Why do I tilt so easily?

I play five - ten HE. For the first three hours I play perfect. I am ahead 30 BB, then I completely lose control. I start to play hands out of position, and when I miss the flop I am chasing. Now, I am not winning. Why do I do this? Please advise me how to correct this problem. Thanks.

when your ahead you may be thinking you have chips to spare. practice tightening up a bit when your winning, which may feel tight but youll actually be playin normal. you sound like you know the problem, , now its just a matter of realizing when its happening and adjust accordingly.'


b

This idea came from Matt Flynn.


Keep track of the number of hands you play and when it gets to 100, quit, no matter what.


Tommy

Take a break every couple hours, don't play if your brain has turned to mush because you can easily negate your hard earned winnings with a few poor decisions over a short time.

Mary,


Pretend that a little, but even more aggravating, version of me is sitting on your shoulder and I'm just itching to go into a long harangue concerning maintaining proper discipline. But even I need an excuse before I speak up!


Regards,


Rick


PS Say Hi to John for me.

only you can really answer this question. if you're willing to spend time learning proper basic strategy and thinking about the game to learn context-dependent adjustments, then you should also be able to invest some thought in discovering why you have this problem at the table.


good luck


the club

Mary,


Your problem is common with gamblers who play for fun. What you are going to have to do is change your mindset.


Before you start playing for the day decide under what circumstances you are going to quit. Try playing for four hours and then quit. Make only an exception to play longer if a game is running good.


There have been studies done that the majority of people are good at their jobs for the first four hours. I think that's what you need to try first. When you have finished playing, jot down in your notebook, notes on how easy or hard the game was to play. Bad plays that you or others make, and good plays that you or others make. If you get mad or upset, quit playing. There is always another day.


What I am suggesting here is to condition yourself to be disiplined. Alot of players don't know when to quit when they are running bad. They think they can catch up, but most are fooling themselves. Furthermore, your attention level will start to seriously deteriorate after four hours, so if the game is not easy, don't play it.


Good Luck


Mark

For half an hour, don't even look at your second card unless your first card is paint or an ace. If the pot is raised in front of you, fold unless your second card pairs your first card. If the pot is not raised in front of you, fold, unless your second card is paint or an ace, in which case, raise. Do not bet the flop (or beyond) unless you flop top pair.


Repeat as often as necessary.

Two possible reasons:


1) greed - 30BBs is not enough to satify you


2) boredom - you get tired of sitting around and mucking hands

You have to look at playing poker as making correct decisions, not making money, is it correct to chase when the odds don't warrant it, no, so why do you do it? You can't play poker like it's a game to win pots. I have went on tilt many times, because the pace of the game changed or I just played anything I could and pushed cards to the brim, and you lose that way.


Play poker by making the correct decisions, raise when you are supposed to, fold when it is clear that you are beaten. Don't make curiosity calls at the end, when you are holding a high card, because you think this guy may be bluffing now because you have a hunch.


Remember if you can't raise, you can't play.


SET YOURSELF A TIME LIMIT, say to yourself


"5 hours win-lose, i'm outta here"


Don't let your resolve wear out.

nm