Each and every thing has a dark side and so does Texas Holdem Poker. Quite everybody, even skilled poker pros can go on tilt. Going on tilt means letting your emotions badly impact your ability to play. Although every Texas Holdem player has experienced this disrupting state at least once during his career, it is essential to limit these episodes in order to become a winning Holdem pro. Texas Holdem is a game, which requires a solid reason for each decision you make during the game. For example, if you get dealt Q and J of spades and the board is A, Q and 10 of hearts with a lot of betting action around the table – you must fold. However, if you were on tilt, you would let your emotions dictate quite foolish decisions. Being on tilt can make you do whatever it takes to stay in the pot: wasting your chips to call your opponents, hoping to draw a King and hoping that none of your opponents had a flush.

Such behavior along with rising frustration and loss of concentration will quickly exhaust even an impressively large bankroll. Texas Holdem Poker is rather dangerous in the way it triggers people’s emotions, but generously rewards players, whose nerves are made of steel. Well, this may sound too scary and you may have already imagined that all winning Holdem players are made of rock. I wasn’t trying to scare you; I just want to stress the importance of staying focused and disciplined while in the poker room.

In fact, most people tilt due to a long-drawn bad run, or if they just can’t seem to win a hand. On the other hand, many players have a slight tilt after winning a couple of big hands, but these occasions are way rarer than tilts caused by losing.

Let’s take a look at this pitiful example I had, when playing No-Limit Texas Holdem a few days ago:

I had A of clubs and Q of hearts and the board was A of diamonds, Q of spades and 2 of clubs. I bet after the flop and was called. 10 of hearts came on the turn. I bet and my opponent called. 7 of hearts came at the river. I bet and my opponent raised. Then I decided to just call, thinking that my opponent had K and J. It appeared that he had a pair of 7. This fool had called me all the time with little hope, but beat me on an incredibly lucky river catch. Needless to say I got frustrated and wasn’t playing well the next dozen of hands.

As you can see, going on tilt is quite natural. Moreover, I would hardly believe that there is a Texas Holdem player, who had never been on tilt, especially when a huge pot is stolen from under his nose. However, you need to learn how to limit these occasions. Sitting out for a couple of hands and taking a walk works best for me. Try this, or choose another way to relax and restore your concentration before getting back to the game.

You can also try my own method of handling a bad beat – try to remember all the bad beats you had and compare frequency of pitiful occasions and mistakes you had a month ago to what you have today. If you are a good, developing Texas Holdem player, then you will definitely notice certain progress and understand that you are doing much better than you did just a month ago.

Another good way to avoid tilt is listening to music. Some enjoyable song will help you resist all the negative emotions and thoughts caused by a bad beat. Music is just an example. Each person has his own ideas of creating a friendly, positive and relaxing atmosphere. Stay calm and fully relaxed – don’t curse your computer, don’t toss your mouse or anything else from your desk. Playing Texas Holdem is your choice and you knew that this game is bent with certain risk. You know that you’ll get lucky again, so why dramatize this insignificant misfortune?

Don’t let your emotions drive you mad. Let each mistake or bad beat teach you and you will learn to benefit even from negative occasions.