Stop the Madness

Youngza

You are firing on all cylinders, playing solid poker, precise, controlled, better than average stack, good table image and mixing your play up nicely, all the boxes are ticked and then it happens!
The madness, the voices, the red mist materializes from the ether, your world is turned upside down and your stack disappears!
Resulting actions bears no resemblence to previous plays, "ALL IN" beats "FOLD" in the race to your mouth and your fellow players eyes light up with glee as they witness you metamorphasize from a rock to a fish!
(This can apply to a range of situations/hands with me, I'm not fussy!)

How do I stop the madness? Is it just me?

Glowingmind

By counting to 10. (i hope)

It's been happening to me with a little too much regularity recently - thankfully at small stakes - but after 3 or 4 hours of poker all it takes is a little rush of blood to the head where all you can see is your set and not the blatant flush/straight on the board. Bye Bye money/tourney!

I've just decided to stop playing for a week or two.

handsfree

it happens to me too. if your playing cash games just stop playing and wait for the next day. in a stt or mtt. try to stick to the top hands. play these agressively. don't bluff when you have the red mist you will get called.

pokertroll

Youngza wrote:

How do I stop the madness? Is it just me?

I've been playing like that for the last month and am still trying to stop the madness.

Youngza

One method partners of people who snore use is to stitch a golf ball into the back of their pyjamas to prevent them lying on their back, I wonder could a discreet method of jolting you back to reality be employed whilst playing poker?

Norwich Fan Rob

im generally quiet tight/steady, unless that is, if i have a big stack, where i tend to be more aggresive, that is, until, a steal attempt goes wrong, or i lose a pot, then bang, 5 or 6 hands later im gone from the chip lead to the rail...........this was a major problem for me up til a short while ago, i would just lose it completely 3/4 of the way through a tourney online (i dont do it in live games, maybe its because ive more time between hands, or make more of a consious effort not to do anything daft as people are looking at me).

Well, now i have my blog, and since ive started writing about all my results, i now think to myself, hmmm, if i mess this up, and have to write it down, for all and sundry to see, i will feel daft, and i find it helps me stop doing the odd crazy self detructing move i woulda done in the past, just a moment is all you need to reasess and think twice.

Its helped me dractically, having won 3 big multis the last 8 days since i started reporting all my results in detail.

Youngza

I've enjoyed reading both your and other Board(ers) blogs, and I can see how they would help in the reviewing of your game play, it's definitely something I'm going to look at doing. Is there a blog facility through this forum?

Mmmm_Lemony

There was a documentary on yonks ago following Mike Magee at a big tournament and he was going on about avoiding tilt. He said a friend of his suggested getting a rubber band and putting it around your palm (or wrist, can't remember).

Each time you feel your about to make a big decision, and the lights/atmosphere/read is making you indecisive, give that baby a snap, to bring you to your senses.

You might look like a complete nutter, but this won't necessarily be a bad thing imo

Norwich Fan Rob

not sure if u can set one up through here, but its free and very easy to use through, blogspot, which is what i use.

Gholimoli

Youngza wrote:

You are firing on all cylinders, playing solid poker, precise, controlled, better than average stack, good table image and mixing your play up nicely, all the boxes are ticked and then it happens!
The madness, the voices, the red mist materializes from the ether, your world is turned upside down and your stack disappears!
Resulting actions bears no resemblence to previous plays, "ALL IN" beats "FOLD" in the race to your mouth and your fellow players eyes light up with glee as they witness you metamorphasize from a rock to a fish!
(This can apply to a range of situations/hands with me, I'm not fussy!)

How do I stop the madness? Is it just me?

i cant speak for others but im deffo there with you.
if only i could stop this from my game i would be ....well much better off

slegs

Glowingmind wrote:

By counting to 10. (i hope)

It's been happening to me with a little too much regularity recently - thankfully at small stakes - but after 3 or 4 hours of poker all it takes is a little rush of blood to the head where all you can see is your set and not the blatant flush/straight on the board. Bye Bye money/tourney!

I've just decided to stop playing for a week or two.

i've done exactly that this week...that is taken a break from playing poker...im on day 6...i might play tonight though!

Last week I had a really bad week of bad beats, bad luck and bad judgement so I decided I needed a break to take stock

I have found it very refreshing..I have been reading my harrington on holdem and reading back through my poker diary to see if i could learn anything from previous play..

looking forward to egt back playing with hopefully a clear head

ntlbell

I think I started a thread on this before.

Things I've tried to do.

Take a certain amount of time on every desicion, say 15-20 seconds? never change this, even if you have no intrest what's so ever.

Understand why your making a certain move.

The 15-20 seconds can be difference between an idiot all-in, a terrible call or a good fold.

stop pushing the red button

Youngza

ntlbell wrote:

Take a certain amount of time on every desicion, say 15-20 seconds? never change this, even if you have no interest what's so ever.

Discipline is definitely the key, oh I wish I had some!

Shortstack

Youngza wrote:

I've enjoyed reading both your and other Board(ers) blogs, and I can see how they would help in the reviewing of your game play, it's definitely something I'm going to look at doing. Is there a blog facility through this forum?

Antes Up do free blogs also. Just register on the forum and you automatically get a blog.

Youngza

Shortstack wrote:

Antes Up do free blogs also. Just register on the forum and you automatically get a blog.

Thanks, registering now!

DeVore

Plus I put a post on the forums about the Tilt Fairy and how I try to avoid her. I'm more and more becoming aware of phsiology being a big part of it. Oxygen starvation to the brain is behind some of this... how long have you been sitting relatively still for? Does it happen when you've been playing for a few hours (as your post seems to suggest).

DeV.

MrPillowTalk

DeVore wrote:

Plus I put a post on the forums about the Tilt Fairy and how I try to avoid her. I'm more and more becoming aware of phsiology being a big part of it. Oxygen starvation to the brain is behind some of this... how long have you been sitting relatively still for? Does it happen when you've been playing for a few hours (as your post seems to suggest).

DeV.

This is an excellent point, I wont play for more than 3 hours anymore without taking a breath of fresh air, a moment outside and you can return fresh as a daisy in cash games in particulat its vital.

jtsuited

exercise is really good for keepin the head. i never tilted when i was doing intensive fitness training, but now that i've eased back on the training i find myself easily bored, frustrated and agitated at the table.
Maybe a boards weekly tilt prevention fun run!!!!

ianmc38

I tend to do this way too regularly, get in greta position in mid-late stages of an MTT and then I just blow up and tilt my way out of the money. Really need to start doing somethin to counteract it as its costing me mucho $$$