How to Avoid Reaching Your ‘Steam Point’ at the Poker Tables

There is a phenomenon in poker, a critical point in the game, where good players become bad players. This occurs when a player is steaming: Playing badly due to emotions. Most often referred to as “tilting”, a steaming player is one of the easiest marks in any poker game: And once a bout of tilt begins, it’s quite easy to keep the player steaming for hours, and usually becomes progressively worse.

When a player is steaming they make poor choices, and these poor choices generally leads to poor results; which generally leads to even more poor choices; and then poorer results… It turns into a vicious cycle, and often gets to a point where a player is seeing only red, and has lost all control of their actions.

To be a great poker player you have to be able to control your emotions as much as possible. I’m not going to tell you that bad-beats are simply part of the game and you need to deal with them and move on: They are, but nobody is able to handle loss after loss and not be affected by it. Even the most composed players will have bouts of tilt from time to time, some more often than others. It’s the frequency and length of these occurrences that ends up separating the winners from the losers in a poker game.

In order to be able to recognize when you’re steaming, and take the appropriate actions to rectify it, the first thing you have to do is realize what causes you to steam. The second thing you must do is learn how to regain control of your emotions once you’ve reached your steam point. Finally you must also be able to recognize when your opponents have started steaming, and how it affects their play.

The cause of tilt varies from person to person, as does how much each person can endure. Some people will be on tilt after a single loss, where another player may have to suffer four consecutive horrendous beats before he starts steaming. Some players may start steaming if there happens to be a mouthy player at the table: Every player is different.

Dealing with tilt is a whole different ballgame: Some players can take a quick walk to the bathroom; others have to quit the game; and others can be on tilt for days.

Finally, in order to properly adjust to a steaming opponent you have to discern what in their game has changed: Most players get loose and aggressive -but often turn into calling stations if someone plays-back at them-when they are on tilt: However, pretty much anything is possible from a tilting player, so it is up to you to determine what type of player they have morphed into when they are steaming.