Dissecting Tilt

I had one of the craziest sessions of my life on Saturday. I was experimenting with different reasons my concentration might be lacking. One theory I came up with was that since I have extra money from the tournament win, along with a decent chunk on UB (from rakeback + bonuses) that the stakes where beginning to feel a bit low. I wanted to test this out before I made any decisions on where/what I should be playing, so even though I had planned on taking some time off I decided to play a 4 table session at $200NL. I also wanted to experiment on how playing 4 tables with poker edge would differ from 6 tables using pt/pahud.

I started off playing incredibly well. When I only play 4 tables and use poker edge I always feel 100% in control of the table. A series of events caused me to go on tilt and bluff off a few buy ins. I then recovered played even better than before and ended the session up almost $800, but that’s not what this entry is about. There was a very specific progression of hands/situations that brought on the tilt, and I’d like to focus on that. I’m going to go step by step through the session to identify exactly what factors caused it. This will give me a reference so that next time I see these things happening I can catch the tilt before it even happens. Going on tilt usually doesn’t occur just because you take on bad beat. Each person has what I like to call a “tilt path”, basically a series of events that lead to uncontrollable emotions. Everyone is unique so I encourage everyone to think back to a time when they went on massive tilt and do this same exercise. Knowing the specifics of what tilts you is a huge step in preventing it.

*DISCLAIMER*
I always make a huge deal about the negative effects of telling everyone your bad beat stories. Any bad beat stories in the post are being used break down exactly what caused me to go on tilt. While you should not be telling everyone each time you take a beat it is still important to study the effect that they have on your game.

My Tilt Path

0:00-0:30: The session started off amazing. Playing 2 less tables and using Poker Edge meant I had a great read on all the players. I made some good calls and great bluffs. I’m not having any trouble concentrating on the game. All signs are pointing to this being the ideal playing situation for me at this time.

0:30:0:45: I played the following hand:
Getting Hand History Information...
----------------------------------------------------------------

Hand #39413214-31192 at Lincoln (No Limit Hold'em)
Started at 24/Feb/07 16:34:03

Zeus1998 is at seat 0 with $178.55.
Chubbbs is at seat 1 with $200.35.
thefullymonty is at seat 3 with $204.80.
fourofnokind is at seat 4 with $529.20.
P_Dynasty is at seat 5 with $197.
The button is at seat 3.

fourofnokind posts the small blind of $1.
P_Dynasty posts the big blind of $2.

Zeus1998: -- --
Chubbbs: -- --
thefullymonty: -- --
fourofnokind: -- --
P_Dynasty: 6h 6c

Pre-flop:

Zeus1998 calls. Chubbbs folds. thefullymonty folds.
fourofnokind raises to $8. P_Dynasty calls.
Zeus1998 calls.

Flop (board: Kc Ac Ad):

fourofnokind checks. P_Dynasty checks. Zeus1998
checks.

Turn (board: Kc Ac Ad 6d):

fourofnokind checks. P_Dynasty bets $15. Zeus1998
folds. fourofnokind raises to $35. P_Dynasty calls.


River (board: Kc Ac Ad 6d Qc):

fourofnokind goes all-in for $486.20. P_Dynasty goes
all-in for $154. fourofnokind is returned $332.20
(uncalled).



Showdown:

fourofnokind shows Kd As.
fourofnokind has Kd As Kc Ac Ad: full house, aces full of kings.
P_Dynasty shows 6h 6c.
P_Dynasty has 6h 6c Ac Ad 6d: full house, sixes full of aces.


Hand #39413214-31192 Summary:

$2 is raked from a pot of $402.
fourofnokind wins $400 with full house, aces full of kings.

I knew I had the worst hand and was pretty sick over my lack of execution. For the next 15 minutes I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and some tilt started to fester in the back of my head. I get very disappointed in myself when I know the correct move but fail to follow through.

1:00: I have AA in the cutoff and make a standard raise. Someone from the blinds 3 bets me and I am 100% certain they are doing it with a weak hand. I just call as I think I can get them to bluff off most of their chips. The flop comes K62 and he fires out a large bet. I just call and hope he fires again. The turn is an 8 and he makes another large bet. I put him all in and he shows 68o. I played the hand in a way that I thought was most profitable, but was a little more risky. It bit me in the ass this time and when combined with my earlier mistake the tilt started creeping even closer.

1:15: As those 2 hands started to sink in I get played back at in a few pots. The tilt takes over for the next 2 hands as I decide I’m not going to let anyone push me around, check raising someone all in at two tables. I get called in both spots (TPTK and a set) and am down 2 more buy ins just like that.

1:15-1:30: I snap back into reality immediately after these two hands. I recognize that I have a tilting image and try to take advantage of it. I over bet push with TPTK and get called by bottom pair which becomes 2 pair on the turn. I am over my tilt now so this doesn’t bother me.

1:30-4:00 After tilting I often get very focused when I realize how much I screwed up. For the next few hours I play some amazing poker and end up winning $768.

You could look at this session and call it a success….hey I ended up winning so why should I be concerned? There are two main problems that occurred in this session. First is the obvious error of me going on tilt. I would have $400 more if I simply did not allow myself to get into a mindset of tilt. The not so obvious problem comes from my extra focus after tilting. Being able to able to regain my composure and play awesome poker is a good trait, but why can’t I play with that focus all the time?

Breaking down sessions like this can go a long way in helping you figure out how to improve your mental game. We have learned so far that if I make a bad play and it’s followed up by a bad beat that equals tilt. From now I can quit as soon as these things happen, but before I go on tilt. I can also work on not allowing this chain of events to put me on tilt. This takes longer to learn than simply quitting, but is much more profitable in the end.

I have also been able to nail a specific mind set that allows me to play amazing poker. If I can recreate those same emotions every time I play poker I will have a much higher chance of playing at that same level.

This post turned into more of an article than a blog, but I hope this shows you one of the ways you can work on improving your own game. Even if the end result was good there are always things you can do better. Try breaking down a session like I did (when I do it myself I’m often more detailed than I was here). Recognizing how the flow of a session affects future hands is knowledge that will help you make tons of money down the line.

Bankroll: $6367
Hands played this week: 0
Bonus cleared this week: 0
Hands played this month: 28670
Bonus/rakeback this month: $1048