The psychology of poker: how to control your emotions at the online table?

Emotional control is one of the most important characteristics in poker. Emotional decisions can influence the outcome of the game. In online poker, you are unable to observe other players' reactions.

It is essential to keep calm and make decisions based on logic, not emotions, in order to reduce not only the risk of losing, but also negative consequences for your psyche. Let’s look at key tips to help reduce risks during play.

During a poker game, absolutely every player faces powerful emotions.

For example, tilt—a state of irritation and impulsive decisions after a streak of bad beats.

▶️ “Bad beat” — when your strong hand unexpectedly loses to a weaker one at showdown, this can provoke frustration or even anger.

▶️ Losing streak (downswings) — when luck leaves you for a long time, this often leads to a desire to quickly “win back losses,” which can result in mistakes.

▶️ Conversely, euphoria from winning can distract you and reduce caution: the player might overestimate their abilities, forget the strategy, and make a risky raise.

Overall, poker combines moments of frustration, disappointment, excitement from winning, and even fear of loss.

It’s important to be aware of these reactions and remember: emotions can both help and hinder making the right decisions.

It’s vital to be able to monitor your emotions, control them, and not let them influence your decisions. In any competitive game, including poker, there are often situations where players feel irritation after losing a big pot or after an opponent's victory. We offer several secrets that will help keep your mind clear and your play effective:

1. The main thing is not winning, but participating. Don’t focus on prizes or fear of losing, but on the process of the game itself. This helps avoid excessive emotional involvement. Hoping for luck or being strongly attached to a single hand does not help you make correct decisions. According to professionals, it’s important to “be able to take the blows without tilting,” and to remember that in the long run, the player who makes better decisions wins.
2. Practice calmness. You can learn to remain calm with regular practice. For example, try meditation, breathing exercises, or other methods that help keep you grounded. One well-known coach recommends working on breathing and mindfulness—such methods make the body’s reactions more automatic, helping to calm down quickly. Also, develop the habit of analyzing each game after it ends. You can keep a player’s diary: write down which hands triggered strong emotions and why. This will help you better understand your triggers in the future and avoid similar situations.
3. Mental preparation. Before a session, set a positive mindset and treat the game as an opportunity to learn. Prepare yourself for the fact that you may lose some hands (and see this as an inevitable part of the game)—this lowers anxiety and helps maintain concentration.
4. Play within your means. It’s best to play for stakes and time that you can calmly afford to lose. Then there’s no need to “emotionally chase losses,” and you can focus more on strategy!

❕ It’s important to care for your overall emotional state. Fatigue, depression, or high stress away from the poker table can seriously reduce your ability to control emotions at the table. So, sometimes, it is better to seek help from a specialist (psychologist or psychotherapist)—because what’s at stake is not only your poker winnings, but all your emotional well-being.

Tilt (Tilt) — a state when a player starts acting impulsively and emotionally after an unsuccessful hand. The first step is to notice in time when you’re slipping into tilt. Mental coaches note: problems like tilt or fear seriously worsen play—they “greatly affect your ability to make good decisions”. Therefore, managing tilt is just as important as other “leaks” in your game. Here are some additional tips for maintaining concentration:

• Take a break. When emotions take over, the best move is to step away. Stand up and walk around, have a drink of water, breathe deeply. A short walk or breathing exercise can help you relax and come back to the table with a “reset” mind. Breathe deeply and use imagination: on the exhale, mentally “release” irritation and tension.
• Set limits and stick to them. Decide on the maximum time and money you are willing to spend in a session, and never exceed these limits. Clear boundaries help avoid emotional overload.
• Understand and accept setbacks. In poker, as in life, there are ups and downs. Acceptance that losses are inevitable reduces fear of them. Try to see every loss as a normal part of the game: statistically, even strong hands don’t win 100% of the time. Remember: no emotion can take away the “memorized” mathematical probability of victory, but emotions can make you veer off your correct strategy.
• Play in a positive mood. Don’t sit down at the table if you’re tired, angry, or depressed. Even the strongest hand won’t help if you can’t focus. It’s better to start or continue a session only in a good condition and mood. Stephen Chidwick warns: “Stress, fatigue, and other negative factors always lower your playing efficiency.” Remember that a relaxed player makes fewer mistakes!

Suppression of emotions and stress

According to the American Heart Association, prolonged emotional suppression leads to increased stress and worsened overall condition: the risk of cardiovascular diseases rises, and psychological resilience drops.

This confirms: you shouldn’t bottle up negativity. It is important to have healthy ways to “let off steam” (for example, writing down emotions or breathing deeper), to minimize harm to body and mind.

Tilt and decision-making

Poker psychologists (e.g., Jared Tendler) emphasize that problems with self-control—tilt, fear, insecurity—significantly interfere with making correct decisions. In other words, when you are in a strong emotional state, your brain assesses situations worse and misjudges more often.

Conclusion: The ability to quickly “cool down” after a bad hand is directly connected to long-term poker success.

The influence of emotions on concentration

New experiments in psychology have shown that some negative emotions can even increase concentration. Participants in one study, being in a state of sadness or fear,

were better at controlling unwanted reactions and ignoring distracting stimuli. This suggests that fear—like sadness—focuses attention on the task, boosting self-control.

It turns out it’s more important not to avoid emotions entirely, but to be aware of which feelings you’re experiencing and use them—for example, a slight sense of alertness can tune your brain for more focused play.

Emotion management and concentration are the most important aspects of the game that affect the final result. Every good player should develop tilt control skills. You should understand that poker requires both responsibility and endurance.

❕ Making thoughtful decisions and maintaining composure throughout a session ensure both safety and effective play. Responsible play includes not only table strategy, but also the ability to stop in time, rest, and return to poker with renewed energy and a clear head.