WDIAV Pnline Poker FreerollSome of the most recognizable and famous poker players are notorious for their tilt related rants or trash talk. Once the ego kicks in it is hard for players to believe they played a hand poorly and from their point of view what happened is some donkey outdrew them. Phil Hellmuth of UltimateBet and Mike Matusow of Full Tilt Poker have legions of fans. Of course it does not hurt that they are both well respected players and hold 14 World Series of Poker bracelets between them. Aside from the fact these two men respect each other and are great friends off the felt, they are both well known for going on tilt. On any given episode of High Stakes Poker or Poker After Dark you may have seen either one of these players losing and bemoaning their bad luck. The blow ups were always entertaining, even when rude or inappropriate. Unfortunately the days of crazy tilt may be coming to an end from both players.

Hellmuth has written in his blog about his brushes with fame and fortunate. Dropping names like the world is coming to an end, Phil makes sure to let us all know just how popular he is. When he is not sipping on the finest champagnes or scoring V.I.P tickets, he provides brief summaries of his tournament results and hand histories. While the World Series of Poker thus far has not been the most successful for him, he has made it clear that even though the universe may be against him his family brings him luck. He has taken a positive attitude. Over the last few years he has worked hard to improve his table manners and tries to be positive. After a bad beat and sufficient whining, he has taken pains to remind us and perhaps himself that there are always more hands to be played.

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow has also undergone a radical attitude adjustment. Some players call him the unluckiest player on the planet and he used to play under this cloud of negativity. Over the last year he has changed his perception on life and poker. This does not mean he will not blow up in the future, but it sounds like he has a healthier outlook on everything. Before playing a cash or tournament both live and online, he has started to believe good things will happen to him. Gone are the days of being incredibly negative.

Maybe both players have really turned the corner and stopped blaming everyone for their loss. Positive thinking can be powerful for a psyche, but ultimately positive thinking does not influence the cards dealt. The only thing that changes is how you handle bad beats. In a sense positive thinking is nothing more than an attempt at tilt control. Remaining positive probably makes them more pleasant to be around and the benefit to them is a realization that there is only so much they can control. Just remember, positive thinking will not win you money or chips, it is just another component of playing winning poker.