Dealing with your "emotions"

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Maybe the thread https://forums.pokerstrategy.com/forum/thread.php?threadid=181760 can hl you with dealing your emotions.

Cheers,
SDK1987

Read a book by Jared Tandler "Mental game of poker" it's very helpful book and you will improve a lot after reading that

Every time you feel that your emotions are making the decisions for you, you should take a break.
Watch/ stream something or read a book or just analyzer the hands you played.
When you get your emotion in control, you can then start playing again.
here's a youtube video that may help you control tilt

I have that problem too. Its stronger than me while Im playing. Especially when Im loosing money then I become more quicker and not thinking so much about my playing and I lose much more money because of that. If someone have a good advice Ill try it.

usually , when that happens to me, I just stop playing and only comeback when i get my emotions in order.. (takes about 15mins~1hour, depends on how bad the beating was)

The problem is when You play many MTT's, You cant just leave. in cash games yes, press alt-f4 few times and things is done..

Reading a book about "what causes me to tilt" is not enough. You need to rewire your brain to act differently. And for this you need practice.
Practicing the tilt issues means:

1) Noticing when and how it happens. (triggers)
2) create the correct thinking for each particular situation
3) exercise by noticing or predicting triggers, and think correctly

for example:

1) I shout out loud "F@#$@r, why I loose again. it's unfair!" when I lose a coin flip. Heartbeat increases. unhappiness grows from inside.
2) Correct thinking: "Coin flips are part of the game, in the long run I win equal amounts of coin flips.
It actually is quite fair. And this is what attracts our lovely fishes to the game! "
3) Each time I am All IN, even before showdown I already start thinking in this correct way. Can even say it out loud.

repetition is the key.

Basically, using a decent BRM can also help. If you call "making 250usd on 15$ sng's" a success, you're not understanding a couple fundamental aspects of the game. This will make you lose money in the long run, and when you lose in the long run, ofcourse it affects you mentally.

On a more ontopic note, I think I can say I'm pretty tilt-free. The only moments I might "feel" tilted is when a deeprun ends in a big disapointment. Starting a final table 1/9 with 4k up top and finishing 9th after losing a 100bb pot with AA vs QQ for 200$ for example might trigger a little emotional reaction. I'm not going to smash my keyboard around or whatever but I don't think you can just go 'meh' and continue when something like that happens.

I tend to believe most players having big emotional and tilt issues are players who play the lower stakes. I think players who have won a decent chunk of money and understand what the game is about will be able to put losing money into a good perspective. To the players who tilt on the micro's, I can only say: think about the amount of money you're tilting about. I used to tilt every once in a while when I was playing microstakes. I usually had a 50 cent coin in front of me and every once in a while, when I felt tilted, I looked at that coin and thought, yeah thats not worth it. Ofcourse this doesn't work when you play midstakes tournaments as a 200€ note can even induce tilt imo

Originally posted by samni I think players who have won a decent chunk of money and understand what the game is about will be able to put losing money into a good perspective

I agree with this line... its just really hard to do sometimes..

Hey guys,

after playing a few MicroMillions Marathons today I seem to have found the right thread.
If you have, let's say a "new approach" for any kind of tilt issues and you would like to check how well you are doing, go to PokerStars and play MicroMillions. Always a great training opportunity.

If you really want to test out your tilt levels, play Razz. It could be the most frustrating game in the history of the universe.

Yes, I can agree with that. I played a lot of Razz, mostly while playing Horse. Whenever the limits came across Razz I was like already tilting, like "okay then...here we go again...". ; )

Maybe i should try Razz for a game or two, i was interested about it before, but i kinda stuck to nlhe and plo so much that i forgot about that .

Play StarCraft 2 and get to grandmaster on EU server. You'll be a rational decision maker once you reach that level.

Originally posted by luckinsearch
Play StarCraft 2 and get to grandmaster on EU server. You'll be a rational decision maker once you reach that level.

nah, I'm busy with StarDew valley steam :f_biggrin::f_drink:

Happens with me also when i play long time in a row.. I think brains get tired or something. It cant be coincidence.

Originally posted by arttuzulu
Happens with me also when i play long time in a row.. I think brains get tired or something. It cant be coincidence.

one of the main cause of tilt... knowing when to stop is always +EV

How to win at poker 101:

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.

I tend to go just play Piano music to calm myself down when I tilt. It's pretty hard for me to step away from the tables when I tilt. Lucky I only play Micro stakes lol