running hot + profitable table

[oneeyejak]

If you set a time limit on your poker play, like punching in and out of work, how do you get up from a table that is extremely profitable when its time?

Do you just put in some overtime?

[RustyBrooks]

I play as long as I feel like playing. This is a variety of factors
- Am I tired? Should I be sleeping?
- am I pissed off because I've been losing (deserved or no)
- are table conditions favorable? Do I like my seat? Are the players that I'm targetting likely to stick around a while? Are other people adjusting to them, etc.

About the only except that I make is (in limit games) if I am down more than a certain amount I set either a time/hand limit, or a dollar limit. If I'm down 30BB then I'll probably consider getting out if I make +/-15bb from there, or I might decide to play for one more hour, etc. This is pretty frickin arbitrary but the point is that I might not be making rational decisions, and if I don't set such limits, I might sit there and keep losing. It's easy for me to stick to a rule like, I'll play 100 more hands and then go, up or down.