ok so im trying to start to take poker in general seriously both online and live but for this topic im going to concentrate on online play
ive started a bankroll according to the bankroll management atricle by pokerfox for pocket5's and decided to start at the 50c/1 level

my question is when playing online, when do you leave a table or stop playing when winning or losing

the reason i am asking this is because the other night i dropped 4 buy ins(3 to bad luck and last one was tilted)
its not a big hit to my BR but if i keep doing this when im running bad its only a matter of time before i lose it all

now i know all the arguments about leaving affecting variance but i dont think that method is for me

what do the rest of you guys do? do you set out before you start playing a target to win and when u reach it leave no matter what or is it a set amount of time and no matter what leave when time is up

and also when you are losing, do u limit yourself to a set number of buy ins or do you go by % to your BR. im not keen on the theory of if you are better than most on the table you should stay because you will get it back and then some but sometimes it just aint your night and its best to quit before things go pear shaped

just curious to see what everyone else does

just to throw a suggestion out there, im thinking of setting myself time limit to play (say an hour or two) or 2 buy ins - which ever comes first\

thanks in advance for your replies and suggestions

you leave when you're not playing your A game.

-tilt
-scared
-tired
-frustrated
-running unbearably bad
-no fishies at the table

wtf does this mean?

I usually leave if I notice I am not playing my A game or when I start to lose focus. It is really easy, for me anyway, to lose focus playing online. I find that when that happens I start to bleed money. Last night I had a good session going but stopped after a little over an hour because I started checking forums, email, tv. This has been a big leak in my game that I am trying to fix.

You shouldn't feel you have to leave when you win X amount or lose X amount. But you should leave if that X amount is affecting the way you play.

When to quit is good to know but beter yet is to know when not to start, I

just love seeing guys come in to play a bit to "relax" after along days work.

Don't be one of those guys or sit down if it is not a favorable situation.

I have trouble focusing when i am in green for a good amount of cash in that season. I play a lot better when i am down.

Just think of it as one long game and it won't matter. Whether you screwed up or played well, the only thing you should be focusing on is playing as well as you can at this moment in time. If you aren't, take as much time as you need until you feel on top of your game again. Five minutes, a day, a week--who cares? It doesn't matter...keep it slow and steady. Somebody once said poker is a game of mistakes: he who makes the fewest comes out ahead. And don't forget that if you realize you're being outplayed, there's no shame in leaving and finding another table.

Um, hello? Getting up is like five standard deviations below the mean. Don't you know that???

the general consensus that im getting hereis that most of you go by 'feel' of the game rather than a set limit

i no its probably the best way to go but as i mentiond earlier i dont think that strategy works for me

im going to go with playing a pre determined time when winning and allwoing myself no more thn 2 buy ins for session

thank you all for you advice, much appreciated

good luck at the tables

You leave when the fish gets up. Not a minute before and you don't stay a minute later.

As long as you can look around the table and honestly say that you are better than most of the players, you stay, wether you're winning or losing.
When the sharks sit down and the game gets tough, it's time to call it a day.

I stop-loss amount is definitely an ok thing to use when you're losing, especially if you know that you tend to play worse, and have less confidence when you are losing. I think setting a limit when you are winning, though, is a mistake. I think if you are winning and are in a good game and are playing well, then you should keep playing as long as those conditions still exist. If you start to play bad, then quit, but if you can keep going, then why limit how much money you can win?

I personally like to lock up a win.

Here is a thread from RGP: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.gamblin...5d1992?lnk=raot

and a quote from it:

Always look to lock up a win. The objective, of course, is to maximize your
wins and minimize your loses. The trick is to find that balance between
shutting down a winning streak too soon and giving back everything you won
plus some. How many times have you heard a player say, "Damn, I should have
quit when I was ahead?" Or, "Man, I was up $600 and now I'm stuck $500".
Well some where during that $1,100 swing would have been a good time to
think about locking up a win. If I'm up say $1,000 in a $10/$20 game I'm
not going to quit if I lose a pot. But I am going to decide on an amount of
that $1,000 that I am going to walk out with. For example, I might say,
"OK, I'll play back $300 of this win but when I'm down to $700, I'm out.


Now I can hear the RGPers screeching from here. "You shouldn't set an
arbitrary number like that." "It's all just one big game and it makes no
sense to quit today when you know you're going to play tomorrow." "You don't
play poker by the session; you play poker by the year". Or, the one that
has busted more players than any other single sentence in poker, "Never quit
as long as you are a favorite."


Well my response, with all due respect, is you manage your money and I'll
manage mine. If I'm up $1,000, in a $10/$20 game, that's a pretty decent
night. Now I blow back $300. Maybe I've been playing for three or four
hours and I'm getting a little tired. Maybe the line-up has changed and a
couple of weaker players have left or just tightened up. In any case, I'm
still ahead $700. Do I want to sit here and chase that $300 or is there
something else I would like to do? Am I going to sleep better tonight with
a $700 win or knowing that I developed *** glue, gave it all back and
ended-up losing $200? Am I likely to play better tomorrow knowing that I'm
fresh, rested and up $700 from the night before? Personally, I'll walk out
with the $700 win and sleep just fine.

I'm not sure who I heard this from.

When you think maybe it's time to leave, it's time to leave.

A stop-loss number isn't ideal, but it's better than my usual method: play until I get even or I have to go to work.

LMAO ... just ... lmao

These factors are external to whether or not you have arbitrarily or otherwise set a number at which you plan to leave ahead. When you're tired or the game has toughened you are no longer a favorite, which is why you should get up. It's just circular logic to arrive at the same conclusion.

I wait until I get really red in the face, you can feel the steam pouring out of my ears, that means it is time to stop.... True story.

only when you've been running bad or your confidence is a little shot should you quit just to lock up a win.

if you quit because you don't feel like playing anymore then that's okay.

but honestly your big wins come from playing long hours when you have your confidence and a super +EV situation (a SUPER weak table, players on tilt, etc.)

i'll keep going even when i'm not playing my best (when i look up to see the dealer and it was not the dealer i was expecting) if i still have a big big edge on the table.

don't underestimate confidence, there will be some nights when you go on a big heater and can't lose. quitting then just because you are up two buy-ins is a HUGE leak.

what is everyones opinion on playing set times when your winning

for example you say to urself "im going to play for 2 hours and no matter how much im winning or what the tables like after 2 hours thats it"

That's fine, IMO.

It's a long run game, afterall.

The reality of the matter is this. If you can play your same game, adapting to table conditions, making sure you're using proper table selection, etc, it really doesn't matter. If you can play like a robot, then play as much as you want, as little as you want, as long or short as you want, etc. It's a long run game, so it does not matter.

However, we're all human, and most of us are effected emotionally by lots of the aspect of poker, as hard as we try, whether we like it or not. If you can control the emotions to the point where they aren't affecting you, then it doesn't matter, but for most of us, you need to have the will, and intelligence to walk away the MOMENT you start feeling too tired, too tilted, or if your image is shot and don't know how to play off it, etc. That's the key. It's not easy.