Hi,
I'm having problems to control my tilt. Ive been playing the 6's dollars for like 3 months now and I thinkt i'm beating them so far. But everytime when i'm having some bad luck in a row, i'm going crazy. Esspecially when I know I played so much better than the donk himself. Then i'm starting to play 33's and 55's en get beat like hell. I'm down for like 400 dollar just because i'm EVERYTIME starting to play above my level.
And when I then quit for 2 weeks and start playing again, I have the same problem over and over again. It feels like i just can't stop doing it. I love poker, but sometimes it's killing me, for nothing. I just need to stick to my level.
Now my question is : How do you guys control yourself not to play in higher levels when you have some bad luck in a row. And do you guys recognize this situation?
I love the site btw, keep doing the good work !
(sorry for my bad english)
Jannick
This answer may not be what you're looking for, but you need to recognize that moving up outside of your skill level is going to cost you a lot of money. If losing a couple buy-ins at $6 games makes you angry then you should recognize that losing a couple buy-ins at $33+ games is going to bother you even more. In addition, the opponents will probably be better so the chance of it happening will be higher.
You just need discipline to keep yourself from moving up.
The first thing I would suggest to work on would be the "moving up" part. That's the most devastating consquence I see from tilting players.
Set yourself a buyin limit and just make yourself not go any higher. Set some consquences for your actions if you do move up (don't play for x days, self exclusion, monetary punishment, etc.), and sooner or later you'll associate playing outside your roll with "bad" things.
You can also filter on sites like Stars higher buyin levels, so perhaps if you don't actually see the option in the lobby you won't try to play higher.
At the end of the day, you're going to have to excercise some self discipline. Only YOU control what you do, when and why. No matter what "tricks" you use, you're still going to have to be tough and fight the urge to chase losses. Fortunately, this problem often goes away rather quickly, and except for the most degenerate and depressed players, I see improvement very fast from player that are aware of these issues and take them seriously.
For general tilt advice, look through the forum. There have been a few threads about it.
Let us know how you do and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to post.
Oke thanks guys ! I'm really going to work on it.
I need to work on this myself. Donked off 5 buyins in a row and threw my poker netbook out of the window. Pokerless untill i buy a new one tommorow so that definately helped in not losing more buyins.
Destroy hardware = +EV
LMAO
Yeah, the moving up part is baaaaaaaaaaaad and very tilt inducing. I was railing a $110 player 2 months ago, took a break, came back, and accidentily registered in a $110 instead of an $11...obviously losing that game (TPGK < flopped straight) tilted me so much that I lost the next 6 games at my usual stakes.
Imo proper bankroll management is one of the most important aspects of poker. Your bankroll should be enough that even if you lose 5-8 games, your mental health, and ability to concentrate and play well isn't affected. If it is, you should either take a break, or move down in stakes.
__________________________
Goats!!! MORE GOATS!!!
It wasn't about the stakes or anything. It just seemed unfair....
I raise the button with AQs, he 3bets me, i put him all in and he calls. He has 66 and wins the flip. We are now back to even and i get pocket 9's OOP. He raises his button and i 3bet him wanting to get revenge. He shoves over me with A9 so i call and see he is dominated. He catches an A on the turn and knocks me out.
Of course it pisses me off.
hopefully this takes some steam off ya mag.
