Help is needed. As we all know, I love playing poker. I play in live games at least twice a week. I'm usually pretty good, but sometimes I go through slumps. Although there are probably more flaws with my game than I realize, one problem I know I have is I go on tilt and lose my composure. Tilt is when you let a bad beat or any other bad thing that happens at a poker game affect your game.
My tilt factor is phenomenal. I can go on tilt for five minutes and lose over half my stack of chips. In the last three card games I have played in, I was the chip leader until it came to heads up play with my cousin Clint, who then proceeded to pound on my beaten and broken self. He has killed me three times in a row. I'm not saying he shouldn't have. Clint is a good player who has improved greatly since reading some of the poker books. However, I do think in three games, I should have won at least one of those games. This is where my tilt problem comes into play.
What I would like is for you to help me figure out how to solve my anger management problem. What should I do to fix my tilt? I can't just sit at the table and not think about it. It drives me nuts when I am the chip leader and then ten minutes later, I have dumped half my chips to the other players. Then I get more mad because of what I've done in the last ten minutes and it never ends after that. What can I do?
Send me comments that will give me advice on how to improve my game. If your advice works, you will be compensated. I promise.
6 comments:
With my poker experience limited to two games, one being with a bunch of drunks, I can't offer much strategic advice.
I can, however, attest to the value of a "poker face." I once bluffed my way through a hand with absolutely nothing, because I didn't express any emotions and played with confidence. Nobody had any suspicions that I was bluffing, either. Everyone was shocked when I won the hand, even the few who weren't drunk at the time. Unfortunately, this requirs a lack of anger, which is your very problem.
Some suggestions:
1. Act like you're going to win every time. Even if you wind up folding, do so without looking upset. Announce decisions confidently. One good example was Penn (of Penn & Teller) on one of those "Celebrity Poker" shows. He should've lost big-time, but whenever he had a weak hand, he acted tough and bet high amounts, making the rest of the players fold before he reveald what was in his hand.
2. Make your face hard to read. Wear a hat and sunglasses if appropriate, and keep your head low -- but not so far as to look absurd, of course.
3. Try some stress-relief techniques before and after each game, like relaxing with a cup of hot coffee or tea, or meditating. Anything but thinking about how much money you could lose or how angry you are from before. Think positive. Tell yourself you're good. Then go out and actually win.
Keep in mind that poker is a game of chance, and there is no surefire way to guarantee a win (without cheating). Don't freak out every time you lose. Don't let negative pressure take control. Just improve the win:loss ratio.
Take a break from poker!
I have taken a break from poker. I said no to a game last night. I think I'm ready to get back in there and fight. I am going to win the next time I play.
matt, here is what i would recommend... now that i am not playing for an undisclosed amount of time.
the problem lies in overvaluing your abilities. and that's not to say that you aren't a good poker player, because you are. but it does mean that you are not as good as you think you are. none of us are. chad certainly isn't. you tend to go on tilt when you make bad plays - plays that you know are bad plays - simply because you feel that you have the ability to make them. maybe it's a bluff, a semi-bluff, or, after losing a few hands, you bet more than you should and run off action - which keeps your chip stack low instead of builing it back up.
you have to play to your level of competition. i'm sick and tired of playing because i feel very confident in my skills - but my skills don't translate to success in our games. it's too dificult for me to play well and never rebuy, and then have to beat four of five players with five rebuys. no matter how much better i am than those people, the odds are too high against me. if we played with no rebuys, you and i would be the only people who would win. i don't think that it is coincidence that you have played in three live tournaments and placed in the money twice, or that i am one for one in those situations. we know what we are doing - to a certain extent. it just doesn't always translate well to a game where people play Q-4 offsuit because they think it is funny and other people play any two cards just because they are suited. take your competition in mind - and respect it. i don't think that you do this. would howard lederer fold at some of your bluffs? maybe? will chad or clint? probably not.
and keep in mind that you tend to go on tilt after one of two circumstances. 1) you make a big bluff and get called. don't do this. bluffs, most of the time, should be made at small pots. a bluff at a large pot takes a large bet, get called and you are screwed. bluff at a small pot and get called and it's not that big of a deal. take those small pots and let them build. those bluffed at pots that you win just make it possible to play more aggressive later with hands that you normally would not play - which in turn makes it harder for you to read. 2) you get outdrawn. remember, getting out drawn is a good thing. it means that you went into the situation with the better hand! the more you pull a mircale on the river, the worse of a player you are.
it's all about patience. and you don't have it. think big picture. maybe it's not always wise to raise with A-x simply because there are six people at the table instead of 10. wait for the right hands in the right situation. playing fewer hands out of A) getting antsy and B) overestimating your abilities will screw you in the long run.
so in conclusion, nothing i say is meant to be mean, but you asked for help so here it is. i actually play with you and am therefore in a better seat to judge your play. and hey, you also seem to be forgetting that it is a marathon not a sprint. so what if you lost the last three. the question where do you stand money-wise for the last two months?
"playing fewer hands out of A) getting antsy and B) overestimating your abilities will screw you in the long run."
should read: playing MORE hands...
and also - PLAY LESS. you guys are ridiculous. you play at midnight with three people. you're not learning anything from those situations and it makes it impossible to step back and gauge your play. how can you get mentally prepared for something that you never even took a break from? there's a reason the world series is once a year, that professional sports takes six month breaks between seasons, that the olympics are only once every four years. stop playing so much. do a lot of reading, studying, and discussing, and then play once every two weeks. you should never play with the same people as much as we do. the only way you should be playing more poker is if you are varying your games.
I don't care what the books say Q 4 offsuit kicks ass.
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