Tilt

Tilt is when frustration, anger or overconfidence starts making your poker decisions for you. A player who is on tilt plays worse than usual, often without noticing.

The word comes from pinball: shake a pinball machine too hard and it shows “TILT” and stops working.

Types of tilt

• Bad beat tilt: losing a big pot as the favourite, then playing badly afterwards.
• Losing tilt: chasing losses after a downswing, often by playing higher stakes or too many hands.
• Winning tilt: feeling unbeatable after a good run and playing too loose.
• Revenge tilt: going after one player who beat you or annoyed you.
• Entitlement tilt: feeling you deserve to win because you’re the better player.

Signs you’re tilting

• You’re playing faster and calling “just to see”.
• You play hands you’d normally fold, or bluff where it can’t work.
• You move up in stakes to win your losses back.
• You keep replaying a hand that’s already over.

How to manage tilt

1. Set a stop-loss. Decide before the session how many buy-ins you’ll lose before quitting, and stick to it.
2. Take breaks. Walk away for five minutes after a big pot.
3. Expect variance. Good players lose often in the short run. The variance calculator shows how big normal swings are.
4. Review later. Write the hand down and look at it after the session, not in the middle of it.
5. Quit when your focus is gone. No session is worth chasing.

Full lesson: tilt control. Related: bankroll management.