In online poker, it’s easy to preach about bankroll management and discipline when it comes to moving up in the ranks. These two are easy to learn and simple to master. However, when it comes to managing tilt, keeping your cool can be extremely difficult, especially if you let it linger. A lot of your success actually may depend on your innate demeanor. If you’re an overly agitated person, chances are that managing tilt will be an extraordinary difficult endeavor. However, there are a few tips for being able to put that bad beat behind you. I know it seems difficult to put it out of your mind that your aces were just cracked by 9-2 offsuit. However, that kind of brutality happens every day on major online poker rooms like Full Tilt and PokerStars. It also happens on a regular basis in live casinos in Las Vegas and around the world.

When your kings get cracked by 7-2 suited, it’s tempting to stand up, yell a bunch of expletives, flip your chair over, and perhaps throw a beer or two. Try to avoid this at all costs. My trick at a live casino is to stay in my seat at all times. Pretend that you’re on a roller coaster. Don’t stand up. Keep your butt in your chair. When you stand up, you get your blood flowing. One of the best interview tips I can give you is to stand up and walk around. It gets your heart pumping and causes your brain to start thinking. However, if managing tilt is your goal, stay in your chair. Sit back and remember that it’s all a part of the game.

After taking a horrific beat, fold the next five hands, within reason. Granted, if you’re dealt aces or kings, you should play. However, if you look down at J-10 suited, although it might be tempting, throw it into the muck. By taking yourself out of the game, if only for a few hands, you’re regaining your composure and putting yourself in the best position possible to win in the long-run. Your position in the hand is irrelevant; just fold the next five hands. I know it might seem a bit autocratic, but it works. You’re likely to do a lot worse by making a steam-raise than you will by folding.

If you’re a regular user of the chat, turn it off. Spouting off against your opponent isn’t a good idea and, quite frankly, is bad sportsmanship. Take away this temptation to berate someone who beat you by turning off your ability to speak on the virtual felts. Abusing the chat can also result in it being taken away permanently. While this might not seem like that big of a deal, having your chat revoked by an online poker room puts you in a sub-par standing with the site. After all, why would an online poker room want to try and satisfy you as a customer if you continually berate their members? It doesn’t make any sense. Shut the chat off.

If you’re someone who needs to play in order to combat tilt, head to the poker lobby and play lower stakes games. I’ve known poker players who will leave live poker games entirely and head to the quarter slots. If you’re going to lose money, it might as well be in a lower stakes game. There’s no point in blowing thousands of dollars when you can let off the same amount of steam by losing only a few hundred. Find the Indiana Jones Adventure Slots and head straight for it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll win while you’re there. Whatever you do, don’t stay at the poker table and rebuy.

Finally, set a stop-loss. Just like you should always set a maximum amount that you can win, it’s important to determine a maximum amount that you’re able to lose. If you hit either of these numbers, leave the table immediately. They don’t even have to be the same number, such as up or down $1,000. Just set two realistic numbers for yourself and stick to them. If you’re able to set limits, as just about every problem gambling commercial will also state, you’ll be a much more successful poker player at the end of the day.