Tilt, Bankroll Management and the long term grind

[Jibalob]

OK... I feel this will probably be a fairly long post but here goes....

I am a sucessful LHE player and have been for just over a year now. I have played profitably at all levels up to and including $15/$30 over a decent sample size. I feel that I have a significant edge in pretty much all the games I play (thanks to good game selection).

My problem is tilt control. I have built up so many bankrolls over the past 15 or so months only to absolutely destroy them whilst angry, upset, tired or drunk. I think there is even a thread on here somewhere about me blowing a $17k bankroll playing blackjack .

I had been doing extremely well up until about 2 weeks ago and I thought that this degenerate gambooooling tilt monster side of me was finally dead but then one night whilst extremely tired I managed to blow my roll followed by a decent chunk of my savings.

Re-deposited early this week and have been grinding it out and doing fairly well which worries me.... It worries me because I always "do well" after setting new goals and promising myself I wont be a retard again but I always seem to end up doing it again, even if it is months and months down the line.

My question to you guys is this:

Have any of you ever had this problem in the past and managed to overcome it? I know that nobody can help me with my own self-control but I'm starting to wonder if I should quit playing poker.

It almost kills me to say that. I've really worked hard learning the game I love and grinded out hundreds of thousands of hands, I know that if I hadnt blown that 17k roll many moons ago that I could be rolling in $$$ by now. I also know that I could still make alot of money if I keep myself under control from now-on.

What do you think?

Once a gambler always a gamber? Or can a leopard change its spots?

Is a year proof enough that I'm just never going to have the self control required?

Have any of you been in this situation before and gone on to learn to control yourself?


All replies appreciated.

[Mr. Clandestine]

Hey man, I know all about what you are going thru. I'm new to online poker, but have some experience live. I actually just blew my entire online roll too. I've had problems in the past with doing well only to go on a prolonged tilt session. I've managed to get things under control, but it's only due to keeping the right people around. I only go play live now if I'm with a friend or someone I know and trust is going to be at the poker room too. There are times that I feel like I ought to be able to control the urge to gamble it up, or to leave when things are just not going my way. However, we both know first hand that the realization that we are about to destroy that which we've toiled to build is not always enough to stop us. I'm going to redeposit some money online, then start playing again. If you want someone to 'keep you honest' or to just talk to about things feel free to get in touch with me. I'll stays on top of this thread.

[donnybaker]

I am in no way qualified to answer this, so just take it for what it's worth.

I have an addictive personality I think, I love to drink and I love to play poker. I've blown through a lot of money in the past. I've gotten to the point now that I don't play when I'm drinking because I absolutely KNOW that I'm playing worse. Occasionally I will play down a few levels or some tourneys when having some beers, but I treat that like blackjack at the casino, I only bring money to the table that I can afford to lose. Besides, I'd rather be out with my friends that in front of the computer when i'm drinking.

My only real point is that it varies person to person. This is kind of a compromise that works for me. It's seriously a discipline game. If you can figure out some way to play and avoid the tilt problems, then it will work, if not, maybe quitting is an option. But if you're like me, quitting is only a temporary condition.

Try only playing 1 hour sessions at a time, go to the gym, go back to playing. Asses your mental state every ten minutes when playing. This is something everyone should be doing. Make it a habit to get up if you're not in a state to play profitably.

Anyway, good luck!

[daven]

only to absolutely destroy them whilst angry, upset, tired or drunk. I think there is even a thread on here somewhere about me blowing a $17k bankroll playing blackjack .

outside my experience, but a couple of suggestions anyway.
1) Never play when angry, upset, tired or drunk (i do sometimes, but a level or two below where i normally play so any bankroll hit is relatively minor).
2) Don't do any gambling that isn't poker, unless it's a trivial (<1% of bankroll) amount, and even then you shouldn't - house always wins etc.
3) Don't ever play outside sound bankroll considerations.
4) Breathe yo
5) Think about setting up deposit caps/limits on all accounts, keeping money from your roll offline, um, all that sort of stuff. Maybe withdraw 10% of your roll every two months and put it in a term deposit or something - where the money is inaccessible!

if you can't do ALL of these things, then stop playing poker.

[Jibalob]

TY for the replies guys

Like I say, I already know pretty much what I need to do , just wondering if anybody else has been in my shoes (ie, doing it over and over) but then actually got it under control.

[Mr. Clandestine]

I've been able to get it together as far as live play goes, but that can't be totally contributed to me solely. As far as online goes I think that I'll be able to hold tough, but i've only just started. Perhaps do like daven said, keep only a limited amount of your roll online. Good luck!!!

[WillburForce]

i've been there Jibalob.

I spazzed off 2 bankrolls when drunk.

I had to re-learn my whole experience of playing poker. I started playing live with friends drinking...and then carried this over to online. I'd always play late at night after drinking and then carry on boozing when playing, getting more drunk and playing like a total tit. A few times I'd couldn't even remember how much I 'd won/lost.

Wake up, check the poker account - occasionly i'd be massively up, other times (and more often) down a few hundred. Couple of times completely busto.

I now have 2 poker accounts.

PokerStars is my serious roll, where I play day to day strickly within bankroll, few beers maybe, but nothing serious.

On another site I have my "Drunk roll". I only leave £50 on there give or take . If i blow this when drunk I don't care. Any big wins I withdraw and leave the £50 again for next time. If I get in drunk and wanna play some poker I know which site to get on - I also have a £100 limit deposit. But I'm now not stupid enough to ever lose more than my £50 when pissed up.

It works for me and I haven't lost any of my "serious" bankroll to drunken tilt / reckless gambling since.

But only you know what to do. If you relate playing poker to having a drink and gambling....you'll just be another fish to take money off.

GL

[Jibalob]

On another site I have my "Drunk roll". I only leave £50 on there give or take . If i blow this when drunk I don't care. Any big wins I withdraw and leave the £50 again for next time. If I get in drunk and wanna play some poker I know which site to get on - I also have a £100 limit deposit. But I'm now not stupid enough to ever lose more than my £50 when pissed up.

This is a great idea.

I think I'll stick some back-up funds onto PKR for this purpose because lets face it... You couldn't play there whilst sober.

I also like the idea of staying away from other forms of gambling in order to keep the correct mindset. I was a gambling addict before a poker player but I managed to get that under control although I still play the fruity down the pub when its full.


Edit: what do you think of the new away kit? I personally think it sucks.

[WillburForce]

[quote="Jibalob"]

Edit: what do you think of the new away kit? I personally think it sucks.

Haven't seen it yet - I'll have a look at work tomorrow...but then West Ham suck so its only natural our kit does as well

[Mr. Clandestine]

Haven't heard anything for awhile, so I assume thigns are going well.