Tilt (poker)
Encyclopedia
Tilt is a poker
term for a state of mental or emotional confusion or frustration
in which a player adopts a less than optimal strategy
, usually resulting in the player becoming over-aggressive
. This term is closely associated with steam and some consider the terms equivalent, but 'steam' typically carries more anger and intensity.
Placing an opponent on tilt or dealing with being on tilt oneself is an important aspect of poker. It is a relatively frequent occurrence due to frustration, animosity against other players, or simply bad luck. Experienced players recommend learning to recognize that one is experiencing tilt and avoid allowing it to influence one’s play.
The most likely origin of the word "tilt" is as a reference to tilting a pinball
machine. The frustration from seeing the ball follow a path towards the gap between the flippers can lead to the player physically tilting the machine (in an attempt to guide the ball towards the flippers). However, in doing so, some games will flash the word "TILT" and freeze the flippers, causing the ball to be lost for certain. The metaphor here being over-aggression due to frustration leads to severely detrimental gameplay.
, or being defeated in a particularly public and humiliating fashion.
For example:
These can upset the mental equilibrium essential for optimal poker judgment. Another common way to tilt is from bad behavior of the others at the poker table. Excessive rude
ness (or lewdness), being heavily intoxicated
at the table, and poor table etiquette are ways that players can wear on nerves.
Though not as commonly acknowledged or discussed, it is also quite possible to go on "winner's tilt" as a result of a positive trigger: such as winning a hand unexpectedly, being awarded a large pot, or making the money in a tournament. Strong positive emotions can be just as dizzying and detrimental to one's play as negative ones. "Winner's tilt" can be just as dangerous as the more traditional form.
and especially, Lou Krieger). Many advanced players (after logging thousands of table-hours) claim to have outgrown “tilt” and frustration, although other poker professionals admit it is still a “leak” in their game.
One commonly suggested way to fight tilt is to disregard the outcomes of pots, particularly those that are statistically uncommon. So-called “bad beats,” when one puts a lot of chips in the pot with the best hand and still loses, deserve little thought; they are the product of variance, not bad strategy. This mindset calls for the player to understand poker is a game of decisions and correct play in making the right bets over a long period of time.
Another method for avoiding tilt is to try lowering one’s variance, even if that means winning fewer chips overall. Therefore, one may play passively and fold marginal hands, even though that may mean folding the winning hand. This may also imply that one plays tightly— and looks for advantageous situations.
Once tilt begins, players are well-advised to leave the table and return when emotions have subsided. When away from the table, players are advised to take time to refresh themselves, eat and drink (non-alcoholic) if necessary, and take a break outside in the fresh air.
If none of these work in lessening tilt, players are advised to leave the game and not return to playing until they have shaken off the results that led to the tilt.
The intent of the advice is to prevent the upset person from letting negative emotions lead to bigger losses that can seriously hurt one’s bankroll.
Tilt has to be taken seriously and one must realize immediately when being on tilt. Taking a break from poker is the best option: tilt has already ended many poker careers. Some players can win 6 times a week but on the 7th day they lose more than what they won in the previous 6 days. The progression in poker for these kind of players will be hindered because their anger controls them and they are not able to play their best poker all the time. One way to avoid this is to pay close attention to your playing statistics because you might start playing more aggressively and more hands than you did before.
.
Common methods of putting a table on tilt include:
These antics can upset the other players at the table with the intention of getting them to play poorly.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
term for a state of mental or emotional confusion or frustration
Frustration
This article concerns the field of psychology. The term frustration does, however, also concern physics. In this context, the term is treated in a different article, geometric frustration....
in which a player adopts a less than optimal strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
, usually resulting in the player becoming over-aggressive
Aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
. This term is closely associated with steam and some consider the terms equivalent, but 'steam' typically carries more anger and intensity.
