You know you're on tilt, and now...

You are in late position and suddenly it hits you - you are on tilt and costing yourself money. Is it still worth it to play out your free hands? How bad does your tilt have to be in order for you not to? What is your strategy for playing these hands if you choose to stay?

[Dov]

Quit now. You will definitely lose money by staying.

If you can't quit, don't play anything but big pairs - QQ+. Quit on your blind.

[wildzer0]

When I realize I'm badly on tilt, I'll quit immediately. My "free hands" turn into very expensive hands otherwise.

You leave. Immediately. Why get into "free hands" when you are hemmoraging money each hand you play?

[Nigel]

How is it even possible to go on tilt that badly??

[Al Schoonmaker]

When you realize that you are on tilt, GO HOME.

Pay no attention to the "loss" of the free blinds. The free hands can easily cause you to lose more money and get further off balance. You may then become unable to leave because you feel that you must get your money back.

If you absolutely can't bring yourself to go before the blinds get to you, play only premium cards.

Regards,

Al

[KramerTM]

[ QUOTE ]
If you absolutely can't bring yourself to go before the blinds get to you, play only premium cards.

[/ QUOTE ]

Won't the tilt preclude this from happening??

I'm sorry, but if you have enough discipline while tilting to tighten up your starting hand standards, then you should also have enough self-control to stay and win at the game.

FWIW, I'm not advocating staying at the game. I'm simply pointing out that it is a little asburd to assume that someone can tighten up their starting requirements while in the midst of a tilt.

[mosquito]

[ QUOTE ]
You are in late position and suddenly it hits you - you are on tilt and costing yourself money. Is it still worth it to play out your free hands? How bad does your tilt have to be in order for you not to? What is your strategy for playing these hands if you choose to stay?

[/ QUOTE ]

If I know I'm on tilt, then maybe I can correct the
problem. Depends why/how bad I'm on tilt.

Quitting is not obvious here, just an option. Playing
only to get the free hands is probably wrong, though.

If I stay just for the freebies, I would probably only
play premium hands, and in a standard way. (don't try
anything 'funny').

[smartalecc5]

exactly dude [ I'm simply pointing out that it is a little asburd to assume that someone can tighten up their starting requirements while in the midst of a tilt.

Everyone is saying "While on tilt just play great premium starting hands."

is that not the antithesis of what tilt truly is?

[KramerTM]

[ QUOTE ]
exactly dude [ I'm simply pointing out that it is a little asburd to assume that someone can tighten up their starting requirements while in the midst of a tilt.

Everyone is saying "While on tilt just play great premium starting hands."

is that not the antithesis of what tilt truly is?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah... in fact, "While on tilt just play great premium starting hands" sounds to me like the punchline of a joke.

[Al Schoonmaker]

I think you have thought more clearly about this issue than I have. Thank you for correcting me.

Regards,

Al

[Exitonly]

If you can realize you're on tilt, you should be able to realize don't play anything other than QQ+.

Take your watch off as a mental reminder. Play tight till the blinds come. Leave. Done.

As a side-discussion here - does it not make sense that once you realize and admit you are on tilt then that act alone may be enough to take you off tilt?

I define tilt as being "playing poker without making rational decisions based on one's knowledge of the game"

It is, by this definition, an irrational frame of mind - one can equate it to committing a crime "in the heat of passion" or "in the heat of the moment" - in other words, your emotions have overcome your capacity for rational thought.

However, a crucial component of such a condition is that you cannot possibly have the wherewithal to understand that you are in this frame of mind.

Thus, once you sit there and say to yourself "I am on tilt", you have made a realization that requires you to step outside your immediate circumstances and make a rational assessment. Making an assessment of one's mental state requires a level of self-awareness that is not accessible when you are on emotional overload.

The problem is that your brain is not likely to make the switch from emotional overload to rational self-awareness as fast as you would like - and it will not act on the change immediately.

Great response, Hank.

At the point where I realize that I'm on tilt, the realization itself may be strong enough to temporarily jerk me out of the psychological mindset in which my brain has been hiding. However, my emotional state is not stable. At this point, it may be possible for me to continually jerk myself out of my emotional state, but I will be vulnerable to falling back into it at any point. It may be possible for me to have to discipline to only see flops with QQ+; however, it would also be easily possible that I could slip back into tilt and play these hands very unprofitably.

I do think that there are different degrees of tilt. I think that in some cases, only a break is required, while in more severe cases, leaving the game altogether is a better solution. I have experienced tilt of which I could not rid myself for days. I am now able to spot it sooner and sooner. But once I reach this decision to leave the game, I think leaving immediately without waiting for the blinds is the most profitable decision. Deciding to stay is very results-oriented and not decision-oriented. Poor decisions with profitable hands still cost you money.