Poker Psychology: Tilt Pt 2 - How to cope with tilt

How to cope with tilt

Many experts have shared their advice on how to overcome tilt, in this section I will review the suggestions made by some reputable experts and evaluate the empirical evidence behind their suggestions. The first book that I would like to discuss isPositive Pokerby Dr Patricia Cardner and Johnathan Little (2013). Dr Cardner is a poker player, licensed psychotherapist and a former professor in psychology. Her book integrates psychological theory and research into many different aspects of poker in an accessible manner and I would definitely recommend this book to any players who are interested in the psychological aspects of playing poker.

For dealing with tilt, Dr Cardner (2013) recommends using techniques associated with Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), which is a type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The idea behind REBT and other CBTs in general is that it is not really events that affect people but rather thoughts about those events that affect people’s emotions and behaviour (Ellis & MacLaren, 1998; Beck, 1995).

When approaching tilt from a REBT/CBT perspective, tilting is a problematic behaviour caused by illogical ‘faulty thinking’ about triggering events like bad beats which evokes emotions such as anger or frustration. CBT therapists will challenge clients on this ‘faulty thinking’ through Socratic dialogue and encourage them to reform their thinking patterns to become more adaptive and not evoke the same negative emotions in the future. There is much research supporting the efficacy of CBTs and it is a modality that has gained widespread popularity in psychotherapy, so it seems a sound basis for models for coping with tilt (Hofmann et al., 2012).

Influenced by elements of CBT, Dr Cardner (2013) recommended using a tilt-log to self-monitor tilting. Every time players experienced a tilt-triggering event, they would record their emotions and rate the intensity from 0-100 as well as make note of what happened, any underlying thoughts and any relevant detail on the tilt-log. Players can then better understand their tilt-triggers and identify ‘faulty thinking’ by themselves.

If you are not sure what constitutes faulty thinking, they usually involve strong words like ‘should’, ‘have to’ or ‘must’. After recording their experiences on the log, players then go over their logs to reflect if their thoughts and emotions are backed up by reality or if they are illogical. If the thoughts are illogical and negative, players can try to think about the event in a different, healthier way. One method Dr Cardner recommends to help with this is by imagining what you would tell a friend in the same situation. This method seems to draw from psychological research in self-compassion (Barnard & Curry, 2011).

Dr Cardner (2013) also suggested a one-minute reality check which players can use in game right when they feel they are tilting. This reality check should be carried out when your mind is clear and involves the following questions and steps:

1) What am I feeling and is it reasonable?

2) How important is what just happened for this session?

3) Will I still be upset by this tomorrow or even remember it next week?

4) Am I experiencing any ‘faulty thinking’?

5) Acknowledge that what happened is frustrating and irritating;

6) Don’t be too hard on yourself or anyone else in the same situation and let it go.

7) Try meditating for two minutes if there are still intense emotions.

Other recommendations in the book include lifestyle changes such as (Cardner & Little, 2013):

- Physical exercise

- Eating whole grain bread, apple, beans, oatmeal, cherries, plums, grapes, oranges, sweet potatoes, brown rice, cheese, eggs and fish

- Avoiding sugar, simple carbs and fried food

In this review, I have provided a simple overview of some of the techniques advocated by Dr Cardner, but for a further understanding of these techniques and more helpful psychology-backed information, it is well worth fully reading her book.

In The Mental Game of Poker (2011), Jared Tendler and Barry Carter also suggested methods of coping with tilt that seemed heavily influenced by CBT and are in some ways similar to what Dr Cardner suggests. I will give a brief overview of a couple of Tendler’s methods here but for more in-depth information I would recommend fully reading the book which lays everything out in a clear, detailed step-by-step manner and has some strong evidence-based poker psychology content. Tendler and Carter propose two main strategies for tilt, ‘Injecting Logic’ which he sees as more of a short-term containment strategy to control emotions before they get out of control and ‘Resolution’ which seems to be a long-term change in thought patterns to keep yourself in a logical mindset.

