Poker is the most dramatic of all card games and the one that’s most closely linked to traditional sport. It’s not just about handling the cards you are dealt: Players have to face a series of opponents, and there are tactics and strategies involved.
The tension attached to poker means that it can often be an emotional game, and that emotion can be either positive or negative. Part of the poker player’s road to success involves managing feelings, even in the most stressful of situations.
Avoiding Tilt
Poker is a game full of jargon and terminology, and one of the most commonly used terms is ‘tilt.’ This phenomenon describes the negative mental state of a poker player, and it can involve anger, shock, high levels of anxiety or frustration.
Tilt can be triggered by several different plays. The player in question may have lost a big pot when they thought they had an unbeatable hand. They may have lost after an opponent had successfully bluffed, or maybe they’ve experienced a long run of losses. Anyone whose aim is managing anxiety in poker needs to understand tilt and how to avoid it, as it cannot be disguised.
Understanding Your Triggers
Poker skills are developed over many years, and the ability to build your strategies and manage emotions can also improve with experience. The more time you spend at the table, the better you will understand your own game and style of play.
You might be an attacking player who likes to bluff and go all in, or perhaps you’re more defensive and will more likely fold before the community cards are dealt. You’ll also learn to understand the triggers that could take you on the path to a full-on, unmanageable tilt.
Another important term to understand here is ‘bad beat.’ You are holding a brilliant hand that would likely win around 95% of games. On the final reveal, an opponent delivers the win, and you suffer a bad beat. It’s tough to take, but the world’s top players know how to handle all of their triggers.
Take a Breath
One of the top recommendations for anyone looking to stay calm in stressful situations is meditation. This practice helps to clear the mind, brushing aside any clutter to leave the individual in a more relaxed state.
Within the poker arena, we don’t want to enter full meditation and lose focus completely, but there are methods we can use to keep calm, no matter the state of play. A big part of the art of meditation involves regulating your breathing. Deep breaths are the gateway to a full meditation session as they bring the individual into a calm state.
You don’t want to exaggerate your breathing when you are at the poker table, as this may suggest to opponents that you are getting stressed. By engaging in slower, more deliberate breaths, you can come back to a state of equilibrium without attracting any unwanted attention.
Practice Visualisation
Visualisation has become a popular technique among many athletes, and because many aspects of poker are related to traditional sports, it’s a good idea to adopt this at the card table.
Before you approach the game, imagine yourself scooping the pot while everyone around you is folding their hand. Visualise having three aces and seeing the fourth turn over at the river.
You cannot influence the turn of a card through the power of your mind, no matter how many times you watch Derren Brown or Dynamo in action. The point of this exercise is to remain positive. This brings benefits to the table, and there are other ways in which you can switch from a negative outlook.
Shifting Your Mindset
A bad run in poker can quickly see players descend into a negative mindset. You may not reach the point where you’re in danger of hitting a tilt, but approaching the table in a poor frame of mind is less likely to produce dividends.
You might, for example, feel that you are destined to receive a poor hand or that the community cards will not fall in your favour. Turn those impressions around, and you can stay positive.
Take a Break
The mind, like the body, can become exhausted if it spends too much time focusing on one activity. The more time you spend at the poker table, the less likely you are to be able to concentrate and play your best game.
At big tournaments in the real world, players have to remain in place until the game reaches its natural conclusion, but this principle doesn’t apply to online poker. The instant that you feel
tired, you are completely free to walk away. Log off from your account, close the laptop or switch off the mobile and refresh your mind.
Staying fresh, like all of the tips mentioned here, can help you manage emotions and stay in control while playing poker.
