Seriously though.....

The absolute best way to combat tilt is to not let it happen at all. If that's not possible, then the 2nd best way is to recognize it and....get up, splash some cold water on your face, get something to eat, walk around, and come back later.

The thing about tilt is that it's a side effect to many issues, not just losing streaks or bad beats. For the most part, it occurs when the money means something. We're all guilty of it to a certain degree.

Imagine this....

You're playing 10/20 with a $500,000 bankroll. You make a steady 15k-20k a month from the game. Tilt is virtually non-existant. Nothing can puncture you. You're just going through the motions at this point and playing hands. Poker isn't fun anymore, it's a job now. THAT's what tiltless poker is like.

Unfortunately, the above example isn't realistic because anyone who has a $500,000 poker roll won't be satisfied with making 15k-20k a month playing 10/20. But still, there is always an optimal limit and earn for an infinite bankroll online. For party games, it looks to be 30/60 full.

Quitting is an escape that bypasses the tilt problem, but doesn't alleviate us from the psychological root of the issue; tilt is the result of a "gambling mentality" (the need to get even, the emotional effect of losing money, etc.) and the only real way to fight it is to not let it happen at all. Get to the point where poker is 100% robotic and no win/loss can emotionally affect you in the least. Use your 10/20 bankroll to 10-table $0.50/$1.00 full ring for a bit and you'll know what it's like to experience tilt-proof poker.

Of course, we still want a certain amount of calculated risk in order to maximize our potential earn. The key is finding a way to be able to keep that tiltless mentality at all times. You can quit all you want to avoid the issue, but there will come a day where you'll have to confront the actual problem face to face.

And from that point on poker will be much more peaceful, relaxing and profitable.

Good Luck! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]