When to stop?

[ssdex]

So i've been doing a lot of thinking lately about stop/losses and about when it is right to quit your session even if your way up.

I have always had a 5 buyin stop loss-- meaning I will stop until I have reviewed why i've dropped 5 buyins in a session. After review, if I've been playing B game or better and just running bad, i keep playing, if not I just quit altogether I play really long sessions, usually 3-5k hands. Mostly because I can only play 3-4 days a week.

I think I have lost a ton of $ because I can't seem to know when to quit when i'm way up. When im running good or on a heater I think its going to keep going up and never quit. The problem is I usually drop a buyin or two towards the end of these and theeeen decide to quit. Im sure over my poker career this has cost me a lot of $. How do you all avoid this problem? How do you know when its time to quit a heater and what kind of stop losses do you put on your sessions?

thanks
-dex

[CmnDwnWrkn]

There is no rule of thumb for when to stop. You have to know yourself and be able to monitor yourself well enough that you can recognize when you aren't playing well. Not playing well is what should decide for you when to stop NOT amount of money won/lost. There are a lot of things that can lower the quality of your play. You might get angry because you took two bad beats in a row. You might feel invincible because you are way ahead and feel you can outplay anyone with 27o. You might be tired. You have to be honest with yourself and recognize when you are making mistakes and have the discipline to take some time off

[jonyy6788]

u should never really quit when you're up....unless ur luckboxing ur way to stacks

ur mind should be much more at ease knowing that if u make a +EV move (but get stacked) that u still have profits

[Disconnected]

I use a script to reload automatically, so I don't even know for sure how much I'm up or down (although I usually have a rough idea if I think about it). I play until I'm not sure about what I'm doing, or feel myself getting too tired or distracted. I've never thought that a stop loss based purely on $$ was a good idea (although if you've been taking a beating on a particular table, I think it may be a good idea to leave, based on image if nothing else).

I used to try and keep track of whether I was up or down for a session, and how much, and found that the psychological benefits of booking a positive session (which shouldn't matter, but nevertheless feels good) were outweighed by the negatives of possibly playing catchup when behind and the concentration on my win/loss amount that could be better used to get more reads on players or concentrate on my own play more. It helps that I'm adequately rolled and that I'm a hobby player anyway, so not dependent on any income.

There are several scripts on the software forum that will auto reload for you, and I would suggest playing for a couple weeks without actually knowing how much you're up or down, and see how you like it. Then you could use different criteria for knowing when to stop.

Oh, I almost forgot the most prevalent factor in stopping....when my wife says I've got to stop for the 3rd or 4th time. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[hennnerz]

I went through a period of leaving when I tripled up. Then I thought this was stupid (which I guess it is). But today I was $160 up on $50 and proceeded to lose it all. Times like this when stopping might be sensible. I still don't know though...

[ssdex]

do any of you stop during a big heater/upswing, even if your playing very well and you have alotted more time to play?

early in my poker career I would be like man, ive won 600 today, thats plenty, time to quit/ go play halo, whatever

now i don't ever get that "i've made enough $ today feeling", I play until I start playing bad or some other external factor makes me quit.

What im saying is I have the discipline to quit when im losing but not when im winning

scenario, say ive played 3.5k hands and im up 8 buyins, im like shipit im playing great. then 200 hands later i finally lose a big pot and im like ok, now i guess i can quit, even though after 3.5k hands i could have easily quit and been up 1 more buyin.

[CmnDwnWrkn]

[ QUOTE ]
u should never really quit when you're up

[/ QUOTE ]

you should if you start getting into sloppy play because you are up

[bkar824]

I can't really talk for you, but I'll tell you about my experiences.

I tend to know to stop when I become extremely results oriented. For example, say I drop 10-20% (1 or 2 buyins) of my bankroll...if I start freaking out or worrying about the money that I lost when I'm in the middle of hands or important decisions...then I take a break, or quit altogether. If you're playing well, I tend to think there is a reason why: table conditions because of that maniac that's sitting at 3 of your tables. I like to keep good sessions going. However, don't just blindly chug away. After 200-300 hands at one table...players come in and out, and you could easily be sitting at a completely different table than you were. If the reason why you think you're playing well goes away...then change tables or stop playing altogether.

Quitting just because you're up or just because you are down is extremely results oriented. You just need to base that decision on how you've been playing.

If you're making great moves and it feels like you can put everyone on a hand, then go ahead and play some extra hands. But if you start stacking off with TPGK or (insert some fishy thing that you normally don't do), then back off.

Oh yeah, and we've all lost money cause we've stacked off at the end of a session when we're tired and we've lost our discipline. Good discipline makes for a good poker player.

Hope this helps.

[bkar824]

[ QUOTE ]

Oh, I almost forgot the most prevalent factor in stopping....when my wife says I've got to stop for the 3rd or 4th time. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh duh! How could I forget that one!?

[qwertyui9]

I often play til i get even when down and feel i'm playing well. If I start to tilt/run real bad etc i just quit when i feel I'm no longer in the right frame of mind to play well.


[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
u should never really quit when you're up

[/ QUOTE ]

you should if you start getting into sloppy play because you are up

[/ QUOTE ]

I have noticed this creeping into my game also, if i do anything sloppy I knuckle back down or quit if I've played a lot of hands.

Feel is the main factor to me in when to stop. I don't have a set no. of buyins but this takes self-discipline and i've been known to tilt/donk off profit when not being honest with myself