To ‘Inject Logic’, Tendler and Carter (2011) suggests first to recognise the problem and the pattern of tilt, as outlined in Tables 1 and Table 2, then take a deep breath for arousal control, which could mean increasing or decreasing emotions as applicable. After having some control over your emotions, players can ‘inject logic’ by repeating to themselves a phrase or statement which is intended to correct faulty thinking, such as repeating that losing is a part of variance. Finally, players remind themselves of their poker technical strategies to keep themselves on track and repeat the whole process as necessary. Players should also know when their tilting is severe enough that they should quit if they can.

For ‘Resolution’, Tendler and Carter (2011) suggests keeping a ‘mental hand history’ which includes answering 5 questions:

1) Describe the problem

2) Why is it logical to act, think or feel that way?

3) Why is that logic flawed?

4) What is the correct way to handle the situation?

5) Why is that way correct?

This ‘mental hand history’ is to be reviewed regularly as more details are gathered and is an evolving document that can help you track a tilting problem.

One of the drawbacks I noticed from these two books is that even though they do reference some modern research, they sometimes also reference quite dated models, theories and evidence. For example, Tendler refers to Yerkes-Dodson Law which is quite dated, oversimplistic, does not always account for factors such as individual differences and runs contrary to some of the more modern theories.

Dr Cardner’s book also seems to sometimes mention dated research without following it up with more modern context, for example, when discussing temperament, she referenced only one study conducted in the 1950s. There is nothing wrong with using dated theories or research, but it needs to be balanced with more up-to-date research to present the most comprehensive and accurate knowledge. I feel presenting dated theories, models and evidence at face value almost as facts without examining more up-to-date research could be a bit misleading, especially for the lay-person not trained in psychology. Nevertheless, I recognise these books are written for the general public rather than academic so perhaps I am being overly academic and a bit too critical.

It is also worth noting that gaining insight and a deeper understanding into yourself, then acting upon it with meaningful change is often difficult and lengthy work even in therapy with a good psychotherapist. Needless to say, it will not be any easier to do so by yourself with a book or a worksheet. The self-administered CBT style interventions suggested by Cardner and Tendler may also be of limited effectiveness if tilting is caused by wider events in the player’s life from outside the poker room.

Furthermore, research evidence suggests that self-help type interventions are not as effective as interventions with an actual therapist. One meta-analysis study found that the therapeutic relationship with the therapist is as powerful if not more powerful than any particular treatment methods used by the therapist, so the role of the therapist seems at least as important and likely more important than any psychological techniques (DeAngelis, 2019).

Another systematic review study investigated the effectiveness of CBT based guided self-help interventions which are similar in concept to what Cardner and Tendler propose in their books (Coull & Morris, 2011). The evidence from this study was inconclusive, with some randomised controlled trials finding guided self-help interventions to be ineffective whereas others found them to be of limited effectiveness at best.

While it is worth noting that these studies on psychotherapy are not directly generalisable to the poker interventions mentioned above, it is likely that these will be the best suited evidence we can rely on as it is unlikely many research funding bodies will fund research on psychological interventions for tilt. This is not to say the techniques recommended by Cardner and Tendler are not effective at all, anecdotal evidence from book reviews are generally very positive. However, it may be worth keeping in mind when considering these techniques that they are most likely not as effective as help from a trained professional such as a sport psychologist or mental coach.

Nevertheless, despite certain drawbacks, these two books are probably the strongest psychology backed poker resources out there and I would highly recommend them to anyone who is interested in applied psychology in poker. Understanding the psychological aspects of the game would no doubt help in many aspects of playing poker, especially if a player is struggling with tilt.

However, I would urge readers to think critically about the content presented in these books as some of it may be dated or generalised to a stretch. I would also like to remind everyone that the information provided in these books will not be a silver bullet to a tilting problem. While reading these books may give you an edge in your mental game, it is important not to exaggerate the potential gains from these books and to note that making these gains will likely take a lot of work and time, which is something that the authors themselves acknowledge.

The last book I would like to discuss is Mason Malmuth’s (2015) Real Poker Psychology. This book seems to be reactive against the trend of applying psychology to poker and appears to directly criticise or even attempt to ‘debunk’ works such as the books by Cardner and Tendler mentioned above.

