Stop playing when you are up

[Splossy]

I think if you are building your bankroll then it's a perfectly valid approach. It makes no sense mathematically but makes sense psychologically.

[AlienBoy]

Poker is not just math - the psychology is also very important. I leave after an extraordinary hand, or a hat trick of good hands, when I'm up.

Why? not for the reasons you might think.

When I just drag in a huge pot, or 3 big pots in a row (hat trick), my endorphin levels have skyrocketed. I feel invincible, and this is going to affect my play. Screw it. Leave, take a break, calm down, get a hooker, hang with some friends, watch TV. FORGET that you just stacked 3 people at once.

Return to the tables rested, and after you've come down from the "drug" of the endorphin rush.

AB

[Vince.]

I also tend to leave games after I'm up 2 or 3 buyins. This causes me to somtimes have very short sessions, and it causes me to only play long sessions when I'm stuck or breakeven on the day because I'm either trying to make back what I lost for the day or book a win. After I'm up a couple buyins I feel scared to lose what I've made and usually end up quitting soon after. It seems to change my game for the worse usually so it's probably better that I stop, even if I'm in a good game. This is definetly something I need to improve in my game.