There is no doubt that, sooner or later, all gamers will be ’tilted,’ whether in a competitive encounter or simply against a friend they can’t beat. The gaming phrase ’tilt’ is related with irritation, fury, and a loss of gameplay ability.

To avoid this unpleasant emotion, psychologists from the British Esports Association collaborated to provide a roadmap for gamers to overcome the tilt and return to enjoying their gaming experiences.

What Is Tilt?

Tilt is a poker term for a poor state of mind that leads a player to make costly mistakes—usually born out of frustration. Symptoms of tilt include playing hands that you shouldn’t and bluffing too much. In a cash game you can quit and play another day, but in a tournament, you are stuck and must make the best of the situation. In order to overcome tilt, it is crucial that you focus on the moment, rather than letting yourself become preoccupied with the past.

When you are starting to tilt, remind yourself to focus on the fundamentals of the game. Tilt impairs your ability to think clearly (remember, poker is a game of decisions), but if you still make good fundamental decisions, you can minimize the damage.

How to Overcome Tilting in Video Games

Below are some tips that can help:

1. Knowing and understanding tilt

The first thing you need to do is make sure you understand what tilt is, and can recognize when you are beginning to become tilted. In essence, tilt is a negative reaction to how your game is going, generally causing you to become increasingly more stressed and angry. There’s a thin line between being tilted and being toxic, of and the two do get confused for each other regularly.

Tilt can progress into toxicity, but the difference is that when you become tilted, you focus on your own mistakes rather than others. It can range from being an unconscious thing to you being very aware of your anger towards what is happening in the game. Recognizing when you are getting tilted is important to ensure you can stay on track, and not fall into the trap of developing stress and anger feelings. This is a personal thing to everyone, so keep track of what things cause you to become triggered, and tackle them before it gets out of hand.

2. Take a step away

Whilst having an uninterrupted gaming session can be desirable, it can cause a lot of stress to build up and then the tilt can start creeping up. Becoming tilted and frustrated is bound to happen at some point in a high-pressure environment, especially if you’re playing for long periods of time. The best thing you can do to help stop yourself from getting too overwhelmed is to take a step away from the game for short breaks.

Taking yourself out of that stressful situation gives you time to reset, and shift your focus onto something else to calm yourself down. Generally, people find doing light exercise helpful in this scenario, but that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Things like reading, going for a short walk, or even cooking are all effective ways to take that break and re-center yourself before getting stuck back in.

3. Remember: it is just a game

As mentioned previously, tilt can become more likely to happen when you are in stressful situations. So keeping yourself in touch with reality is key to ensuring the tilt doesn’t get the best of you. Even though gaming can be incredibly immersing, the more you submerge yourself into your in-game performance, the more you will be affected if something goes wrong. Knowing when to take a step back and remember that what you are playing is just a game will make all the difference, and you will find yourself able to overcome the tilt a lot easier.

Whilst gaming is a career for many people, especially Esports players, striking the balance between practice and rest can allow you to stay calm and collected in high-pressure environments. Keeping in touch with reality and reminding yourself that it is just a video game will allow you to overcome tilt when it arises, and, in essence, keep yourself positive.

4. Learn from your mistakes

It’s easier said than done, but try not to let your mistakes in game let you become tilted. Instead, learn from your mistakes to keep a cool head and transform into a better player. Whilst you can easily get caught up in missing a shot or not winning a match, take those mistakes and learn from them. If you are not as strong in a certain area, take some time to practice those things and you will notice improvements.

Read Also: How to Improve Your Reaction Time and Reflexes in Games

This is something commonly done in the professional scene, where coaches will take areas of weakness and make sure the players improve to ensure they don’t get caught up in the negatives. By developing your skills and ability as a player instead of getting tilted, you are then able to have a lot more confidence in yourself and prevent that frustration from taking over. Doing this, you will notice your ability and skill develop, whilst showcasing to yourself that you can overcome tilt and turn it into something beneficial.

5. Play Positive

One of the best ways to avoid becoming tilted or agitated in game is to make sure you are in a positive mindset before you start playing. By entering a game angry, you are more likely to be triggered easily by mistakes or comments, and thus become tilted a lot easier.

Although we acknowledge how gaming can be a positive outlet for when you’re having a bad day, sometimes, having that pressure on yourself to do well will make you more susceptible to tilt. Before you log on to play, take a moment to think about if you’re going to get triggered easily by things that may happen in the game, and about the day you have had before coming to play. If you are feeling positive and determined to play, then go for it, but remember the other points to ensure you stay in that mindset throughout playing.

How to Use Tilt to Your Advantage

You can also attempt to tilt your opponents in order to impair their thought processes.

1. Observe players with bad strategy. A change in a player’s demeanor—accelerated breathing or drinking too much at the table, for example—can give you clues that they might be going on tilt before it becomes obvious. They might also change their game—for example, they might play too many hands. It’s important to keep an eye on your opponents so you can pick up on the subtle indicators that they may be in a tilted mental state.
2. Capitalize on the pain threshold. Tilt will manifest in different ways in each individual. Understanding how each of your opponents is affected can give you important information to exploit them. For example, if you observe an opponent bluffing more frequently, you must call them down more often. Knowing when your opponent is at their pain threshold can give you an opportunity to make extra profit or to avoid making a bluff that won’t work. Every time your opponent encounters a piece of bad luck, it increases their frustration level. This accumulates until they reach their pain threshold, when the character of their game will change considerably.
3. Show a bluff on the river in a big pot. Daniel doesn’t recommend this if you’re a beginner because you might give away too much information. But if you’re an experienced poker player, you can try.