Placing an opponent on tilt or dealing with being on tilt oneself is an important aspect of poker. It is a relatively frequent occurrence due to frustration, animosity against other players, or simply bad luck. Experienced players recommend learning to recognize that one is experiencing tilt and avoid allowing it to influence one’s play.
The most likely origin of the word "tilt" is as a reference to tilting a pinball
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
machine. The frustration from seeing the ball follow a path towards the gap between the flippers can lead to the player physically tilting the machine (in an attempt to guide the ball towards the flippers). However, in doing so, some games will flash the word "TILT" and freeze the flippers, causing the ball to be lost for certain. The metaphor here being over-aggression due to frustration leads to severely detrimental gameplay.
Being “on tilt”
The most common way to "tilt" is losing, often a recent victim of a bad beatBad beat
In poker, bad beat is a subjective term for a hand in which a player with what appear to be strong cards nevertheless loses. It most often occurs where one player bets the clearly stronger hand and their opponent makes a poor call that eventually "hits" and wins...
, or being defeated in a particularly public and humiliating fashion.
For example:
- FoldingFoldingFold or folding may refer to:* Paper folding, the art of folding paper* Book folding, in book production* Skin fold, an area of skin that folds* Fold , in the game of poker, to discard one's hand and forfeit interest in the current pot...
to a large bet only to have your opponent turn over a poor hand (being shown a bluffBluff (poker)In the card game of poker, a bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its...
). - Being bluffBluff (poker)In the card game of poker, a bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its...
ed by a small bet (a post oak bluffPost oak bluffIn no-limit or pot-limit poker, a post oak bluff is a very small bet relative to the size of the already-existing pot. This type of bluff may be employed as an attempt at using reverse psychology to steal the pot. It holds comparatively little risk for the player making the bet...
). - Having an opponent “suck out,” or catch a miracle card late in the hand (an unlikely out-drawOut (poker)In a poker game with more than one betting round, an out is any unseen card that, if drawn, will improve a player's hand to one that is likely to win. Knowing the number of outs a player has is an important part of poker strategy. For example in draw poker, a hand with four diamonds has nine outs...
). - Having what you think is a dominating handDomination (poker)Poker hand A is said to dominate poker hand B if poker hand B has three or fewer outs that would improve it enough to win. Informally, domination is sometimes used to refer to any situation where one hand is highly likely to beat another...
bested by an unexpected more powerful hand. - Standing up to an overly aggressive player who plays nearly every pot but encountering a big hand.
- Having an all-in showdown with a strongly superior hand pre-flop and losing.
- In online Poker, putting a lot of money into the pot with the likely best hand, and being forced to fold the hand due to internet connection failure or software crash.
- Making a bad play and realizing it afterward
- Misclicking in online poker and losing a big pot as a result (like clicking call instead of fold to an all-in)
These can upset the mental equilibrium essential for optimal poker judgment. Another common way to tilt is from bad behavior of the others at the poker table. Excessive rude
Rude
Rude has many meanings:Behavior*Rudeness, disrespect for and failure to behave within the context of a society or a group of people's social laws or etiquettePeople*François Rude , a French sculptor...
ness (or lewdness), being heavily intoxicated
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
at the table, and poor table etiquette are ways that players can wear on nerves.
Though not as commonly acknowledged or discussed, it is also quite possible to go on "winner's tilt" as a result of a positive trigger: such as winning a hand unexpectedly, being awarded a large pot, or making the money in a tournament. Strong positive emotions can be just as dizzying and detrimental to one's play as negative ones. "Winner's tilt" can be just as dangerous as the more traditional form.
Advice when tilted
For the beginning player, the elimination or minimization of tilt is considered an essential improvement that can be made in play (for instance in the strategic advice of Mike CaroMike Caro
Mike A. Caro is a professional poker player, pioneer poker theorist, author of poker books, and casino executive.-Author:...
and especially, Lou Krieger). Many advanced players (after logging thousands of table-hours) claim to have outgrown “tilt” and frustration, although other poker professionals admit it is still a “leak” in their game.
