While many players will tell you that they never go on tilt, this is rarely (if ever) true. What they probably mean is they never notice they are going on tilt and/or they don’t tilt very badly. Very few people have the ability to play their A-game all the time and in all circumstances, even professionals. If you notice you are tilting in a ring game, or even that you may be about to, the best response is nearly always to stop playing. While you may be able to control and beat it, if in doubt it is far better to go for a walk, watch some TV or take your frustration out on the pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto. Your bankroll will thank you for it in the long run. Tilting in a tournament is a far trickier proposition. Here there is no value at all in quitting and you must adopt a more hands on approach to tilt management. That however is a topic for another article.

There are many different forms of tilt, and the only thing they have in common is they cause the person tilting to play at less than their best. This article will identify and explore the most common forms of tilt, while next month the second article in this series will look at some of the rarer forms.

Loose Tilt

Loose tilt is probably the most common form of tilt, and causes you to continue with hands you should be folding. Pre-flop this will translate as playing bad or mediocre hands out of position. If the tilt is only slight, it may just be that you start calling with KJo from early position or ATo in middle position to a raise. However, when on a bad loose tilt, you may find yourself playing all kinds of garbage from any position. Post flop, loose tilt will result in chasing draws you don’t have the pot odds to chase, and calling down with clearly beaten hands.

Cause

Loose tilt is so common because it involves a reversion to something that most poker players want to do by instinct, i.e. stay in the hand. All poker players enjoy winning pots, and you can’t win a pot once you’ve folded, which is why most beginner’s biggest mistake is to not fold enough both pre and post-flop. Any event or chain of events that makes a player more desperate to win a pot than normal, or makes them feel they are more likely to win a pot than they are, will leave them more vulnerable to loose tilt. Unfortunately there are many events that can do this, of which the main ones are.

· Trying to get even, while ‘stuck’ for the session

· Overconfidence caused by a good streak of luck or playing with bad players.

· Frustration due to bad beats (steaming)

· Impatience and frustration due to not getting a playable hand and/or winning a pot for a long time.

Detection and Prevention

Anything similar to the following thought processes may lead to this kind of tilt or be the first signs of it.

‘I’m almost certainly beat here, but if the river is (insert miracle card here) then I will be almost even for the night.’

‘I’ve got to call here, I’m running hot at the moment; all my draws are coming in’

‘These players are terrible. I can play more hands here and outplay them after the flop.’

‘They keep winning with awful cards, so I can too’

‘I know I shouldn’t play this hand from this position but I’m desperate to get back on track after that beat’

‘K-5 suited? Compared with what I have been getting, that’s practically a pair of aces!’

Preventing this kind of tilt is nearly always a matter of discipline. If you follow a list of starting hand charts (from Internet Texas Holdem or another source) then you will be far less prone to pre-flop loose tilt, as it will be stated in black and white that you should fold. The same can be said of people who religiously calculate pot odds and apply this to post-flop call or fold decisions.

The problem comes when you are one of those players who play from ‘feel’. These players will create a justification in their mind for their actions, and will often not even realise they are tilting until they look at their hand histories. If you are one of these players, you need to identify your individual triggers that cause you to make loose calls. All players are different and, for example, some players are great at handling bad beats but their play always deteriorates when they are winning. If you look through your hand histories and notice loose play, try to remember what you were feeling at the time. This should provide some clues as to what triggered the tilt, and if you find yourself in the same situation, you can quit the game before it starts costing you money.

Passive Tilt

Passive tilt will cause you to check and call when you should be betting and raising. As a result, you will not be getting value out of your good hands and will not protect your hand properly, causing you to get drawn out on more. This can potentially be very damaging to a player because it can be a difficult type of tilt to detect and will normally kick in when you are already losing.

Cause

Passive Tilt can have a number of triggers but all normally come down to you being overwhelmed or scared by the game you are in. The particular trigger might be playing at a new (higher) limit, playing in a game where you think you are outclassed, playing above your bankroll or losing confidence after taking a beating. As a result, you may find yourself playing more passively for either of the below reasons:

· You will tend to assume you are beaten in the face of any aggression unless you have the absolute nuts.

· You are scared to put in too many raises, because you are worried about how much money it will cost you if you lose.

