B&M - leaving when WAY up

[Big Sissy]

You're at a 4/8 table full-kill table. For the first two hours, you find the table to be very tight; you can actually raise folks off hands. An hour ago, a LAG sat down and has won a number of large pots by calling PF raises with crap (63o and such). This has completely changed the dynamics of the table. Some players are steaming with the intent of seeking revenge on the LAG, others are just convinced they can also play crap and win.

You run hot for the next 30 minutes and are now up $250.

Even though the table is extremely +EV, it is also extremely high variance.

Should you now leave and take your win at the high-end of the variance, or do you stay and risk what you've won for even greater gains?

[Frond]

stay

[revlwb]

If you are still playing well, there is no reason to leave. Consentrate on each hand as before.

[ItzMrFish2U]

When you feel you're losing your edge (fatigue, frustration etc) then it's time to throw in the towel. As long as it's a LAGy table and you feel you're adjusting properly, no need to quit.

I find myself in the same situation a lot in early morning situations. Right when all the evening workers get off and come into the card room I know things will get LAGy. Despite the high EV I'm never sure I can adjust properly after an 8 hour session.

[Small Fry]

If your asking yourself this question then it's probably time to leave.

[Harv72b]

[ QUOTE ]
When you feel you're losing your edge (fatigue, frustration etc) then it's time to throw in the towel. As long as it's a LAGy table and you feel you're adjusting properly, no need to quit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. However, a lot of people think of this as only being something that happens after you've lost several big pots...you can just easily lose your focus and start playing bad poker after winning big. Call it reverse tilt--you want to keep your huge win for the session, so you end up folding too many hands, not pressing your advantages, and worse still, you can end up switching around to more traditional tilt if you then lose a few key pots.

You shouldn't be leaving the table just because you're up big. But if the fact that you're up big means that you're no longer playing good poker, then yes...get up & call it a night.

[AlienBoy]

You should leave when table conditions deteriorate. The following denotes table conditions:


1) Quality of players. How many are donating to the game? How many are outplaying you?

2) General game: Are there more than 4 players to a flop? Are people getting swept up in "gamble fever"?

3) Quality of YOU: This is the *most important*. Did you just finish a rush, and now you feel invincible? Are you playing hands not present in any starting hand chart just because you think you can? Are you getting caught up in gambler fever? Are you fatigued? Going too far with mediocre holdings? Calling all the way down because you don't believe that fish could have a real hand?

Watch it.

The single most important "table condition" is YOU.

If you just finished a rush, and are buoyant with adrenaline, you are a danger to yourself! *THIS* is a good reason to take a break.

Myself, I now know that I need to take a break and walk around after any hat trick. Or even leave and change tables/limits.

While it is true that it's "all one long session" from a probability standpoint, it is certainly NOT all one long session from your psychological viewpoint.

I've been logging "session peaks" in my log book - I find these peaks are typically within the first 2-3 hours of play, and if I continue past this point I invariably leave the session lower. After 4 hours of play, I have to be very careful, and it's very difficult to keep focused and profitable.


AB

P.S.: Up $250 in 4/8 Kill isn't "way up" by any stretch of the imagination.

[ChuckyB]

I had this in December at a 4/8 game (no kill).
I was up about $250 after 4 hours. The game had tightened up. It was bad for about half an hour so I racked up. I was set to leave on my BB (about 6 hands away).

In those six hands, enough passive multi-way acton come on that I felt I should stay. I still felt great, and I was playing well.

Two hours later I was up about $500.

That would have been my biggest win ever. I felt good, the table was still good, so I stuck around.

Long story long, I left about two hours after that up $777.

If you feel you're fading or something's wrong with the game, get out and save that $250.
If the game is still great...what the hell are you thinking about? Forget how much money you're up now. There's plenty more out there to be had. The table conditions aren't always that good. Take advantage of it while you can.

[ncskiier]

Nice hand.