Tilt is a poker term for a state of mental or emotional confusion or frustration in which a player adopts a suboptimal strategy, usually resulting in the player becoming overly aggressive. Tilting is closely associated with another poker term, "steam".
Placing an opponent on tilt or dealing with being on tilt oneself is an important aspect of poker. It is a relatively frequent occurrence due to frustration, animosity against other players, or simply bad luck.
The term originated from pinball where physically tilting the machine causes some games to flash the word "TILT" and freeze the flippers.[1]
Tilt is also common in other games, especially chess[citation needed] and esports. Tilting in esports causes players to "lose control due to anger". The most extreme reaction is termed a "ragequit", angrily leaving the match or quitting the game, physically turning off the device or breaking a part like a monitor or control device by smashing it.[2]