Kinds of Tilt

We are all well versed in the evils of tilt, and each have our own plans as to how to diminish its effects upon our games. However, in addition to having a plan to fight it, you must also understand where to find tilt, because there are more things that can wreck your game than just a bad beat. Here are just some of the villians waiting to wreck your game:

Bad Beat Tilt - This is the best know form of tilt, its when an unlikely card(s) turns a huge lead into a loss. While I think that a beat should be incredibly unlikely before you go complaining to the world about it, this need not be the case for tilt; you need to recognize just how bad the cards have to be for you to tilt, and activate your plan when it happens.

Bad Play Tilt - This is when you make a costly error. Whether the play was justifiable or not isn't as relevent a your own reaction to it.

Card Dead Tilt - This is when your initial cards are just so bad for an extended streak that you never play. The danger is that you will over react to this lack of action and start playing when you shouldn't. (though you should exploit your tight image, and if in a tourney react properly to increasing blinds)

Short Stack Tilt - This is when your stack is smaller than your brain thinks it should be. Maybe you lost three or four small pots in a short span, or maybe you left your seat and the blinds took their toll. Regardless of how you got there, the point is that you should react, not over react to your new situation.

Bankroll Tilt - This is when your overall bankroll is not as big as your brain thinks it should be. Maybe you are on a bad streak or maybe you just cashed out; either way when you look at your bankroll it doesn't feel right and you want to correct that asap. This is one of the primary causes of the so called "cash out curse".

Streak Tilt - This is when you had an extended period of similar results, so much so that you have come to assume it will continue without end. Interestingly, what some players do when winning, other do when losing. Almost any negative playing attribute can be found in players on streaks.

Those surely aren't all the types of tilt out there, though I am sure you get the idea that you need to be watching out for anything that causes you to alter your game unnecessarily. The point is to never over react to changes in your situation, just do your best to be calm and play winning poker.