Tilt is the number 1 enemy of a poker player, and no one knows this better than the 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. Besides his poker prowess, Hellmuth is best known for his rants and blow-ups at the poker table.
This behavior and rants have earned him the nickname “The Poker Brat.” Even some popular poker videos on YouTube feature Phil Hellmuth blowing up or ranting about a recreational player.
While these blow ups are good for some laughs, this is not how a poker player should behave or play. If you have seen the videos of Hellmuth, other players always end up provoking him to grow their stacks. But it’s not like everyone can do that. You need to be that good at the table to exploit Hellmuth.
Hellmuth is no doubt the Mount Rushmore of poker, but one thing that pushes him back is his tilting at the table. In this report, we will use Hellmuth’s tilting as a reference to give you 3 tips to avoid Tilting in poker.
Here are 3 tips you should learn from Hellmuth to avoid Tilt in Poker.
1. Bad Beats Are Part of the Game
No premium hands are immune to bad beats, not even pocket aces. Your pocket aces have the probability of getting beaten by a randomly suited hand 18% of the time, and 8% of the time against Ace-King.
But it doesn’t mean you should start ranting about the game or the player who played his non-premium hands against your pocket aces and ended up winning the pot. Players should also remember that your pocket aces have the chance of winning in heads-up 85% of the time.
While losing your pocket aces against an inferior hand can be heartbreaking, you should remember that your hand has a much higher chance of winning against an inferior hand in the long run. Bad beats are part of the game, and it’s not in your hands to do anything.
2. Let Your Game Speak For Itself
In a recent televised poker show, Phil Hellmuth lost his cool as always and ended up slamming his mic on the table. It was all because his opponent, Humboldt Mike, provoked him by making fun of his collaboration with some Bitcoin companies.
But what can you do in that situation? Just put your headphones on when playing live or turn off your chats when playing online. Hellmuth himself said that in the video, he would have put on his headphones while playing against the likes of Mike in tournaments.
Another example would be Jordan Griff. Jordan Griff said that when playing in the main event, many poker pros think of Griff as an amateur. Griff exploited that and finished the 2024 WSOP Main Event as a runner-up.
Let your game speak for itself. I have been in this situation multiple times while playing online. One player was calling me ‘Donkey’ as I was raising with premium hands. He kind of thought I was bluffing and started calling all my raises. He ended up losing all his chip stacks against me.
Don’t give a damn about what others are saying about your games at the table. It’s always the losing one yapping, not the winner.
3. Encourage Your Opponent To Play More Bad Hands
In case your opponent wins with an inferior hand against your premium. Instead of ranting, encourage the player to play more hands like that, which you can exploit later.
If you haven’t seen the movie Rounders, please watch it. In the movie, the protagonist makes money from the recreational players. He would always choose games where it was easy to win money.
Recreational players are the heart and soul of poker; poker is running because of them. Imagine if everyone started playing premium hands or tight!
In the end, we recommend sticking to your game plans and being disciplined. No matter what, disciplined players win, not players who depend on luck.
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