The reason I decided to include this book in my review is because I believe it is important to consider all viewpoints. Malmuth is a respected figure in the poker community and his book seems to represent the stance of a substantial school of thought in the poker community.

In his book, Malmuth (2015) argues that the root of tilting is simply not understanding and playing the game well enough and that advice given by poker psychologists do not address this root issue. Malmuth contends that the single best way to reduce tilt is by becoming a better player, improving strategies and gaining a better understanding of the game (e.g. short-term variance, standard deviation, etc.).

To be fair, this stance is actually shared by Tendler and Cardner to some extent, as they both acknowledged that poker skill and knowledge is the most important aspect and the mental game is more of an add-on to supplement that. Malmuth’s book is full of great poker knowledge and strategies and I believe it is worth a read for that, but where I think it comes up short is when it goes into the psychology.

One of Malmuth’s (2015) core ideas is that tilt happens when a player’s brain can’t make sense of what happened and becomes ‘locked-up’, so by learning the game better, the brain can make sense of a situation and avoid tilt. An issue with Malmuth’s theories like this one is that he does not reference scientific or psychological evidence to support them and it seems more to be based on his personal experiences.

This is problematic because personal experiences are much more prone to all kinds of biases and much less generalisable compared to high quality research data. Many of his ideas on psychology do not seem to be based on modern psychological research and sometimes run contrary to the current evidence base. Malmuth does not have an academic background in psychology so that may explain this shortcoming.

While his book does not seem to be backed by psychological research, it is still a good poker strategy book filled with poker knowledge. Therefore, I would still recommend giving it a read on that basis solely as a Mason Malmuth poker book, but I would be very cautious when it comes to any of the psychology content in his book.

Psychological Skills Training (PST) and Techniques

Breathing

One popular PST technique athletes use for controlling arousal (a psychological term for how activated someone is) is breathing (Hanrahan, & Andersen, 2010). Many breathing techniques aimed at lowering arousal or relaxing have longer exhalation than inhalation with a 2:1 ratio. For example, breathing in for two seconds then breathing out for four seconds.

When you take a deep breath, imagine your lungs divided into three parts. First, focus on inflating the lower part by pushing the diaphragm down or and pushing your belly out, then focus on filling the middle part by expanding the chest and rib cage. Finally, focus on filling the top part by raising the chest and shoulder slightly. When you exhale, do so slowly by pulling in your belly and lowering your chest and shoulder slightly.

To increase arousal or to get ‘pumped up’, you can increase the breathing rate with short, quick breaths and focusing on inhaling rather than exhaling. For increased effect you can say ‘energy in’ when inhaling and ‘fatigue out’ when exhalation (Hanrahan & Andersen, 2010).

Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR)

Another technique commonly used by athletes to relax and reduce arousal is PMR, it may also be useful to help cope with tilt, especially if tilting is associated with increased arousal such as anger or anxiety. The original technique developed by Jacobson (1938) can take some time to learn and practice so may not be the most ideal to use in the middle of a game. However, the technique can be shortened if practiced often until only a few seconds are required.

Ost (1988) developed a training schedule where the first phase involved practicing 15 minutes sessions twice a day, then moving on to the second phase which is relax-only and reduced the session length to 5-7 minutes. In the third phase, the time is reduced to 2-3 minutes and telling yourself the word ‘relax’ when practicing to condition it into yourself as a self-instructional cue.

In the final phase you can practice reducing the length to a few seconds where you can use it in actual game play. Please see below for a link to a helpful PMR guide, while this guide is for the full-length version, once you learn this technique you can train yourself to gradually shorten the length required.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ9kTYOwtks

Grounding

Another technique that has been used by athletes to relax and may help with tilting especially when associated with emotions like anger or anxiety is grounding which is a technique developed from mindfulness meditation and third-wave behaviour therapies. It may be quicker and easier to learn than PMR and you can see if it works better for you. Please find below the link to a quick guide on grounding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGpZ_r3c1PU

