Teach me when to quit a live session

[PorkchopDJG]

I have also found this question to be a tough one to figure out.
I have length of drive issues as well so no matter what happens I am going to play for a while. If I just go card dead or hit a really strong table and go down half my buy in I will either rebuy back up to my original buy in if I think the table is still good and I have been playing well or get a table change if I think my table image is shot or there are just too many good players at the table. If I continue either at the same table or a new table and lose half that again I will conclude it's not my night and usually just go home. Since I always buy in for 30BB's it will be a 30BB stop loss.

If I am winning I will usually stay until I get tired which is usually about a 10hr session.
I may also leave if I have played for at least 5 hours and either;
1)The table gets incredibly tough (may just do table change)
2)My table breaks and I have to move to another table and completely learn 10 new players.
3)The tables at the limit I play are all shorthanded.
4)I have won a lot but have given half back by lossing a few big pots and I am getting tilty.

[andyfox]

Sounds like you have a problem with commitment. Best thing to do is to make some kind of commitment--play only 5 hours to the minute; play 'til you win or lose X dollars and not a hand more; anything--and then stick to it. Then, eventually, gradually, sticking to a decision will become a habit rather than a chore.

Quitting "good" is a function of what's important to you. If you can't handle being way up and then giving a big chunk back, set a stop loss for yourself: once I get to X big bets up, if I give back Y, I'm outta here.

[Joe Tall]

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Obviously if the game is good you should want to continue playing

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This mindset is getting you into trouble in the first place. The games will always be there, especially live games. No matter how many times I've heard, "but the game was so good", those students have never complained about not finding another good game in the future.

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how do you quit good?

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Having control over quiting is the single most important thing that you could ever learn in poker. More than anything, anyone, could tell you on this board. Having the ability to quit well will allow you to play your A-game throughout every session.

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Should I just accept a 25BB loss instead of a 15BB loss even though it is clear that I will lose 10BB more often than I will make a come back?

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Think about this a little bit differently. Say you make $80/hr in a 20/40 live game. You are 2hrs into a session and are stuck over a rack $500+. Are you going to sit in the game for another hour to try to make a lousy $80 on avg? Quit, sleep it off, get back on your game.

[pohuist]

I also have a long commute. I made several rules and they seem to work for me. I play short sessions -- generally 4 hours. I may play longer if I am running well and/or the game is very good, but no longer than 6. There may be 2 sessions a day but then I will have a huge break between them 1.5- 2 hours (have dinner, walk around, meet girls do whatever, just let your brain rest). This way you can still play 10 hours and be fresh most of the time. I have a stop loss of 40BB per session and 50BB a day. If I had a huge rush (as opposed to winning slowly and steadily) I will be very mindful of when it is over and will get up if lose a couple of big pots. This way I still quit a big winner. If I was losing earlier in the session (20BB or more) and then came back I will quit immediately if I break even or get close to it. I will also quit immediately if I realize that I am not playing well for whatever reason. If I am running bad I will still continue playing to give myself a chance but will quit after 4 hours.

[rafiki]

joetall, I can lose 400$ in a 15/30 game in 3 bad hands. Couple more orbits and you can be stuck 700$. But you can have some big hand where you scoop 400+. I think the 80$ an hour is an average of the ups and downs. I think it's bad advice to quit down 500$+ given how fast it can happen with variance...

[Howard Beale]

I left tonights game after 3 hours even though the game was very good and I was winning. I left because I knew I was too tired to play well. Frankly, I shouldn't have gone to play in the first place since I knew I would get tired quickly and what happened might happen. I leave as soon as I know that I can't play as well as I should or the game (rarely) is a waste of time because there's no action. For me there is no other criterion.

[Bicycles_Biatch]

I asked for some similar advice a while back... what I found, is that I only play really strong poker for about 3 hours... then I start to faultier. If I have to play longer than 3 hours (for whatever reason).... I try to take a walk around the outside of the casino (which takes about 20 minutes), do some push-ups, and grab a snapple. Helps me relax and re-center myself.

Also, it helps to have a goal. I find that when I have a "goal" of say $500 a day... it's much easier to reach that goal and get up and leave.

[DeathDonkey]

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joetall, I can lose 400$ in a 15/30 game in 3 bad hands. Couple more orbits and you can be stuck 700$. But you can have some big hand where you scoop 400+. I think the 80$ an hour is an average of the ups and downs. I think it's bad advice to quit down 500$+ given how fast it can happen with variance...

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You missed the point so badly. He's saying its just another way to think about playing. No matter what just happened to you you're gonna make $80 in the next hour so why are you more inclined to put in that next hour after a rough night of losing where you are unhappy and don't even want to be there, rather than starting fresh the next day? You aren't going to "get unstuck" because you make 80 an hour regardless of any past variance-determined results.

-DeathDonkey

[Howard Beale]

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Also, it helps to have a goal. I find that when I have a "goal" of say $500 a day... it's much easier to reach that goal and get up and leave.

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I am very reluctant to nay-say whatever works for somebody but I think this is pretty bad. What's the point of a daily goal? We're not playing a game that is played by the day rather we're playing a game that is played by the years. Your next hand of poker is your next hand of poker. It doesn't matter when you play it but it does matter that you play it when both the game and YOUR game is good.

I know a regular who is a winning player. He sits in with a goal (from what I've seen over the years) of making a few hundred/session. He'll sit for minutes or hours until he reaches (if he can) that goal. I've seen him lose $1,000+ but I've almost NEVER seen him win $1,000+. Needless to say I think he's got completely the wrong approach but I'm happy to have him in the game. He's predictably rock-like, won't win much and can lose a bundle. For me the only goal is to play well in good games. Not that I always follow my own advice but I generally can leave when I know I should.

Edit to add:

I just realized that the person I described doesn't sound like a winning player but he is. He's been grinding out a small living doing it his way. But his way is going to keep it a small living, imo.

[Vehn]

sorry howard but I respectfully disagree. I built my roll by "hit and running". I built my roll by leaving when I was up and staying when I was stuck. I am a lifetime loser in live games when I play over 8 hours.