Avoiding Tilt in Poker

Even the best poker players are susceptible to tilt. Poker tilt is when you either suffer a bad beat or a big loss, and start to play loose and wild to try to make up for it. It is a poker player's worst enemy, and can make your stack disappear extremely quickly. This article will give you some tips on avoiding poker tilt.

Never Play With Your Entire Bankroll

This is the most common reason players go on tilt. If you sit at a table with your entire bankroll, and take a bad beat, it's going to take a huge chunk out of your bankroll. This will have a bad effect on your mood, and you will play loose to try and rebuild your stack.

However, if you only play with small amounts of your money then bad beats won't have as much of an effect on your total bankroll, and you will be less likely to go on tilt. Also, you will see much more consistent profit then if you play with all of your money.

Only Play in the Right Moods

Some surefire ways to lose your money are playing while you are in a bad mood, while you're tired, while you're drunk, or even if you're extremely happy. All of these moods will effect your poker play, and almost always for the worst. Before you sit down to play make sure you feel that you're calm, cool, and collected. This is the best state of mind to be in for poker.

Don't Trash Talk

After you suffer a bad beat at the table it is very easy to just let loose in the chat box. However, we advice against this, because it only makes matters worse. When you start to trash talk your opponent, most of the time you'll only end up madder. Quite often other players at the table will side with your opponent because they'll think that you're a sore loser.

After you have a bad beat, the best thing to do is just say "Nice hand" and move on. This will keep your head cool and you will stay focused on the game.

Take Breaks and Know When to Quit

When you're in a poker session, you should take breaks to clear your head. When you sit at a table for over two hours, quite often you lose focus and your play suffers. By taking occasional breaks to get a drink or some fresh air you will remain sharp at the table.

Also, when you're on a bad run and know that your play is being affected, you should just quit for the day. When you're on tilt it's only likely that you're going to lose more money, so you're best off to come back fresh later.

Now you have some great tips to avoid tilt, so remain calm at the tables and good luck!