Re: Stopping when you know you are on tilt
 

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Seriously though.....

For the most part, it occurs when the money means something. We're all guilty of it to a certain degree.

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tilt is the result of a "gambling mentality" (the need to get even, the emotional effect of losing money, etc.)

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I find it interesting that these factors are mentioned frequently when the topic of "tilt" comes up but we seldom talk about the elephant sitting in all of our poker rooms, poor self image.

Even though some may poopoo the concept, a "tilt proof" player needs to understand that it's okay to lose.

As Dr. Al mentions in his book, losing is a very natural thing. More players lose than win.

We, as poker players, in order to make sound decisions are frequently forced to make choices that are counter-intuitive to our nature.

When things don't go our way, I believe there is a tendency to somehow subconsciously tie the result of the decision to our self worth.



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Re: Stopping when you know you are on tilt
 

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Do not ever play unless you are playing your A game. Simply refuse to do it. Consider it a matter of principle. If you find yourself slipping into your B game, sit out. If you cannot calm yourself down and bring back your A game serenity, quit playing. When you are playing you only ever play your A game. Always. No matter what. No matter how good the game is. No matter what justification or reasons you have. Then you will find that you will stay in your A game for longer and longer and longer. You will become more resilient to being knocked off of your A game. You will feel strong and solid. It will become a manner of honor with you, to be a person who always plays their A game.

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This is an admirable ambition and one that I have desired for myself for a long time. The only problem I have is, it is so, so rare that I play my A-game that it's almost like I can't wait until I get that back to play. I'm always tired, or moody, or stressed out.

I'm not a full-time pro so a) I only have limited time in the week that playing poker is even available to me; and b) during those hours I am often underslept and overstressed. If I refused to play less than my A-game I would literally play like 3 hours a week. I'm not sure what the solution will be to this, if I can even ever find one.

Re: Stopping when you know you are on tilt
 

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So my question basically is: When I realize that I am starting to tilt...how can I force myself to stop playing?

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I will pay you good money if find an answer to that question.

My problem. "Okay, I'm down big. I'll stop at 1:00 a.m."

1 a.m rolls around. "Okay, 1:30 and THAT's it."

1:30 rolls around. You guess the outcome.

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Hold power button for 3 seconds....