Clearing a space

Clearing a space is a technique from focusing-oriented psychotherapy developed by Eugene Gendlin (1996). It is used in therapy when a client is overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings to help clients organise their thoughts and ‘clear a space’ for therapy work. This technique may help poker players with tilt especially if it is associated with overthinking and it may help players to put aside their thoughts and emotions for the moment so that they can concentrate on playing. Please see below a link for a guide on clearing a space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDE-4RB5qAM

Criticisms

While Tendler (2011) endorsed PST techniques like deep breath and visualising to an extent, he also made the valid criticism that they are more of a short-term band-aid type solution addressing only surface symptoms and does not address the roots of a tilting problem. Ironically, CBT, which Tendler’s technique seems to be heavily influenced by, has also faced the same criticism by those in other schools of psychotherapy such as psychodynamic and person-centred therapies. This is because CBT focuses on behaviours and what might be considered ‘surface thoughts’ rather than exploring deeper the actual triggering events or the client’s personal experience and it has been criticised for not being able to get to the root of problems and not being as effective in the long-term. Therefore, this criticism is certainly worth keeping in mind not only for PSTs, but also for CBT based techniques such as ones proposed by Tendler and Cardner. While PST techniques may be useful in the short-term, they do not seem to be sustainable in the long-term by themselves and evidence for their efficacy is mixed at best. Nevertheless, they may be worth trying out to see which one works better for you.

Conclusion

Tilt is a complex phenomenon with a high degree of variability, affecting different people in different ways. Therefore, it seems there is no single way to handle tilt that will work for everyone. When coping with tilt, it is important to first understand what kind of tilt is affecting you and reflect on how your play and emotions are affected. This could be done by keeping a tilt journal or ‘mental hand history’ as recommended by Cardner and Little (2013) and Tendler and Carter (2011).

There seems to be a general consensus across poker that one of the best ways to overcome tilt is to get better at poker, this is supported to some extent by evidence on player experience, emotional stability and tilt. There seems to be no way around this as the reasoning goes that the better you get at poker and the more you understand the game on concepts like variance, the less likely that you will be emotionally affected by in-game events.

However, even getting better at poker may not help in all cases of tilting, especially if a player is already at a high level where further improvements will be very difficult and lengthy or if the root of the tilting problem is from events outside poker. In the former case, psychological techniques as proposed in the books by Cardner and Little (2013) and Tendler and Carter (2011) may be particularly helpful in giving you an extra edge and I would recommend reading their books for a further understanding of poker psychology. Using PST techniques like the ones mentioned above may also help in coping with tilt to an extent. Furthermore, getting help from personal therapy or a performance/sport psychologist can help with problems outside poker that may contribute to inducing tilt in poker.

While poker psychology books and resources like the ones written by Cardner and Little (2013) and Tendler and Carter (2011) may give you a certain edge in your poker game, it is important not to overstate their benefits. Evidence for the efficacy of such self-help type resources are mixed at best and it seems they are of limited effectiveness. One problem with self-help type methods is that it can often be difficult to view yourself and your problems objectively. Professionals can also help you pick-up on things that you might have missed otherwise or would have taken much longer to pick-up on by yourself.

Making significant and enduring psychological change can be difficult and lengthy even with the help of a good therapist and would likely be even more challenging and lengthy by yourself without the help of a professional. Therefore, the most effective way to overcome severe tilting issues would be with the help of a professional such as a sport and exercise psychologist or performance psychologist who can help you identify any issues, really getting to the roots of them and then working through them with you together.

If you are struggling with tilt-related issues, the best way to tackle this seems to be first to see if you can improve your poker game, study strategy and maybe seek the help of a poker coach to improve. Then on top of this, or if you are already playing at a high level, it may be worth reading and studying reputable poker psychology resources such as the books by Cardner and Little (2013) and Tendler and Carter (2011). It may also be worthwhile to try the PST techniques mentioned here to see if they help you. Finally, if you are still struggling with tilting after trying the above or if you are keen on addressing tilting as effectively as possible, then you may want to consider seeking the help of a professional such as a psychologist. Please check out our services and contact us to find out how we can help!

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