How do you decide when enough is enough?

I generally target a max $ lost and time limit. However, lately it has been working for me to try and get a feel for my high point and cash out while I am at the highest point possible - still keeping my max $ lost as a lower limit.

One of my "leaks" tends to be donking off chips as my self imposed time limit approaches. Now I target a general target of how much I want to win and focus on that (rather than how much I can afford to lose). When I find myself up, I set a percentage of how much of what I have will be my "trigger" to cash out. For example if I am up 3 buy ins, I will allow myself 1 buy in of losses and then leave while still sufficiently up.

I may still adjust this based on my degree of focus and other table factors (easy money at the table!!!)

What works for you?

Any sort of hard and fast stop-rule is bad imo.

Imagine if you were at a NL table with 8 monster donks and you. Yeah, it may take you 4 buy-ins due to suckouts before you start cashing in, but you should stay right?

Stay as long as you can beat the game in whatever way that applies to you.

actually i heard the opposite, Its better to set yourself time. dont go in with the idea of trying to win xxxx and leave/ or with the idea of only losing xxxx then leave.

DN also says this, that its better to set yourself a time frame, and play your game., you should obviously play donks like they are donks, and so forth, but keeping in mind it can be treated like a job, and therefore. leave when u set your time

It's kinda like calling a raise with QJos in the BB, you're setting yourself up to make mistakes.

Imagine you set a time limit, you are going to leave at 8pm. At 7pm you notice that you are down $50, you get the psychological panic of having to leave down and maybe start gambling. If you can get past that then it's cool. From my experience I always do well with no time frame.

No, you dont panic., You learn to play that way. You might be in that mind frame now, but once u learn it, it will work for you

Well surely this will depend on what your goals are. If you're at a casino and you just want to have some fun, you might decide to play for 5 hours or $300 whichever comes first (or whatever), but if you're playing to support yourself, make extra income or to improve your game then obviously you'll have different plans.

If you are a winning player with a decent bankroll playing to make money, then you'll simply work out how many hours you need to play per week and then try and hit that goal without playing beyond your comfort levels. If you make 5BB per hour and you want to earn 200 BBs per week, you should play 40 hours. Some weeks you'll make 500 BBs and some weeks you'll lose 100 BBs but that's irrelevant if your bankroll is healthy. Put in the hours and you'll make your money.

Of course when you realise that you're getting tired to the point where it affects your game, or if you're in an unprofitable game or whatever you'll tend to quit earlier and when you're at a table with a school of fish you might push yourself and stay a couple of extra hours.

On the other hand, if you're only playing to improve your game and you don't care about the cash, you might decide to find a tough game and stay there even if you lose a bit of money - just to gain experience.

So yea, it just depends on your goals really.

I think you should play as long as the games are good, and you are playing good.

I have trouble leaving bad situations when I'm stuck.

When it occurs to me that maybe I should leave, I get up. I walk around a bit and try to distance myself emotionally from the previous "session". If I feel relieved to stop, then I'm done.

If I start back, it's a new session. I reconsider the amount of money I want in play, the table choice, and the seat position. I start over.

I think it's dependent on the field you're playing against.

If you practice good game selection, you should be able to stick around without huge time constraints even if you're stuck or way up, as long as the game has stayed bad. Don't forget to look at your table stats every 30 mins or so to make sure that you haven't gone from a $35 av. pot at your $100max NL table to a $10 av. pot.

If you're more of a limit multi-tabler, time limit is best.

I pretty much play by time because I have a hectic schedule.

I don't suddenly gamble more if I'm stuck in a session and only have 30 min. left because I see it as one long game over many sessions.

I usually have a stop-loss amount (50 BB for LHE and 3 max buyins for NLHE)

The only time I do play longer is if I'm running well. I'll probably hang around until I finally lose a hand or decent size pot. I want to make sure I hit my peak and not leave before I hit my zenith.

If the action dies or I get really tired I will probably leave soon despite running well.

That way I stick to my rule of playing longer good sessions and shorter bad sessions.

I play until I make a stupid play and you can feel your face getting hot, it has always worked for me.

I usually only need a few minute break though