Winning and losing sessions

[deluz35]

While poker is an endless game, time is a relevant factor. I think the main value of setting stop-losses (like 4 BIs in a day) is that it is built-in tilt protection, regardless of whether you are playing bad or running bad.

As for quitting while ahead, this is a real psychological problem which must be overcome if you want to become a big winner. Definitely set stop-losses, but let your profits run. If you are winning, keep playing as long as you are playing well. The desire to "log a winning session" or a "winning day" is really about fear of losing.

These are all artificial frames that we employ to trick ourselves into feeling good or bad about the situation. More important are rules to not play when tired, etc. Know yourself well enough to set limits on losses, min and max hours for a session. This structure and discipline will make it easier to forget about the fluctuations in bankroll.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_theory

[foal]

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Now, mess up the chips or cover up the part on the screen that has your chip count on it.

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Hah, don't do that! You need to know how many chips are in your stack to play properly.

[Piemaster]

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Now, mess up the chips or cover up the part on the screen that has your chip count on it.

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Hah, don't do that! You need to know how many chips are in your stack to play properly.

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Unless you are playing limit of course [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[quirkasaurus]

i don't see any problem with quitting early if you are ahead.

personally, i don't pay much attention to a winning / losing
session, i pay attention to:

if i'm up OR down at a table, and i feel like "i have NO CLUE
how these guys are playing!!" -- i leave.

if i know i'm playing good, up OR down, I stay.

i don't agree that there's "only this one hand" at all.
the longer you sit at a table, the more "meta-game" stuff
should start coming into play, ( seeing betting patterns, etc... )

i HAVE noticed that if i get considerably up at a table and
especially if i've been playing for a while, and i know i'm
getting tired and losing my focus, i do indeed start playing
like a complete moron. as soon as i detect this, i quit.
( may take a few horribly played hands and losses! )

jmtc ( new acronym -- "just my two cents"

[Praxising]

[ QUOTE ]
i don't agree that there's "only this one hand" at all.
the longer you sit at a table, the more "meta-game" stuff
should start coming into play, ( seeing betting patterns, etc... )

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with you entirely - and there is still only one had. But what I mean by that is: your decision about whether to enter a pot, bet, check, fold, raise whatever, must be all about that hand. It isn't about wanting to win back money from a previous hand, or keep money you've won, or any other thing. It's all about what is going on right now in the dynamic system of the hand. (And, of course, to that moment you bring with you all the poker tools you possess, including whatever info you have gathered on opponents at table or whatever it might be, as you said.)

You sound like you are a pretty advanced thinker - maybe without knowing that. What you say is also what the book says - if you are playing well, you stay in the game, whether you are, at some random moment, winning or losing is just not relevant.

[foal]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Now, mess up the chips or cover up the part on the screen that has your chip count on it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hah, don't do that! You need to know how many chips are in your stack to play properly.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless you are playing limit of course [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Oh yah. But you'll still need to reload sometimes. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[morphball]

Maybe it's more of a problem that you don't stop when losing?

There is nothing wrong with quitting a table when you have >= 10% of your bankroll on it and it's at risk.

[orange]

I have the same problem.

Some steps I do to change this is:

-play on different poker sites. This is the main one I think. Spread your money around so you have separate bankrolls. So if you run good at one site, leave it and go play another site (rinse/wash/repeat). I have my money spread across a few sites, and I know if I experience this hit-n-run session then I can always play another session somewhere else.

-Play many short sessions. ie. your up a lot, then you'll probably stop. Wait a few hours, evaluate, then start again. I usually play about 2 500 hand sessions or so, depending on how my game is going.

And, try to really avoid watching the cashier button. I know it's difficult but try and stop looking at it. (I can take some advice here too, I need to stop checking mine!).

[obiedman]

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe it's more of a problem that you don't stop when losing?

There is nothing wrong with quitting a table when you have >= 10% of your bankroll on it and it's at risk.

[/ QUOTE ]

this never happens. i'm actually very overrolled for the games i play.

[ QUOTE ]
-play on different poker sites. This is the main one I think. Spread your money around so you have separate bankrolls. So if you run good at one site, leave it and go play another site (rinse/wash/repeat). I have my money spread across a few sites, and I know if I experience this hit-n-run session then I can always play another session somewhere else.

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this is an interesting idea, maybe i'll start doing this more. i have my money spread across different sites, but most are more for tournaments than cash. i'll give this a shot, thanks

[Unknown Soldier]

i came to this forum to post the exact same thing.


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You are involved in a fanstasy that there is such a thing as more than one session. There is not. There is only one session. Sometimes it gets interrupted for sleep, or for other things. Then it continues. The players change, sometimes the venue, but it is all one long poker game.

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this is the rational point of view, and I'm pretty sure we are all aware of it. (If you aren't then you probably aren't a very serious poker player), but it's pretty easy to let emotions run us over. That's the problem.