Preventing Going on Tilt After a Bad Beat
- Filed under: Poker
- Date: May 17,2010
Picture yourself looking down before the flop and finding you are holding two aces in your hand. And even before you get to act on your hand there are a number of raises and reraises. Checking around the table you see three other players remain in the game after the flop, and your are feeling confident as you have the best pre-flop hand.
There is what appears to be a harmless set of community cards – Jack of Hearts, Two of Diamonds,Three of Spades heading into the flop. Everyone folds after the player before you moves all in. You call … your opponent has a Jack, Queen of Spades. That gives you top pair. Now the turn and river brings two more spades. No improvement on your pair of aces and you loose to a flush. You immediately know the feeling.
The term itself comes from a pinball machine where aggressive players physically lift the machine after a difficult play. Famous in the 1980s, the term carries over to overly angry poker players today who let their emotions get the best of them. Tilt can impact your play, and inducing tilt in other players can be an effective strategy to keep one step ahead of your opponents.
If you’ve ever been in a position on a bad beat like this, it’s important to stay grounded without over-betting on the following rounds. While bad luck is a part of poker, it’s important to control one’s emotions to ensure you don’t make poor bets based upon impulsive play. After losing a hand on the basis of luck, take a deep breath and proceed playing knowing you make the best judgment – in the end, making smart decisions will put the majority of wins in your court, and will keep your play ahead of the curve.
Best Practices to Prevent Tilt Betting
For beginning players tilt is not unusual and will form a part of their learning curve. At that beginning level ensuring tilt doesn’t bankrupt you requires yo play within your limits. Only choose to play at a table where you can actually afford to lose your entire stack. When you start at a low buy in table you limit the chances of your going tilt and your chances of rebounding from a bad beat are greatly improved.
Successful players based their poker games upon likely outcomes – they play “positive EV” strategies which put them in the best possible position to win. Even if a given pot results in a loss, making the right bet will help turn around your luck eventually. While you might have a good or bad night, a long term mathematical strategy is the best opportunity for success.
Keep in mind the prevalence of bad beats, especially in multi way pots where you have more opportunities to lose. Therefore, even if you have the best hand at that point there is a good chance you’ll end up losing to a drawing hand, such as a flush or straight based upon the board. Lowering your maximum bets and carefully evaluating each bet can lower your variance in the long run.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Victory Rakeback as well as Cake Rakeback.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.