After A Bad Beat Avoid Going Tilt

Imagine looking down before the flop and finding two aces in your hand. There are multiple raises and reraises before you even get to act on your hand. As you slowly glance around the table you notice three other players remain in the game after the flop, and you feel confident given that you have the single best pre-flop hand.

There is what appears to be a harmless set of community cards - Jack of Hearts, Two of Diamonds,Three of Spades heading into the flop. Everyone folds after the player before you moves all in. You call ... your opponent has a Jack, Queen of Spades. That gives you top pair. Now the turn and river brings two more spades. No improvement on your pair of aces and you loose to a flush. You immediately know the feeling.

The term itself comes from a pinball machine where aggressive players physically lift the machine after a difficult play. Famous in the 1980s, the term carries over to overly angry poker players today who let their emotions get the best of them. Tilt can impact your play, and inducing tilt in other players can be an effective strategy to keep one step ahead of your opponents.

If you have faced situations like the bad beat described above, its important that you remain grounded and avoid the temptation to overbet on subsequent rounds. Bad luck will always be a part of poker play, but in the face of that adversity its important to keep emotions under control and not make bad bets based on impulsive play. After loosing a bad luck hand, take a deep breath and continue to play, secure in knowing you made the best decision. In the long run, smart judgment will place the majority of wins in your column, keeping you play on the curve.

Best Practices to Prevent Tilt Betting

For beginning players, going on tilt is a normal part of the learning curve. Play within your limits when you are at this basic level. That means only play at a table where you can comfortably afford to lose your whole stack. Starting at a low buy table not only lowers your chances of going tilt terribly in the end, but also increases your ability to recover from a bad beat.

Successful players based their poker games upon likely outcomes - they play "positive EV" strategies which put them in the best possible position to win. Even if a given pot results in a loss, making the right bet will help turn around your luck eventually. While you might have a good or bad night, a long term mathematical strategy is the best opportunity for success.

Remember the frequency of bad beats, especially in multi way pots where your chances of losing are greater. Although you may have the best hand at that point, the odds are you could still lose to a drawing hand like a straight or flush based on the board. Keeping your maximum bets low and carefully studying each bet can decrease your variance over the long haul.

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