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Message: [QUOTE="Beriac, post: 410493, member: 9064"] I'm not talking about sudden tilt, where you take a really bad beat and get pissed off at a player or at yourself. For that, I know the drill. Understand that it's probability, that if your hand was best when your chips went in you made the right move, that you'll make money in the long run, etc. If you can't, get up and go for a walk, do something else, etc. My problem is sort of a "creeping tilt". It has to do with a concept in investing called "reference points", and a general need to break even over time. So for instance, I recently consolidated my entire bankroll onto Pokerstars, about $500 or so (this is the product of about $200 to start, some cleared bonuses, and 6 months of play). Through some MTT luck and some good SnG grinding (yes ChuckTs, at the turbos), I cranked it up to over double. Then, naturally, the luck turned sour and the cards turned cold, and I dropped to maybe $800 or so. My problem is that since I had hit the $1,000 mark, I kept feeling like I was "behind" and wanting to catch up. I started raising the stakes, reasonably at first, but eventually I was playing over my bankroll (and over my skill level, frankly), and before I knew it I was back to $500. I took a break, but after I came back I still had trouble grinding at low levels and as soon as I ran into a bad streak I felt the need to raise the stakes, either by playing higher buy-in games or by increasing my number of tables. Naturally this too was a disaster, and I got out only after I was down to $300. Soooooo... I took about a week off, and now have come back with some perspective and want to start fresh. My question is, how do you avoid "long term tilt"? Walking away from the table isn't the answer, because when I come back that reference point is still there. The obvious answer would be "well don't play higher stakes dummy", which is true, but it's easy to convince yourself of whatever you want when you're sitting there playing. So I suppose what's needed is more of an attitude change. I am generally ROI positive, I take poker theory seriously, play for fun, and have never risked put a cent in my bankroll that I needed elsewhere. So I believe I have the makings to do this as a fun hobby for a long time. The question is, for you guys who have been successful managing a bankroll for a long time: 1) How do you avoid the temptation to raise the stakes to cover your losses? 2) What kind of "mantra" do you preach to stay sensible about this stuff (whether it's just focus on the next game, focus on being a good player rather than your bankroll, whatever)? Mucho thanks. [/QUOTE]

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