How to Improve Your Gamer Posture

Video games provide an engaging escape. They transfer us into different worlds without forcing us to travel anyplace. They help us connect with other players and give excitement to our lives. But, as exciting as they can be, they’re not so great for our bodies, especially when it comes to posture.

If your gaming setup consists of hunching over a keyboard, bending over your controller, or slumping in an uncomfortable chair, it’s time to switch things up and improve your gaming posture. Why? Poor gaming posture has been linked to lower back pain, neck pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, mouse shoulder, and gamer’s thumb (to mention a few conditions).

It’s also common for gamers to feel tight and achy in their hips and shoulders, which is likely to affect performance and overall well-being. Luckily, you can make simple yet powerful changes that will have your body feeling a lot better during gaming sessions (not to mention long after they’re done). That means less time feeling sore and more time going for victory.

To put it simply, gaming posture refers to how you hold your body while gaming. Most individuals sit in a chair or on a couch.

E-sports players, streamers, and other gamers frequently play for extended periods of time, so pay attention to your posture and overall body stance. We propose viewing your body as the foundation of gaming: when your body is in good condition, everything else improves, including your performance.

Because gaming includes a lot of little, repeated motions, details are extremely important. A simple alteration in your wrist position or where you place your feet can literally change the game.

Gamer Posture Tips to Improve Your Play

It’s never too late to make good posture modifications. (We bet you’re already sitting a little straighter.) Here are six simple strategies to improve your posture without affecting your game.

1. Be mindful of your monitor

Here’s a rule to keep in mind: Your computer screen shouldn’t be further than 20-24 inches from you. Also, your eyes should be level with the middle of the screen, and ideally, the top third. This will help you avoid straining your eyes and keep your body in proper alignment rather than slouching down or tilting up. Ideally, you want to sit at a 90-degree angle, which is much easier to maintain effortlessly for long periods of time when your monitor is set up properly.

Tilting puts extra pressure on your upper body while restricting your torso, which ultimately can cause full-body pain and muscle tension, particularly in your back. Additionally, eye strain can be harmful to the health of your eyes and also a hindrance to your gaming performance.

2. Notice where your keyboard is positioned

It’s best if your keyboard is placed on a surface about 2-3 inches above your knees. You do not want to have to reach way out in front or have to hunch over to access it. Stretching your fingers in this awkward and uncomfortable position can cause serious issues over long periods of time.

If you use a mouse, it’s also better to control it with your elbow and not your wrist. This will relieve pressure on the tendons and the small (but important!) muscles in your hands and fingers.  

Gamers are often rapidly moving their fingers, wrists, and forearms, which can trigger carpal tunnel, a syndrome that causes pain, tingling, and numbness in your hand.

3. Rest your arms & keep your wrists in a neutral position

Because gaming involves so much wrist action, the position of your hands and arms is important. Your elbows should be at about a 90-degree angle. This helps your shoulders maintain a relaxed, neutral position and allows your wrist (and entire hand) to stay straight.

This position will help you avoid wrist strain, arm pain, muscle injuries, carpal tunnel, and a stiff neck and shoulders.

4. Pay attention to your head, neck & shoulders

Picture this: You’re at the tense, final moments of a game. Your shoulders are raised in anticipation, your neck is tilted forward toward your screen, and your shoulders are slouched. This is exactly the position you don’t want to hold for long periods of time, and you should try to avoid it whenever possible.

It doesn’t matter if you’re gaming, eating, or working, it’s ideal to sit in a position with your shoulders relaxed and not lifted. Your head should be over your spine (not tilted forward or backward), and your chin slightly tucked (not angled out or in).

Overall, the position of your head, neck, and shoulders cause a ripple effect on the rest of your body. If they’re in a good position, generally, the rest of your body is set up for success too.

Your head weighs more than you might think! It’s better to have your spine support that weight rather than your shoulder muscles, which will help decrease tension headaches. Also, slouching adds strain to your neck and shoulder muscles, so you’ll avoid back pain and likely feel increased energy and confidence — which is crucial for improving your gaming skills.

5. Support your lower back

Lumbar support protects your spinal curves. This is key to maintaining proper gaming posture with your hips, shoulders, and ears aligned properly. It also relieves your back and shoulder muscles from having to do so much work to support your body. Let the lumbar support do the job instead!

It’s best to get an ergonomic chair with built-in lumbar support. However, if your chair doesn’t have lumbar support, adding a pillow can help relieve some of the tension and give your body support.

When you fail to support your lower back, it can cause harm to your spine and back and lead to serious medical concerns. It can also lead to poor core muscles and joint degeneration.

Final Thoughts

Many of us consider gaming more than just a hobby. It’s one method we relax, unwind, and socialize with our pals. We’ve noticed that it improves our abilities to solve difficulties and make speedy decisions. However, it’s critical to play smart, which begins with paying attention to your posture and overall wellness.