little tilt post

[Zorkion]

i just thought i would post in case anyone's interested.

to me, tilt is a simple little equation that goes like this:

tilt = ( perceived importance of situation) * ( expectation - reality )

tilt is bad for your game for reasons that you already know. So to combat it, it doesnt take calculus to realize that there are a few ways of minimizing it.

1) perceived importance: realize that that one hand is just that. one hand amongst hundreds of thousands or even millions that youll be playing in your poker career. that bi you just lost is just a drop in the pond of your bankroll (because thats the whole point of good bankroll management). Even if its the last hand of the world series, and you just got sucked out on, well hey, i hear 2nd place takes a cash prize too.

2) expectation: play hands. play many hands. study up on the probabilities of flopping different kinds of hands. figure out probabilities of different situations on your own. familiarize yourself with these, and own them. when your expectations dont match reality, its never a problem with reality. reality is what it is, and unless youre god, you cant do anything about that. and if youre god, why are you playing poker? better yet, why are you even bothering to read about tilt, you cant have any. so go away god, we dont like your kind here.

3) reality: you remember that part where i said you cant do anything about reality? thats not totally true. you can change the realities you see at the poker table. what i mean by that is you dont need to constantly face yourself with shitty situations as a result of your poker habits. play smart, play comfortable. dont get yourself into spots where youre staring at the computer screen doe-eyed without any clue of whats going on, or what you should be doing. maybe that means that sometimes youll not be picking spots that other people think are profitable. thats fine. or better yet, when you find yourself approaching that kind of spot, step back for a moment and realize that its a speculative investment. analyze it and plumb it for its value in teaching you more about the game, rather than its short-term value.


also,you can read this as an extended metaphor and apply it to whatever you want. thats one of the great things about poker; so many of its lessons apply so well to so many other things in life.


haters? you may now hate.