Any poker player will tell you that taking a bad beat is not fun. If you take a bad beat it can knock you off your game and your play will suffer. This is known as tilt in the poker world. There have been numerous suggestions by other authors on wedoitallvegas.com and in the forums about how to handle tilt. Before that can be done however it is important to know what kind of tilt you are on.

Most poker players assume that being on tilt will make you play like a maniac. This could mean that you start shoving all-in with any two cards. A less subtle version of this extremely aggressive play is playing too loose by becoming a calling station. The end result of playing aggressively on tilt is that you get felted by playing horrible cards or you quickly bleed out the rest of your stack as you begin to play too loose. Another type of tilt however is playing too tight. If you a bad beat and it alters your style of play it does not mean you have to play aggressively. I have been guilty of this myself. After losing a hand by being outdrawn it can make me gun shy. Folding playable hands is not uncommon and playing overly caution post-flop is simply a more passive way of losing all your poker chips.

It is important to take a moment and get your mindset back so you can play the type of poker you want to. Once you know what you are doing you can make any adjustments necessary to avoid playing hyper aggressive or tightening up and folding when it may not be appropriate. However you handle tilt, it is critical you handle it as quickly as possible so that you do not let opportunities pass you by.

BodogLife.com