It isn’t something that you’re proud of; the only consolation you have is that no one is immune from it. No matter how good we are and whether we’re playing online or offline, playing penny-ante or serious money – we’ve all gone tilt or have become emotionally unstable at some point in our online poker playing lives.
Maybe you’ve just ended a stress-filled day at the office. Or you’ve just arrived home after a harrowing drive at the NASCAR race track that was once your leisurely drive home. It could be simple boredom – after playing for hours with run-of-the-mill hands, you finally get a truly playable hand – and you accidentally hit the “fold button instead of the raise icon.
No matter the cause, you know what follows: you lose your cool, and start playing emotional, unreasonable, illogical poker rather than the serene, Zen-like game of online poker India that you’re used to.
It isn’t pretty when tilt happens. At the very least, you risk watching a thinning bankroll. You may lose the friends you’ve been playing online poker real money with every week for the past five years because you just couldn’t help but curse them when you bungled your game. When you come to your senses, you swear on a stack of chips that it won’t happen again. Only to find yourself in the same situation at some unexpected moment in time.
Avoiding the Tilt
The only way to avoid the tilt is to stop playing before you begin tilting. At this point, I can see you shaking your head in disagreement. How exactly do you know when you’re on your way to a full tilt drama?
The tilt can begin when you get distracted. It can be subtle, too, for it can be a combination of events, not all of which have something to do with you. Tilt could start with the irritating player across from you who just keeps drawing the good hands, leaving you with the bad ones. It could simply be a bad day at the office that you haven’t shaken off when you’ve logged on to your favourite game site.
Whatever it is, watch out for it. You’ve learned to watch for the warning signs of flu – what’s so different about watching for tilt symptoms?
Quit while you’re Ahead
The moment you start recognizing the symptoms of tilt, quit. There are no ifs and buts about this. Knowing you’re going to tilt will not stop it from happening. Only putting your best online poker game to a screeching halt will stop it from worsening.
A tilt is like a migraine. When it starts biting, the best thing to do is find a nice, comfortable corner and let it wear off.
Turn off the computer if you’re playing online or stand up and walk away if you’re playing live. Take a walk, jog around the block, run over to the store and buy some staples. Do something, whatever, until you’re back in control. Don’t take the chance of losing more than you’ve bargained for simply because you think you can tough it out. Believe me, this is easier on your and everybody else’s nerves. Your wallet may even thank you for doing the right thing.
Happy playing!