One commonly suggested way to fight tilt is to disregard the outcomes of pots, particularly those that are statistically uncommon. So-called “bad beats,” when one puts a lot of chips in the pot with the best hand and still loses, deserve little thought; they are the product of variance, not bad strategy. This mindset calls for the player to understand poker is a game of decisions and correct play in making the right bets over a long period of time.
Another method for avoiding tilt is to try lowering one’s variance, even if that means winning fewer chips overall. Therefore, one may play passively and fold marginal hands, even though that may mean folding the winning hand. This may also imply that one plays tightly— and looks for advantageous situations.
Once tilt begins, players are well-advised to leave the table and return when emotions have subsided. When away from the table, players are advised to take time to refresh themselves, eat and drink (non-alcoholic) if necessary, and take a break outside in the fresh air.
If none of these work in lessening tilt, players are advised to leave the game and not return to playing until they have shaken off the results that led to the tilt.
The intent of the advice is to prevent the upset person from letting negative emotions lead to bigger losses that can seriously hurt one’s bankroll.
Tilt has to be taken seriously and one must realize immediately when being on tilt. Taking a break from poker is the best option: tilt has already ended many poker careers. Some players can win 6 times a week but on the 7th day they lose more than what they won in the previous 6 days. The progression in poker for these kind of players will be hindered because their anger controls them and they are not able to play their best poker all the time. One way to avoid this is to pay close attention to your playing statistics because you might start playing more aggressively and more hands than you did before.
Tilting others
The act of putting an opponent on tilt may not pay off in the short run, but if some time is put into practicing it, a player can quickly become an expert at “tilting” other players (with or without using bad manners). In theory, the long-run payoff of this tactic is a monetarily positive expectationGame theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
.
Common methods of putting a table on tilt include:
- Playing junk hands that have a lower chance of winning in the hope of either sucking out and delivering a bad beat (which can be an enjoyable occasional style which will make the table’s play “looser”) or bluffing the opponent off a better hand (with the option of showing the bluff for maximum tilting effect).
- VictimisingVictimisationVictimisation is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. Research that studies the process, rates, incidence, and prevalence of victimization falls under the body of victimology.-Peer victimisation:...
individuals at the table, (which is often considered a more old-fashioned tactic, identified with 1970s “verbal” experts such as Amarillo SlimAmarillo SlimThomas Austin Preston, Jr. , known as Amarillo Slim, is an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets...
.) - Pretending intoxication, i.e. hustlingHustlingHustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
, excellently demonstrated by Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
against Robert ShawRobert Shaw (actor)Robert Archibald Shaw was an English actor and novelist, remembered for his performances in The Sting , From Russia with Love , A Man for All Seasons , the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three , Black Sunday , The Deep and Jaws , where he played the shark hunter Quint.-Early life...
in The StingThe StingThe Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
(although his technique included cheatingCheating in pokerCheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.-Types of cheating:Cheating can be done many ways, including collusion, sleight-of-hand , or the use of physical objects such as marked cards or holdout devices.Cheating occurs in...
). - Constant chattering, making weird noises and motions whenever you win a hand, or other erratic behavior is a “tilting” or “loosening” approach first discussed by Mike CaroMike CaroMike A. Caro is a professional poker player, pioneer poker theorist, author of poker books, and casino executive.-Author:...
. - Taking an inordinate or otherwise inappropriate amount of time to announce and show your hand (also called "slow-rolling") at the showdownShowdown (poker)In poker, the showdown is a situation when, if more than one player remains after the last betting round, remaining players expose and compare their hands to determine the winner or winners....
. (Such deliberate breaches of etiquette have the side effect of slowing play and risking barring, thereby limiting the earnings of the expert player. For this, and other socialSocialThe term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
reasons, such tactics are mostly associated with novices.)
These antics can upset the other players at the table with the intention of getting them to play poorly.