When to quit a session

[Cigwin]

I usually don't have a difficult time determining when I should quit if the cards are running bad and I'm down for the session. I'm wondering though if any of you have any guidelines you use for when to quit when you're winning. The last couple of times when I've been up 20 BB's or so after an hour of playing I felt that I should quit but I continue in the hopes of doing even better. Usually I then lose a few hands or get a bad beat. The first time I ended up 2.5BB ahead and the second time 10 BB's.

So, when do you quit?

[Mike Gallo]

So, when do you quit?

When I no longer have the best of it.

[slavic]

A few nights ago, I was up 3x my buy in at a 10/20 game. It was a great game and I was thinking about calling in sick just so I wouldn't have to leave. Then around midnight I was sitting under the gun, looked down at my hole cards K /images/graemlins/spade.gif9 /images/graemlins/spade.gif. I thought "I can outplay these yokals with this!".

I mucked the hand, grabbed 4 racks and cashed out.

[Cigwin]

slavic,

First of all thanks for the conversion program, it's pretty slick.

Secondly you bring up a good point about attitude when you're on a roll. Kind of a reverse tilt. I find myself resisting the urge to play mediocre hands when I'm doing real well.

[GuyOnTilt]

If you're a winning player , you're making money for every mintue you're sitting in the game as long as you avoid tilt. The second I detect that I'm making loose calls preflop, or going too far with my hands, or that my judgement is off in any way, I'm out. Catching bad cards or being down has nothing to do with my decision to stop playing, just as whether I'm up 3 racks has no influence whether I leave or not.

[andyfox]

Ideally, in a perfect world, and if you were a robot, you should quit at the absolute moment when you no longer have the best of it. It's sometimes hard to determine that precise moment though.

And it depends why you are playing. If you're trying to win $500 to buy an anniverary present for your wife, you should quit when you get ahead $500. If you have allotted $100 from your budget for gambling and you lose it, you should quit. If it is psychologically damaging to you to have been ahead a lot and then give it back, set a stop-loss system when you get up a certain amount and quit if and when you have lost a set amount of your winnings back. If the sheriff has given you three hours on furlough and it takes you half and hour to get to the card club, play for two hours.

Decide what's important to you and play accordingly.

[Nottom]

I think Dynasty is a pretty big fan of K9s, he has advocated playing it UTG if the game is right. I certainly think if you can play A2s you can play K9s as well.

[slavic]

If the sheriff has given you three hours on furlough and it takes you half and hour to get to the card club, play for two hours.

Are you trying to tell us something?

[slavic]

nottom-
I remember that thread. I just looked it up in PokerTraker and I win .8 BB's per hand with K9s from EP. I guess it's one of those hands that plays a lot better than I think it does. Or maybe it doesn't play that well but when I choose to play it, it does real well.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

You should continue playing anytime the game is good, you are playing well, are not too tired, have an advantage over your opponents, etc. Whether you are up or down really makes no difference. The only time you should quit an otherwise good game when you are down is if you are psychologically unable to handle it, and therefore the quality of your play goes down enough to negate your advantage.

As for your wins that turned into smaller wins because of bad beats etc... they are of no importance.

Much has been written on this topic in various 2+2 books.

al