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When Opponents Go On Tilt

by Ed Miller |  Published: May 16, 2012

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Ed MillerLive no-limit hold’em is tilting. If you see a game that has been going for a few hours where no one has come or gone, at least nine out of the ten players in the game are likely to be on tilt.

Everyone’s on tilt? Really?

Almost any outcome at a poker table will put people on tilt. Obviously players who have lost a lot tend to tilt. Players who have won a lot also tend to feel invincible and make silly plays – another form of tilt. Even players who have neither won nor lost much in a few hours are usually on tilt. They’re frustrated from the lack of action or from the feeling that they can’t make any progress.

A lot of the tilt at any given table is minor. This guy is a little jumpy, that guy is playing just a few too many hands. It’s hard to pick up on this sort of tilt.

But after a game has been going for a while, almost always at least one player will be on full-blown tilt, just itching to dump a whole stack. What are the signals that someone is primed to blow, and how do you take advantage of these players?

The Signs

The first sign I look for is players grumbling about how other people are playing. This is a sure indicator that a person is on tilt. Whenever you beat players in a hand and they complain about how you played it, you’re officially in their head.

Another sign is when players begin to refuse to fold preflop. They’ll start calling every time they get reraised. And they may even start calling some ridiculously-sized preflop raises. (Recently, for instance, I saw an on-tilt player call a $75 open in a $2-$5 game where the typical opening raise in this game was $20.)

They’ll also show it through body language. They’ll slump in their chairs. They’ll splash chips around violently. They’ll wear their frustration on their sleeves.

The Adjustments

Ok, someone at your table is clearly on tilt. What can you expect from this player?
As I said before, they’ll start playing looser preflop. More importantly, they’ll begin to try to force the action post-flop. When they flop a good, but not necessarily a nut, hand, they’ll be quick to shovel money into the pot in an attempt to force everyone to fold, to double up, or to go broke.

They’ll also tend to bluff-raise much more frequently. This is another attempt to try to force the action. You can particularly expect tilted opponents to try to bluff you if they are on tilt in part because of a hand you played them. If you helped to put them on tilt, they’ll be looking for a way to outplay you in the future.

So how do you take advantage of this?

The first change I make to my play against someone on tilt is I bet more thinly to induce bluff-raises. When someone is bluff-raising with a near-correct frequency, it punishes thin betting. But when someone is on tilt and liable to be in way too many pots with weak hands, and also liable to bluff-raise at silly times, you can bet thinly to take advantage.

Here’s an example hand I observed recently.

It’s a $2-$5 game in Las Vegas. An obviously frustrated player is in the big blind with about $800. A relatively good (for this level) player is on the button and covers.
The player on the button opens to $15, and the big blind predictably calls.

The flop is 8Spade Suit 5Spade Suit 4Spade Suit. The big blind checks, the button bets $20, and the big blind calls. There’s $72 in the pot.

The turn is the 7Diamond Suit. The big blind checks, the button bets $45, and the big blind hesitates and calls again. Now there’s $162 in the pot.

The river is the 7Heart Suit, making the final board 8Spade Suit 5Spade Suit 4Spade Suit 7Diamond Suit 7Heart Suit. The big blind checks, and the button bets $65. The big blind hesitates again and then makes it $200 straight. The button calls quickly. The big blind says despondently, “You’re good,” and the button tables QSpade Suit 8Club Suit.

From the button’s perspective, these post-flop bets are thin. But the big blind can have literally any two cards when he sees the flop. He’d likely fold a dangerous flop like this one with a complete airball, but he’ll be continuing with many, many hands (including essentially all pair plus spade hands). Again, it’s because he’s on tilt. With top pair and a good spade, the button has enough hand to try to invite a bluff.
The relatively small bets the button made are important. Small bets are more likely to induce bluffs than large bets. So when you’re betting thinly to possibly induce a bluff, you definitely want to shade your bets small.

You can also expect a player on tilt to call you down lighter than normal. In Las Vegas games, it can be difficult at times to get someone to call you down with a worse hand for significant money on a board like K-7-3 rainbow when you have A-K. When I expect to have difficulty getting paid, I will sometimes check a street or make smaller bets.
But against an on-tilt opponent, I’m firing away at a board like this one. Pot-sized bets all the way. Your opponent will often not give you credit for the king and may call down with a weak kicker or even a pair smaller than kings.

I love making uncommonly large bets for value against a player I know is on tilt. These players are often in just the right mindset to convince themselves that I’m betting big because I’m bluffing.

Final Thoughts

Everyone tilts. If it weren’t true, it would be much harder to make money at this game.
Learning how to spot tilting players and how to anticipate their bad decisions will help you tremendously. Tilting players often start playing lots of pots, and they also often wear their frustration on their sleeves.

Once you spot someone on tilt, either try to induce a bluff-raise with small bets or fire huge bets at them that they can misinterpret as bluffs. I like to bet small to induce a bluff on boards where I think my opponent may be drawing. When tilted players miss their draws, often they can’t resist the allure of a last-ditch shot at winning the pot.

On the other hand, I like to make huge value bets on relatively dry boards where my opponent will think I either have it or I don’t. Clear-thinking players will usually give you credit for the hand you’re representing, but I find that tilted players often call me down in ridiculous spots for big, big money.

Tilt is part of the game. If you can learn how to use it to your advantage, you will reap the rewards. ♠

Ed’s brand new book, Playing The Player: Moving Beyond ABC Poker To Dominate Your Opponents, will be available for purchase starting May 22 at notedpokerauthority.com. Find Ed on Facebook at facebook.com/edmillerauthor and on Twitter @EdMillerPoker.