Why Poker Players Experience Irrational Tilt

10 Irrational Things Players Hate About Poker

Patrick Leonard began the thread with his own trigger — the dealer’s count down:

Among more than 100 comments, players mentioned all sorts of strange and unexpected reasons to tilt beyond the logic, for example:

• Playing from the start of tourney and struggling and someone max late regs and runs hotter than the sun (Nicky P)
• Hand funerals of any kind with bonus tilt points if it’s a hand that won the pot! (Alex Theologis)
• When people get to showdown in PLO and verbalize “two pair” without showing their hand (Stephen Hubbard)
• When a player is tanking say on the button after I shove in early and he’s commenting on my range with two left to act (David Lappin)
• When people donk lead into me on ace high boards (Rob Gardner)
• “I know I have you beat” as they fold to a river bet (Jonathan Tamayo)
• People who pick their nose at the table (David Baker)
• When you are all in and another player or dealer announces your stack size without anyone asking (Collin Capone)
• When I first sit down at a table that’s already been playing and within seconds someone offers to break down my oversized chip (Gabriel Ramos)
• Anyone being disrespectful to staff, dealers or fellow players (Luvin Munoz)
• Seeing the same people survive multiple all-in flips (Carlos Figgy)
• People that humm (Stephen Allen)
• People who showdown one card at a time (Cory Desmond)
• When players scrolling their phone all day instead of focusing on action (Mariusz Golinski)

All things in this list are actually the same — but we let you think on why before reading further.

The Reasons Behind Irrational Tilt of Poker Players

In his book “How to Beat Players Who Never Fold”, Alex Fitzgerald wrote two things vital for understanding the reasons for irrational tilt:

1. Serious players are miserable most of the time because the real world doesn’t conform to how they believe poker should be played.
2. Normal people are not seeing reality on reality’s terms.

These wise words also apply on a larger scale. Every person has their own understanding of how the world works and how things should be done. So, when our environment doesn’t behave according to these expectations, we have an emotional response to this desynchronization, most commonly in the form of frustration, anger or disappointment.

So, when dealers or opponents do something that tilts you — their actions aren’t actually the source of your feelings. They’re your unmet expectations and your perception that something that happened was unfair or wrong.

How to Manage Irrational Tilt in Poker

According to “The Irrational and Rational Beliefs”,  people insist that life has to be a certain way based on three irrational beliefs:

1. Personal Perfection: I am adequate and deserving only when I do well and win others’ approval.
2. Social Acceptance: people must be fair and kind towards me otherwise they deserve to be punished and condemned.
3. Comfort and Fairness: I will be happy only if I get what I want from life.

So, to control irrational tilt you first need to overcome each of these beliefs at the poker table. Start with asking yourself: Do your reactions express your preferences or demands? Then accept the fact that your emotional response to the situation doesn’t help you “fix” reality. You also can’t demand from others to behave, react or play poker the way you think to be right or fair.

After coming to terms with these facts, next time going through an irrational tilt, take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and focus on your physical state at that moment. Try to pinpoint the point of tension in your body and relax slowly, focusing on your breathing.

Try to write down situations when you felt similar, compare them and try to figure out what’s causing your tension and dissatisfaction.

For example, returning to the pads, you can ask yourself: Do dealers counting down the remaining deck whilst people are thinking really bother me or my reaction has nothing to do with the action itself?