Tilt-protection and damage control strategies. Input appreciated!

[Surfbullet]

I just dumped 40BB onto a 10/20 table through some of the worst lag-tilt i've experienced...ever. I need some serious help. I've done real well in the tilt department for the past 5 months using the no results/tiltblocker method, but I can't cover my stack size at the current site I'm playing at...(damn you party! I need rb!)

I've discovered that i haven't solved the problem, I've just found a cheat around it...I need to learn to control tilt while still being cognizant of how much i'm winning/losing.

What are your best tilt-protection strategies?

Once it's been encountered, what are your best tilt-remedies?

How do you cope with the "they're all out to get me" tilt? I sat HU with a guy for about 20 minutes.. he raised or c/r'd me on about 85% of the flops. I finally started calling down - I kept getting shown a slightly better pair or slightly better A/K-hi...it was murderous. Of course this continues when a few LAGs(who should be hugely profitable for me) sit down...

then this happens:

I 3bet KQo to a MP raise from a 60/40 type, he calls.

I bet the AJ9 flop and get c/r'd (2 hearts)...I 3bet because "he won't play an A this way, he's got to be on a draw or full of it) and bet the J turn and K river to be shown....A8o. Great. My river bet is especially horrid here, ugh.

All input appreciated! Thanks guys,

Surf

[surfdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
Loc: Getting barreled

[/ QUOTE ]

This always makes me feel better.

[SomethingClever]

I am eagerly awaiting some replies...

One thing I've noticed... when I play higher than usual for a little while, I get less antsy at my usual limits. Not sure if that's of any use to you.

[oreogod]

Well, Ive managed to get my tilt from spewing money to still playing well while calling the players [censored] bitches (not typing, just vocalling saying: "Ah u [censored] bitch"). When I was a kid, Id get pissed at my grandmother for winning at board games against me, so poker has always been fun for me. Actually its a psychotic form of anger control, something that u must get better at controlling if u want to win higher.

All I know is I dont tilt much anymore, get annoyed...yes...tilt, no. Well I will get really pissed if its my 6-7th losing session in a row. But anyway, what helps me:

1. treat it like layway, or a loan you are giving out with high intrest. Why get mad, u will get it back...maybe not from the same guy but someone else is always willing to donate to u.

2. Money in the game flows in a circular pattern...u take a loss, just remember that in enough hands its coming back to u. It always does.

3. ITs hard to not get annoyed or pissed at ppls retardedness at the table...but u need to be able to welcome it. Treat a loss as a win. A retard sucks out, treat it as you took down that pot, why not, u would have taken it down 95 percent of the time. Sklansky bucks bro.

Seriously, every table (well almost EVERY table) ppl are trying to donate to your "I need money" cause. Welcome the beats as they say. Get annoyed if u have a string of losses, but dont steam over 1-2 sessions if possible. Its hard, but take solace in the numbers. They truly do help.

[Surfbullet]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Loc: Getting barreled

[/ QUOTE ]

This always makes me feel better.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got laser eye surgery a few weeks ago so I've been out of the water for awhile...this hurricane wilma should throw some surf next week, that should be a great tiltkiller. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Surf

[Surfbullet]

[ QUOTE ]
One thing I've noticed... when I play higher than usual for a little while, I get less antsy at my usual limits. Not sure if that's of any use to you.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is interesting. I'm in the middle of taking a shot at 15/30...i was playing one 15/30 table and two 10/20 tables...this is going to sound really weird, but I was only tilting at one of the 10/20 tables. It was like the players there specifically got me going, and I was reacting to them...I continued to play normally at the other 2 tables, and was making good, tilt-free decisions at the 15/30 table. Weird.

Surf

[Surfbullet]

Hey oreogod,

I don't really experience "bad-beat" tilt. Bad beats are just cards falling randomly...I was 5th in chips at the end of an $11 + rebuy tourney last night... I trap the other big stack at the table and get him allin with QQ vs AJ on a 569J turn. If I win here i'm tied for the chiplead with 31 players left. River...A.

