Stages of Tilt
Stages of Tilt
I think that one topic many players could benefit from achieving a deeper understanding of, is tilt. Everyone can define it with a skin-deep type of definition: It basically amounts to the invasion of emotions in the logical and analytical approach of poker. But what people don’t seem to realize is that tilt has many different forms, and how it manifests can be player dependent. Personally, I believe the type of tilt we experience is a reflection of our developmental level as a player. I have identified a few types of tilt I think can be better defined and explained.
-Monkey tilt- This is not my term or concept, but basically monkey tilt is pure, unadulterated stupidity induced by coolers/bad luck etc, usually tied closely in with anger. For instance, shoving AA for 100BB’s because the other players at the table MIGHT think you are being stupid and call. Or calling with bottom pair on a 789 monochrome flop when a 10/5 shoves over your cbet because he *could* have a draw. Monkey tilt can destroy your entire bankroll in a very short span of time.
-Invasive tilt- This is the more common type of tilt. We have a bad run and everything about our life and game is affected. We start to doubt our play, we start to make dumb calls, and then when we walk away from the tables, the rest of our life suffers. We may be angry, short, depressed, unmotivated. Invasive tilt is, in my opinion, worse than monkey tilt, because you stand to lose things more valuable than money, friends, opportunities, etc. Invasive tilt lets down all those around you.
-Localized tilt- This is where I am on the scale, and I expect medium-level experienced players that aren’t yet where they need to be psychologically. I define localized tilt as the restriction of tilt to poker itself, basically a general unhappiness concerning your game, causing you to play atypically and poorly, being upset at the tables etc., but when you walk away from the tables you leave that unhappiness at the game. In other words, you keep your tilt in perspective. While this is a positive step, everyone should realize it is still tilt, and a poor reflection of your ability to play poker. Poker should be played from a 3rd person perspective, the decisions you make should be detached, analytical and unemotional. The immediate return/loss of every decision should be ignored, and compared to a broader view of the game.
These are my larger, more encompassing views of tilt, I also believe there are specific types of “play” tilt, that reflect tendencies we develop when things are going poorly.
-Weak-tight tilt, generally comes from running into big hands a couple of times in a row, leads to taking too few risks, and being results-oriented.
-Calling-station tilt, underplay draws/ good hands or overplay top pair hands vs. tight opponents.
-Love tilt, basically being in love with great hands on bad boards, KK on a 4567A board would be the extreme example. Can’t fold when it’s obvious you are beat, or shoving out of frustration to resistence.
-Pre-flop deviation tilt, playing a style atypical to your comfort level due to recent stresses, generally equate to an enlargement of the spread between vpip and pfr, meaning you enter more pots without intiative, and put yourself at an inherent disadvantage post flop.
I know there are more types of tilt that could be added to the list, but I think it would benefit you to read through this and identify which of these apply to you, and how you can change them.
My tilt types: localized tilt, with pre-flop deviation and calling station specifics. I think the best way I can change this is to record my sessions, have a friend watch me, or pretend I am being watched, and force myself to define each action I take. Over time this should help me develop into more of a logical and detached player.
Last edited by ascension1223 : 10-12-2008 at 03:33 PM.
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