Preventing Tilt

I had a terrific time in Cabo San Lucas with my three best friends, Cathleen, Jackie and Tiffany, plus their families.

It was a great, relaxing time for me, lounging by the pool, horseback riding on the beach, falling asleep at the spa. I'm so glad I snuck away last weekend, even though the game at the Commerce was so good.

I received a ton of feedback from my last post, so I wanted to share a bit more about my views on tilting and how I work to avoid it. Here are some characteristics of tilting:

• Playing with too much emotion
• Making improper decisions
• Giving off too many tells and too much information
• Not reading players well but letting your emotions cloud your senses
• Becoming too focused on results, especially thinking about how all your money and chips are sitting in front of everyone else

I rarely tilt any more - on occasion tilting for one or two hands at most. If I ever do feel like I'm losing control, I always get out of my seat and take a walk

Rarely tilts any more.

During my last session at Commerce where I was down, I felt like I was on tilt for maybe two hands after a tough pot. I started to realize what was happening, and I took a 20-minute break, just walking around and getting back to where I needed to be.

Tilting online is more dangerous. One of the worst aspects of online play is that, for many people, their entire bankroll is at risk when they are tilting.

Most people don't get up and take a break online. If they lose a couple big pots, they suddenly jump up in stakes to try and make it all back. A bad break or dumb decision later, and you're busto.

It is much more difficult to do that live. It takes longer to change tables, and most people don't carry their entire bankroll around with them. But it definitely happens.

Cash games gave my game discipline, and tournaments have helped me with patience. You need both of those skills when you are struggling at the table.

You also have to be smart about your bankroll. If I played in the $2k/$4k game at the Bellagio, I would get brutalized.

Do I have the skills to sit there? Possibly, but you can't play poker if you're concerned about the stakes you're playing at. Sometimes in a cash game, it's about bullying people around.

Your mind has to be sharp, and the stakes can let bad thoughts into your mind that affect your play. When you start looking at the board and searching for cards that will beat you, you've stopped playing poker and started playing roulette.

All about getting away this weekend.

It's happened to me. I'm running bad, then I start getting aggro to protect my hand, only to find boards that are four to a straight or flush draws that pay and get there. When I detect that I'm thinking more about what can go wrong than about playing my best, that's when I get up.

And for me this weekend, getting up was getting away, all the way to Mexico.

I see so many players who struggle with how they manage the tough times at the table. I don't know if I have the right answers.

Some of the top cash-game players won't get up until they are unstuck, even if they sit there for 40 hours plus at a time. I definitely will stay in a game if I'm down and the game is good. If I'm struggling, I'll get up and get away.

Thanks again for your support here at PokerListings. I'm in Vegas now, and I'll give you a recap of how the games are going at the Bellagio. It's so good to be back home again!

Cheers!

-- Liz Lieu - Poker Diva
www.LizLieu.net
www.iPokerCal.com

More Blogs from Liz Lieu:

• What Credit Crunch?
• Hot and Heavy at the Commerce
• Back From Macau and Itching to Play
• Sleepless in Macau