I say my GGs and take my $70 proverbially home to sleep soundly, despite the $5k 1st place finish I missed my shot at.

Now I sit HU with a loose/bad player and start calling down with Q7-hi and 3betting gutshots on the flop because he raises me on the flop 7 of the last 8 hands?

My tilt seems to be in the form of over-reacting to specific player's actions which may be a reflection of good cards rather than aggressive play that is being targeted at me.

Surf

I have to admit that I've been pretty tilt free of late.

The problem is unless you are really good at not tilting the current 6 max games dont really provide enough equity to make up the difference.

My current solution is dont play 6max and to avoid marginal preflop and postflop situations.

Dont steal as much as your average Joe. Play very tight against laggy blinds. This is offset by getting more respect against tighter players as your steal % is reduced.

If being 3bet by a LAG in the blinds when you are stealing with A5o causes you to check/fold a lot of flops then dont steal with this cheese. Wait for decent hands that you can play confidently and get paid off with.

Dont 3bet as much to isolate and just generally play a bit more passive when you have a small equity edge. Eg someone raises you on the turn you are pretty sure you are ahead and that he might be semibluffing/free showdown, just call unless you have a big hand.

Also play less tables and when you arent feeling that great dont be afraid to even just play 1 table for a while and also have breaks.

Playing tighter and a bit more passive isnt as bad as most people think. You do gain a lot more fold equity postflop and by being involved in fewer marginal decisions it is much easier to stay tilt free.

[Danenania]

This is basically advice for decreasing variance at the expense of a minor amount of EV. If doing these things stops you from badly tilting then it may very well be well worth the small EV sacrifice, but you should realize that purposely playing suboptimally for any reason is a subtle form of tilt in itself. You certainly shouldn't resort to this until you've exhausted all possibilities for fixing your tilt problem without altering your game.

P.S. Those guys in STT really weren't ready for your posting style were they? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Monty Cantsin]

What is it you want?

Seriously, what are you looking for? Some kind of magic beans?

You think people who don't tilt have some secret technique that makes not tilting easy?

Let me make crystal clear what you already suspect: not tilting is just fucking work, like everything else in poker. It's just work. It's just heavy lifting.

You tilt because you allow yourself to tilt. Plain and simple. Because tilting is easier than not tilting. Because, like just about every other decision in poker, it's close, and deep down you make the conscious decision that the punishment for tilting doesn't outweigh the reward: the satisfaction you feel from allowing yourself to be naughty and lazy and to misbehave.

You'll stop tilting when you grow up and decide to do the work of not tilting: which is simply the hard work of forcing yourself to make correct decisions regardless of your emotional state.

Until then tilt all you want but just keep it to yourself. I'm sick of hearing about it.

/mc

[Surfbullet]

Thanks for the kick in the ass, monty. You hit the nail on the head.

POTD.

Surf

[waffle]

nice post hmo2.

[blackize]

Check out the magazine for this month. The article on playing through a downswing is really good. I wrote a very similar piece, not as polished, for RGP a while back and then read the 2+2 magazine take on it and I agree 100%.

I think your best option is to find another table. Sure you are better than these guys, but they don't fear you because you are "unlucky". You need to be able to strike that fear into people in poker. At least that is my humble opinion.

You arent really giving up too much because many of the small EV decisions are really very small EV which you make up a lot with extra fold equity later (sometimes much more when you get an opponent to fold the best hand).

Also for a frequent tilter those small EV situations are -EV because with the buildup of marginal losses comes tilt and the need to take extra breaks.

For some people like myself losing 10+ marginal situations in a small amount of time can cost a lot of money from tilt and if its not from tilt its from not playing fearing tilt.

Plus the additional thinking required forces you to play less hours. I try not to waste too much brain power on multiple decisions that may make me a slightly larger winner. Not all of you get this problem but I definately become mentally tired quite a lot.

I'm not saying suddenly play like a rock or weak/tight I'm just saying against difficult players just play a bit safer and dont be so eager to make small +EV decisions.