Discipline: Part III – Tilt Avoidance

In the last two columns I began my discussion of discipline with a discussion of tilt. My definition of tilt is making inferior plays to those someone of your technical skill level should make because of some circumstances that shouldn’t affect your decision-making. There is one more observation I want to make before I leave the topic of tilt. There is a technique, which I and several of my students have found useful for practicing tilt avoidance.

Once you have found several methods of calming yourself after an event that might induce tilt, use a technique called future pacing. Perhaps you have decided that when something upsets you, you will take five deep breaths, remind yourself that short term fluctuations are random noise, and repeat the an appropriate aphorism. Here are some that I’ve used, but it is best if you develop your own or adapt them for yourself.

• “If my opponents never got lucky, they’d quit and I’d have to find a new profession.” (After an unlucky hand.)

• “Everyone makes mistakes, even me, but I learn from my mistakes and improve, while my opponents don’t.” (After making an error.)

• “It is important for me to remember that money I don’t lose by making bad plays, is just as important as money I win by making good plays.” (When I feel tempted to play a hand I shouldn’t play because I’ve just lost to an opponent who played a hand he shouldn’t have played.)

You should work out your methods of preventing tilt at home. There are a lot of other things to focus on while you’re at the table. Try to establish a routine that you will follow whenever a situation that might have previously caused you to Tilt occurs. Now you are ready to practice future pacing.

Future Pacing:

1. Imagine a situation that might have put you on tilt. (You raise with aces, flop quads, and lose to a moron playing 5-4 suited, who makes a straight flush.)

2. Try and make this situation as real as you possibly can. Imagine where you are (what casino, what seat,) who the villain is, who the dealer is, who else is in the game, what time of day is it, what stake game is it, and so forth. Are there any background sounds, noises, or smells?

3. Step fully into this situation, and see if you can follow your ritual. Make sure you perform your routine: Five deep breaths, short term results are random noise, and a appropriate aphorism.

4. Could you do it? Did you mentally respond the way you would like to respond in reality?

5. If not, try to practice your ritual some more. Perhaps you need to modify it in some way. Add in taking a sip of water or iced tea. If so, great. You are on the road to tilt avoidance.

6. Then go back to Step 1 and pick another aggravating situation.

Here are some more situations to use to future pace yourself. Test your behavior in these imaginary situations:

• An annoying opponent bluffs you in a big pot. After you finally fold, he shows the bluff and gloats. Remember to be as specific as possible when you imagine the situation.

• You arrive at a showdown versus an inexperienced player who has had several drinks. The board is A K Q 10 4. He announces kings. You say, “aces up,” and show A Q. He curses, and turns up K J. The dealer is about to push you the pot, when one of your rivals shouts, “He has a straight.” Everyone looks and sure enough your opponent overlooked his straight, but since he showed his cards on the table, he is entitled to the pot.

I’m sure you can think up many more situations that could easily cause tilt. Just remember to imagine them in extremely complete detail. Make your mental image as real as possible. If you are interested in learning more about future pacing, just put it into your search engine. It is one of the techniques neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) uses to test if a change or intervention has been successful.

In the next column, I’ll move on to other aspects of discipline. All this writing about tilt is starting to put me on tilt. ♠

Steve ‘Zee’ Zolotow, aka The Bald Eagle, is a successful gamesplayer. He has been a full-time gambler for over 35 years. With two WSOP bracelets and few million in tournament cashes, he is easing into retirement. He currently devotes most of his time to poker. He can be found at some major tournaments and playing in cash games in Vegas. When escaping from poker, he hangs out in his bars on Avenue A in New York City -The Library near Houston and Doc Holliday’s on 9th St. are his favorites.