Passive tilt can be a vicious circle. If you start to play more passively, this may give your opponents an opportunity to draw out on you. This may, in turn, cause you to play even more passively for the second reason above.

Detection and Prevention

Anything similar to the following thought processes may lead to this kind of tilt or be the first signs of it.

‘A raise would cost me $10. That’s a lot of money!’

‘I have a good hand but there is a chance he may have me beat. Had better just call it down’

‘There are a lot of dollars in this pot, I’d be happy just to win it as it is, no need to raise’

‘I’m just going to call it down and hope for the best, I don’t want to tangle with this guy.’

Given that this type of tilt is nearly always caused by a loss of confidence or intimidation, the key to prevention is not playing in games in which you feel outclassed, intimidated or out of your depth. If you are prone to this, make sure that you leave games where you don’t feel comfortable and always make sure you have a large bankroll for the limit you are playing. Maybe instead of 250 big bets, you should aim for 300 or 350. This will ensure that you have enough money that you won’t be scared to put in a raise when a raise is called for. Also, when you do move up a limit, don’t be afraid to move back down again if you don’t feel comfortable. While jumping around limits too much isn’t a good thing, there is no shame in dropping back down if things don’t go well immediately. You can ruin a hard-earned bankroll by playing at a limit where you are not comfortable, and this is often caused by playing too passively.

Formulaic Tilt

(Thanks to the ITH off-topic forum for this name)

A player on formulaic tilt will play almost on automatic without really paying due attention to the specific state of the game. The result of this is not usually catastrophic, especially in low to mid limit hold’em. In fact, many players have found it profitable to play formulaically on many tables at once rather than optimally at just one or two. It is however also a form of tilt, and can affect all players from time to time. It will cause you to play ‘by the book’ even when this is not the best way given the specific players involved.

For example, you may fold A-J pre-flop to a raise, even though there are no other callers and the raiser has raised 8 of the last 10 hands. Alternatively you may re-raise with JJ even though the raising player is a rock, who only raises the flop 1% of the time. Post flop you will make similar mistakes, folding to players who bet with nothing and calling down with a marginal hand against a very passive player. The situations in which you are badly hurt by formulaic tilt will not occur often, and the decision will often be marginal, but it can cost you bets and will sometimes cost you a pot.

Cause

Formulaic tilt generally occurs when your attention is not entirely focussed on the game. This is often unavoidable when playing four tables (or more) but can occur needlessly for other reasons. Maybe you are distracted by something else (especially poignant when playing on the internet) or maybe you are just bored. Tiredness/fatigue is also a big cause of formulaic tilt, as it will lead to your mind working less than optimally even when you are doing your best to concentrate on the game.

Detection and Prevention

It is difficult to list the particular thought processes that lead to this form of tilt, as it is generally caused more by a lack of thought. I suppose the closest we can come is to say that if you are thinking hard about something other than poker and specifically the game in front of you then you are probably suffering from formulaic tilt.

What is easier however, is spotting when you are suffering from this form of tilt. Look for the following as signs.

• You have been playing with one or more opponents for 50 hands or more, yet you don’t know anything about his/their play-style without looking at Poker Tracker.
• You just responded to a bet without looking where the bet came from and who made it.
• You have no idea who at your table has won or lost money since you’ve been at the table.
• You are playing on multiple tables and still trying to surf the net, read your emails or watch TV.

To prevent this type of tilt you really need to be disciplined about how you play the game and not allow yourself any distractions. Turn the TV off, don’t have any programs open on your PC other than poker software, switch your phone onto answer-phone. If you are tired or can’t concentrate for some reason then take a break or call it a night. When you are not involved in a hand, rather than letting your mind wander, watch the other players and see if you can pick up any tendencies. Look at not only what hands they show down, but think back to see how they betted with those hands on all streets. Make detailed notes using the in-game notes feature and don’t just rely on information given to you by Poker Tracker.

That wraps it up for the most common forms of tilt. Next month we will look at the second article in this series which takes a closer look at more uncommon forms of tilt you will need to be aware of. Until then, make sure you don’t ruin your hard earned bankroll with half an hour of madness.

Ian Taylor (aka Piemaster)