 The funny thing is...
Everyone talks about tilt, going on tilt, how to prevent going on tilt, but I've found that many players don't believe that they ever actually go on tilt. Yet it happens, I believe to all but the coolest of players (sometimes). When it does, pounce.
For me, I find bad beats can do it, but I actually find more often that I feel the urge to tilt as a result of my own mistakes - perceived or real. That's when I get that aggressive urge that I recognize as tilt. I'm usually good about calming down, sitting out, shutting down, or doing what I need to do to prevent making stupid decisions, but not always.
The funny thing is when it happens in a tournament. If the blinds are high, you can't really just sit out, so you're captive to the table! That's when you need to repeat your mantra (try, "bad beats happen, bad beats happen, bad beats happen..."), maybe force yourself to fold all but the top ten hands for a few minutes, whatever.
The funnier thing happens someone loses a big, bad beat and then gets great cards. You almost get a license to go all in because no one will give credit to your hand. It's sort of karmic that you can build your stack back up that way (if you had any chips left!).  |