Strategy for when to quit a game

[Holdfast]

Sorry if this is kind of a newbie post as I've only played local spread limit games (IE: $1-100 and $5-200) on three different days now. I have found that I enjoy the B&M game much more than online and I think I have more potential playing B&M. However, I was curious if you set limits to ensure you quit while you are ahead at each session (IE: quit after you are up a certain amount or stop playing after "x" number of hours or when you start to feel tired, etc.). The reason is that (playing with $100 buyins each time) I could have been up $950 if I quit when ahead on each of the three days I played. Instead, I quit when I was ahead my first session, then was up in my other sessions, but played until I got busted. So, I'm actually down $25 as a result! My last session was bad because a friend of mine and I went to a poker room & played at separate tables, but we had no strategy for when we would stop playing (IE: we played until it was late, I was getting tired, and we both would have been up a lot if we had decided to stop playing earlier, etc.). Just wondering how some of you manage your time & decide when to leave a game, if you think it out much ahead of time. I know some players will play from morning and into the night. However, what if you just play for an hour and are up $500, for instance, and just quit & don't let the greed factor take over to win more (as an example?), etc.

Holdfast

[AZplayer]

First of all, don't let the sarcastic posts and one-liners that are sure to follow get you down.

You could do a search here and a wider Google web search and you'll find posts and articles on "stop loss limits" and why they're generally not a good idea. Much has been written on this topic.

Executive summary:

1 - Play as long as you have an edge/advantage. If you're tired, that affects the degree to which you have an edge.

2 - And/or use a "two mistake" rule. If you make two decisions (remember poker is a game of decisions) that are mistakes (meaning, you would NOT have made the same decision if you were fresh and had just sat down) then it's time to leave. That can be 15 minutes into your session or 15 hours. Personally I use a "3-mistake" rule. :-)

Another idea (and I use it FWIW) is to keep a log of your sessions and your play. You can track anything you want, but people who do track info usually track the date/time, buyin amount, stakes, etc. I go a bit further and track 6 different elements of how I am playing, and one of them is Concentration. (Basically, on a scale of 1-5 am I able to fully concentrate).

Later, when you look at your results over time you can start to see if there is a leak in your overall management (not necessarily your poker playing). For example, my recording sheet only has space for 8 hours. I've found that after 8 hours my play begins to noticeably deteriorate. At the end of my 8-hour log, I have a reminder to myself that says "Are you SURE you want to keep playing?" to try to hold myself accountable.

Just yesterday I played 18 hours for a variety of reasons, mostly because I still felt I still had an edge and it was a Friday night, and I don't usually get to play the so-called "juicy" Friday night games. But generally speaking 8 hours is my limit for cash games.

Good luck.

[Dima2000123]

The standard 2+2 answer is that you should quit when you feel like you don't have an edge anymore, whether due to having bad table, being tired, or being tilted. Quitting while you're up is just an artificial limit that will cost you money, there is no difference between getting coolered while you're up a lot late in a session, or getting coolered right at the beginning of the next session.

Quitting while you're down may be more valid, because more often than not people get on tilt when they're down, and the nature of the tilt is that it's hard to catch yourself being on one. Having a hard number as a guideline would help, if you'll stick to it. However, you will miss profitable situations when you sit down at a very good table and get sucked out on in the beginning.

[DesertCat]

I used to set a timer on my phone to force me to take a walk every so often, and think about my play and the table I'm at (is it tough, should I table change, etc). I don't do that anymore but I think I still should. There is a compulsion to play the next hand when you are on a bad streak (and the one after that, and the one after that, etc) to try to get even. Talking a walk away from the table can help you re-evaluate things with a clearer head.

[SNOWBALL]

I bring a magic 8 ball to the table with me, and I shake it up every hour or so. Sometimes it tells me to leave when I'm stuck, but then I consult my tarot cards for a second opinion.

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]

The standard 2+2 answer is that you should quit when you feel like you don't have an edge anymore

[/ QUOTE ]

I seriously doubt OP has any idea what an "edge" even is. That's why he'll be better off with my magic 8 ball/tarot card method. (it'll probably get him to play less and therefore lose less)

[steamboatin]

I am a firm believer that a stop loss for an inexperienced player is a good idea. Obviously a stop loss is a bad idea for a good player.

I think if you don't have much experience playing live or otherwise for that matter, quitting when you are ahead makes a lot os sense.

I have spent a lot of time and energy on this subject, knowing when to quit, and it isn't as easy as some people seem to believe. By the time you get self-aware enough to make an honest apprasial of how you are playing at the moment and have the ability to recognize when your game has slipped, you are really pretty far along the path towards being a very good poker player.

[Holdfast]

Thanks for the replies. I've actually been playing poker (online) for 1 1/2 years and have won MTT's, made several final tables after playing for hours at a time & wading through hundreds of players, but have just barely missed the money in some of the bigger (IE: $150K) tournaments & am tired of online play in general. However, I'm new to brick & mortar cash games as it is a totally different environment for me. As I posted in some other threads, my first two days my hands were shaking & I had a diffcult time just stacking my chips. lol. I was just curious about the habits of those of you who are experienced at B&M. Thanks for the good suggestions. I knew I'd get some ribbing. Maybe I should look for my Sklansky books that I read when I first started playing (I focused on the Harrington tournament series as I was more into tournaments until now).

Holdfast

[Holdfast]

Thanks a lot for the helpful advice.

Holdfast.

[KineticAA]

Learn to be sincerely honest with yourself; if you feel that you can't possibly make any more money at your current table then it's time to get up and leave.