when i first started playing seriously, about three years ago, i lost a match because i felt i had been cheated. i put my break cue throught the wall of the pool hall. about a year after that i lost a team match. tied two a piece in matches, up 3-0, i lost 4-3. that win would have put us about a step away from vegas (apa - i know silly but i was still new). i shook hands went outside and to this day there is a catoon like fist shaped dent in the tailgate of my truck.
about a year after that i lost in a local tournament after making it to the finals in the hot seat i wound up taking second. when i finally left about a half hour later i launched my case into the bed of my truck from about 15 feet away. a while after that i lost in the finals of the apa regional singles to a kid i honestly knew was not playing his speed - he'd already been caught and raised and when i played him he still wasn't up high enough. after they did the pictures for winner and runner up and all the glad handing i went outside and skimmed the plaque i got across the parking lot.
lastly a few months ago i took second again in a local tourney after winning to the hotseat. i shook the guys hand had a few laughs with everyone collected my money and took my girl out to breakfast (it was 4 in the morning) went home and went to bed.
i guess it's just a learning curve. you get better about it. my temper is still wildly out of control, always has been and always will be. and i have always been hyper-competitive. you just learn how to be gracious in defeat as in victory. i have never taken a victory lap on someone, somehow that never seemed right, and i've blamed anyone for me losing. but in the bad old days i'd show my ass pretty bad after losing because of my own mistakes.