Poker’s Inner Demons
Poker is full of traps, but often it’s your inner demons that can cost you the most money and prevent you from winning the online jackpot. In this article we’ll outline the three personal pitfalls that can affect everyone no matter how advanced their technical knowledge is.
Tilt: This is by far the most common and destructive psychological flaw a player can have. Characterised by overly aggressive play that often leads to a player losing all their money, tilt is poker’s technical name for being angry.
Whenever something goes wrong it’s natural to get annoyed, but tilt is the point at which the red mist descends over a player and they lose their focus. Because poker is a game where luck and skill prevail in almost equal measure, the presence of tilt is always one that hangs ominously over a player’s head.
To avoid going on tilt when playing with the likes of online casino you can employ a number of measures, such as taking a break whenever you feel yourself getting too emotional. However, one of the most effective ways to battle tilt is to understand and acknowledge it. By doing this you’ll be able to spot when it’s occurring and work to prevent it.
Bravado: In poker, as in life, people often think they are better than they are. However, unlike life, harbouring such bravado will eventually cost you money at the poker table. The main reason why overconfidence has a negative impact on a player’s game is that they either play too many hands (which means they become a target for their opponents), or they play above their skill level. Both of these things usually result in a player busting their bankroll and wishing they’d been slightly more humble.
Recklessness: The final personal demon that often causes players to lose all their money is careless bankroll management. Usually brought about by a combination of tilt and bravado, being reckless with the money you have is the fastest way to go broke. To avoid this flaw you should always stick to limits that represent a small portion of your bankroll. For example, if you want to play at stakes where the blinds are $1/$2, then you’d need a bankroll of at least $5,000.
Knowing your demons is often the best way to beat them, so take heed of the information in this article and you’ll find yourself making much more money at the poker table.