-- 2009/05/20 - 20:43:41
Seat 3: Dean*** ($1,320 in chips)
Seat 8: L2Kill ($1,680 in chips) DEALER
Dean***: posts small blind 10
L2Kill: posts big blind 20
Dealt to L2Kill [Jc,Td]
Dean***: calls 10
L2Kill: raises to 60
Dean***: calls 40
*** FLOP *** [9s,Qc,8h]
L2Kill: checks
Dean***: bets 120
L2Kill: raises to 340
Dean***: is all in 1140.0000
L2Kill: calls 920
L2Kill: shows [Jc Td]
Dean***: shows [5s 9h]
*** TURN *** [9d]
*** RIVER *** [Qs]
***SHOW DOWN***
Dean***: wins 2,640 with Full House, Nines full of Queens
WOW. I would've gone livb112 if that happed to me :D
Full Tilt Poker Game #: Heads Up Sit & Go (), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:38:06 ET - 2009/05/26
Seat 1: hero (1,500)
Seat 2: villain (1,500)
villain posts the small blind of 10
hero posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [8c Jc]
villain raises to 40
hero calls 20
*** FLOP *** [6h 7d 9s]
hero bets 40
villain calls 40
*** TURN *** [6h 7d 9s] [5d]
hero checks
villain bets 100
hero has 15 seconds left to act
hero raises to 240
villain raises to 380
hero raises to 1,420, and is all in
villain calls 1,040, and is all in
hero shows [8c Jc]
villain shows [Kd 4d]
*** RIVER *** [6h 7d 9s 5d] [2d]
hero shows a straight, Nine high
villain shows a flush, King high
villain wins the pot (3,000) with a flush, King high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,000 | Rake 0
Board: [6h 7d 9s 5d 2d]
Seat 1: hero (big blind) showed [8c Jc] and lost with a straight, Nine high
Seat 2: villain (small blind) showed [Kd 4d] and won (3,000) with a flush, King high
Same player:
Full Tilt Poker Game #: Heads Up Sit & Go (92873491), Table 1 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:39:37 ET - 2009/05/26
Seat 1: Villain (1,550)
Seat 2: hero (1,450)
hero posts the small blind of 10
Villain posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Qs Qh]
hero raises to 60
Villain raises to 100
hero raises to 340
Villain raises to 1,550, and is all in
hero calls 1,110, and is all in
Villain shows [7s 2d]
hero shows [Qs Qh]
Uncalled bet of 100 returned to Villain
*** FLOP *** [2s 3d 4d]
*** TURN *** [2s 3d 4d] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [2s 3d 4d Kh] [2c]
Villain shows three of a kind, Twos
hero shows two pair, Queens and Twos
Villain wins the pot (2,900) with three of a kind, Twos
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,900 | Rake 0
Board: [2s 3d 4d Kh 2c]
Seat 1: Villain (big blind) showed [7s 2d] and won (2,900) with three of a kind, Twos
Seat 2: hero (small blind) showed [Qs Qh] and lost with two pair, Queens and Twos
Full Tilt Poker Game Heads Up Sit & Go (), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:22:26 ET - 2009/05/26
Seat 1: hero (1,290)
Seat 2: Villain (1,710)
hero posts the small blind of 15
Villain posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [Ah Kc]
hero raises to 90
Villain raises to 1,710, and is all in
hero calls 1,200, and is all in
Villain shows [Ks 9h]
hero shows [Ah Kc]
Uncalled bet of 420 returned to Villain
*** FLOP *** [4c 7d 9d]
*** TURN *** [4c 7d 9d] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [4c 7d 9d Jh] [3d]
Villain shows a pair of Nines
hero shows Ace King high
Villain wins the pot (2,580) with a pair of Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,580 | Rake 0
Board: [4c 7d 9d Jh 3d]
Seat 1: hero (small blind) showed [Ah Kc] and lost with Ace King high
Seat 2: Villain (big blind) showed [Ks 9h] and won (2,580) with a pair of Nines
Full Tilt Poker Game # Heads Up Sit & Go (), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 20:40:24 ET - 2009/05/26
Seat 1: hero (920)
Seat 2: Villain (2,080)
Villain posts the small blind of 20
hero posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to hero [8s 8c]
Villain raises to 80
hero raises to 920, and is all in
Villain calls 840
hero shows [8s 8c]
Villain shows [Jh Kd]
*** FLOP *** [Qh 8h Ad]
*** TURN *** [Qh 8h Ad] [4d]
*** RIVER *** [Qh 8h Ad 4d] [Ts]
hero shows three of a kind, Eights
Villain shows a straight, Ace high
Villain wins the pot (1,840) with a straight, Ace high
hero stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,840 | Rake 0
Board: [Qh 8h Ad 4d Ts]
Seat 1: hero (big blind) showed [8s 8c] and lost with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 2: Villain (small blind) showed [Jh Kd] and won (1,840) with a straight, Ace high
Down 10 BI
To prevent tilt, as ChRy noted, you need self discipline. I've done this by doing the everyday things I would normally put off like making my bed, cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, etc.. I do one of those things each day before playing. No matter how bad I want to play I first do a chore. Each day I pick a different one. Not only has that discpline spilled over into my game it also helps keep my place cleaner! hah.
Also, I take breaks every few games. Just a few minutes in between to cool out. Then do something physical to get the blood flowing and my mind sharp. Like pushups, jumping jacks, whatever.
Winning at poker is as much what you do in the game as it is what you do OUTSIDE the game.
MastAAce08
That last statement is 100% correct. Keep doing what your doing!
MastAAce08
Jackhalsje, your also a dutch guy right? If so I really suggest to get a neteller or moneybookers account and keep your roll on there, just have like 5BI on stars and cash out anything thats above that at the end of the day, and when you lose all of it you can just redeposit 5BI and call it a day. I really think this keeps you from playing above your stakes because its harder to acces your money. Not really sure tho how long it takes to transfer the money, best case would be if it takes at least 1 hour.