into making moves he never would have made in his normal play. Quite often, in this tilted condition, the player begins a sudden phase of loose-aggressive play or can turn into an unmanageable maniac, or many other weird undesirable deviations from his usual method of play. At times, fear is behind the tilt and the player becomes tight-passive. Whatever the tilt origination, the player is headed down the road to defeat.

The wise player will avoid being tilted in the first place rather than attempt to undo the damage it will inevitably cause. The best way to avert this type of disaster is to gain a thorough knowledge and understanding of the game of poker. You need to familiarize yourself with what distance and dispersion mean in poker to enable you to more easily get through the tough times. In many aspects of life, not just at the poker table, knowledge of mathematical statistics and the laws of probability will lead to a firmer grasp of reality.

Even a simple comprehension of statistics will help you to realize that specific combinations do not always result in specific results of success, e.g., AQs in combination come with a 68% chance of success which can result in a loss of one out of every three deals.

As we all know, knowledge in itself is not enough to always be of assistance. One can be in total awareness that odd things occur and that you can handle the situation. But a long train of bad cards can upset the coolest cat and the lucky morons become even more annoying at this point. Despite your coolness, in spite of yourself, you may find that you are running completely amok. This is tilt, my friend, and you must ride it to the best of your ability without becoming completely unhinged.

So besides theoretical knowledge, you might try another means to avoid the tilt and that would be an awareness of your personal triggers or hot buttons that when pushed send you off into the cosmos.

You must have a clear idea of an event to gain any control over it. You must be able to recognize such an event coming on before it hits and brings out the demons in you. Do not go with falling blindly under the spell of the tilt, observe yourself prior to, during and after the event and this insight will help you avoid the sensation of impending doom and can be more easily dealt with.

Now that you have gained clear insight into your triggers and your resulting behavior, you will be able to identify the tilt as it is looming before you and handle it in a more cool and controlled manner.

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