Nearly every poker player who has ever sat in front of the felt has had to deal with tilt at one point or another. Tilt is when you have something that affects your game and prevents you from making plays based on logic and instead based on your emotion.

Tilt is a very dangerous foe for many poker players. There have been poker players who have tilted and lost their whole poker bankroll just because they didn’t recognize it and react in the correct manor of leaving the tables. By avoiding tilting off your money you will only be playing when you are clear minded and focused on what is important; the correct play.

Recognizing Tilt

Every player will experience tilt. At some point in time there will be something that affects you mentally that will cause you to play different than you should to make money in the most optimal way. By finding out your most common means of tilt you can avoid this without having any serious decline in your bankroll.

Put notes around the computer that you play at that says, “Am I tilting?” or something along those lines. If you have realized something that you do regularly that is tilt then you can put notes up around that have something to do with that as well. By doing this you are always reminded to focus on your game and to be constantly checking to see if you are on tilt. One of the best notes to have up will say, “Am I playing my A game?” If you are playing anything less than what you would consider you’re “A” game then you should be studying instead of playing poker.

Dealing with Tilt

Pinpointing when you are tilting is the first step to fixing a tilt leak. The next part is a little harder because you now have to deal with your tilt. Getting off of the poker tables should always be the first option taken when you are a beginner. If you are always just signing off every time you start to experience tilt then you will lose out on a lot of poker play time. You now have to learn to deal with your tilt issues without causing the amount of hands you play to decrease.

Find a release that you can do to help you mellow out when you are on tilt. I recommend that you study once you get off of the tables, but to be realistic you will not always be in the mood to even associate with poker after a badly tilted session. Finding something that can get your mind off of poker and the events that have happened is vital to keeping up with getting your sessions in.

If you plan to play a two hour session but then find yourself tilting after an hour and a half you should try to put in an extra half hour in your next few poker sessions. You don’t want to add too much more time to a poker session because it is then very easy to lose focus. If you need to make up for half an hour that is lost then you should add ten minutes to your next three sessions. This will then make up for the hands that you missed and will also help you to deal with tilt better because you are only playing more when you are in the mood to play poker.

The first step involved with tilt is to recognize when you are tilting and the things that make you tilt. After that you must figure out what is the best way for you to deal with your tilt and still put in the hours on the poker tables. Analyze your poker and when you have this figured out you will win more and ultimately become a better poker player as a whole.