One of the main factors that causes tilt when gambling is stress. We should be playing online games for fun first and foremost, and we should play a particular game because we enjoy it and see the entertainment value in it.
Some punters can play and not care if they lose; it simply doesn’t bother them so much. Others can find themselves in a bit of a rut or on tilt with a certain game, and when stressed, we often make poor decisions and can't reason as well as we normally would.
How is it that some people are affected more than others? We try to look at some of the potential reasons and differences from one punter to the next below.
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Differences in personality traits
Competitiveness plays a large part in gambling, and people generally love winning at things; it makes us feel powerful! Whether that means beating opponents in a poker match, the dealer in a game of blackjack, the RTP odds on a slot machine, or just the ‘house' in general.
Knowing how to play a certain game and having a lot of experience in it will absolutely keep you as cool as a cucumber for much longer if you encounter a losing streak compared to someone new to a game who doesn't fully understand it, the rules, the odds, or the techniques that come with experience.
If you are more naturally inclined to get stressed, then gambling, particularly gambling with money that you cannot afford to lose, is likely to have a greater negative effect on you than it would on someone who can afford to lose more money or has a lot more experience in the long-term ups and downs of gambling.
Being competitive is generally seen as a good thing, but if you are trying to win at something that is stacked against you in the first place, which is often the case with gambling, then you are fighting a losing battle by getting angry and becoming more determined to win when the mathematics simply doesn't give you the advantage.
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Real money is involved
This is ultimately the crux of disgruntlement when gambling; it’s fantastic when you're winning, but when you start to lose money, you can find yourself in a negative spiral. If you have ever played at a free slots site, you will know that you are happy spinning those reels all day long, whether you win or lose, as it has no direct effect on your financial situation. In fact, it can be the opposite; when you have a big win on a free slots site, you might feel stressed that you weren't playing at a real money slots site at the time your big win came in.
As mentioned above, the biggest contributor to stress when gambling is losing money that you didn't really have in the first place or couldn't afford to lose. Gambling is not a way to make money; if you start out expecting to win and feel your financial situation will improve, you are already in a dangerous place.
Tilting whilst playing slots is likely to affect certain personality traits more than others. If you're organised and disciplined, with a sound bankroll that you stick to, and you keep your bets low, you're more likely to remain calm and in control even whilst losing.
🚨 However, if you start to increase your bets, deposit more than you wanted to, or chase losses, things will almost certainly start to take a turn for the worse.
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Playing a game for too long or too often
Doing the same thing over and over, whether gambling or otherwise, can become cumbersome and cause emotional distress and anxiety, even if it's something that should be enjoyable.
Going back to personality traits, being disciplined and knowing when to take a break, call it a day, change games or online casinos altogether, or simply to knock something on the head for a while can put you in a really advantageous position when it comes to gambling online.
Some well known taglines used in the online casino industry in the UK at the moment is “When The Fun Stops, Stop” and “Take Time To Think.”
These are two very useful snippets to remember when you find yourself either not enjoying a casino game anymore, about to make a big deposit, upping your bets to try and chase a loss, or even if you're on a winning streak. It becomes equally as important to keep yourself calm and collected.
When we are too deeply focused on anything for too long, we start to lose concentration and get tired, which in turn can lead to bad decisions and illogical reasoning being made at a time when you need to be 100% on your A-game, as money is at stake.
👉 The actual term for getting angry and stressed out when gambling or playing poker is called “going on tilt.”
Throw into the mix tiredness, stress from other aspects of life, and alcohol, and you could have yourself a recipe for disaster.
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Not having enough rest or taking a break
Probably the single most important aspect of enjoying gambling is knowing when to take a break. We suggest that whether you have a big win or a big loss, you should immediately stop playing for a while. Just as you can't and mustn't chase losses, you also have to realise that you shouldn't chase wins either. Obviously, if you've had a big win and you feel like you are on a winning streak, there is a lot less harm in seeing how long your luck lasts. However, remember that anything you win or lose is down to chance, not luck.
🚨 Tiredness is a major factor when it comes to gambling. In the same way that you shouldn't attempt any task of importance when you are tired, you certainly shouldn't gamble when you're tired either. Your brain simply isn't as snappy as it needs to be with every single spin of the reel, roll of the dice, or turn of the card.
Step away from your phone or computer screen, or the actual physical table or machine in a casino. Go and get some fresh air, take a walk, have a shower—do whatever you need to do to reset yourself and pull yourself out of the mindset you might find yourself in.
How to tackle the inevitable tilt that gambling can cause
As mentioned above, first and foremost, never gamble more than you can afford to lose. Never play the same game for too long, and never try to chase a loss or make things right. Simply stop what you're doing, walk away, take a breather, and think about your next move. If you're tired today, get some sleep and decide what to do next.
Other ways to tackle tilt include playing a different game occasionally, exercising, or just doing something that means not playing any game for a day or two.
