On Tilt, Steaming, Foran’ing, whatever you want to call it; it is a poker term for the mental state when a player adopts a “less than optimal” strategy.
There are many causes for Tilt, but just to name a few:
1. Folding a winning hand to a bet only to have your opponent turn over a bluff
2. Having an opponent “suck out” on you and beat your hand, this is made worse when the pot odds are not in line with the odds they made to draw to the card.
3. Frustration of getting unplayable hands time after time.
4. Standing up to an aggressive player who is always raising, only for them to end up with a dominating hand when you do, ie. AA vs KK, also called the Cold Deck.
5. Some players can be put on Tilt just with conversation, commenting on the way they play their cards, their choice of hands and or bets can make some players lose concentration.
6. Although not something that ever happens in the Home Game, I have heard that excessive consumption of alcohol can sometimes cause players to play a little on Tilt.
A good player avoids Tilt, but all players will at sometime in their poker career fall into the trap. Recognizing when another player is on Tilt can make it quite profitable if you have the right cards