Last time I gave you a strategy for dealing with your own tilt issues in real time, today I am going to talk about how to track your progress.
Often when players are working on an issue like tilt they will try a strategy that works well in the short term but completely abandon it the first time they go on full blown monkey tilt.
They assume that a new strategy should be an instant fix, when in reality improvement doesn’t work like that.
When making improvement with tilt you’re going to take steps forward (where you’re able to control your reactions) and then take step backwards (where you totally lose control). The key is to make the step backwards shorter, or in other words you make the severity of your worst, better.
That still means you tilt, but if you tilt less, that’s actually a big step on the road towards total control. This step of course is not the end goal, but it is key that you notice your worst getting better because too often players stop doing what is working because they are looking for the BIG change. When improving tilt you have to look for the small improvements, and over time they’ll accumulate into BIG changes.
Are you making progress with tilt?
Here’s what to look for to know you’re making progress with tilt:
1) Increased awareness. Players often talk about how they are able to recognize the signs of tilt, but aren’t yet able to do anything (Inject Logic or quit) yet. As strange as it sounds that’s progress. Having that voice in your head getting stronger is improvement because eventually it’ll lead to action. Right now your building up the mental muscle to do that, so keep working hard.
2) Playing Longer. For players who typically quit at the first sign of tilt, “Injecting Logic” is designed to keep you there playing well longer. Even just 5 more minutes than usual is progress and an important step towards playing for hours longer.
3) Playing Better. Playing better at a time when you’d typically be spewing chips is a critical measure that your attempts to control tilt are working.
4) Quitting Quicker. For player who play too long when on tilt, getting off the table quicker than you would usually is another key sign your gaining more control of tilt.
5) Shorter Recovery In Session. After you’ve “Injected Logic” you aren’t going to instantly start playing perfectly, so another measure of tilt improvement is that you get back playing great faster.
6) Shorter Recovery After Sessions. The shorter feel back to normal after you tilt, the more in control you are of tilt both at and away from the table. Don’t think this is that important? The affects of tilt carry over session to session, and if you don’t reset your mind afterward, you’ll tilt quicker in the next session because of it.
7) Smaller Reaction. The intensity of your reaction when a trigger for tilt (bad beat, mistake, losing, etc) is the last place you can expect to see progress. In the meantime work hard to control the reaction, and over time you’ll start to see that the amount of anger to manage gets smaller and smaller.
If tilt was really a simple issue, you’d have figured it out already. Since it’s not as simple as you wish, work hard to control it, and remember to keep track your progress so you stay motivated to do the work, or figure out a different strategy if the one you’re using sucks and isn’t working.
For more information about Jared, his coaching or to ask him a question, visit jaredtendlerpoker.com. You can also follow him on Facebook & Twitter. Also, keep an eye out for his upcoming book.
