Tilt
 

Over the past 6 months I've managed to build up a respectable br, but several times I'll have one night where I lose between 30-50% of my br. Most recently I lost 2.4k of my 4.2k br in one night - playing mostly 2/4NL ($400/$800 max buy-in). It's mostly come back, but I can't help thinking if I could avoid these disastrous nights I would be incredibly better off.

What I find most frustrating is that I'll continue to play a hand when I KNOW I'm beat - on a board of J63, I'll hold 67 and know the other person hit their trip jacks, but on the 5% chance I'm wrong I'll stick in a significant portion of my stack.

I know this is vague, but do any old hands have advice on how to avoid nights like this? I know I should leave the table, but I as I get more and more stuck, it just gets harder to leave.

Do people use a loss-limit (daily, weekly, session)? I was thinking of instituting one, but I think I'll have trouble sticking to it. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Re: Tilt
 

Don't play 2/4 if your total bankroll is only 4k, unless you feel very comfortable putting more in at any time. Don't go to the felt with middle pair when you think you're only 5% to win.

Re: Tilt
 

Thanks! What do you think about daily loss / win limits?

Re: Tilt
 

You play live?

Try to have 20 buy-ins in your BR at least and why would you put any money in the pot if you're 95% he has you beaten?

Re: Tilt
 

Daily win limits are insane, why limit what you win? However, I think daily loss limits have some merit. Something just short of Caro's "Threashold of Pain" (I think that's what he called it - the point where you've lost so much that you no longer feel any further pain if you lose more). For me, that is about 600 big blinds, but I'm pretty well BR'd. After losing that much, I find it impossible to play my A game (or probably even my C game), so if I lose that much in a session, I quit. I've done this for years.

Re: Tilt
 

sounds like a healthy strategy.

Re: Tilt
 

leave the second u feel you are not playing your very best, or the second u feel u no longer have an edge over the others at your table. if youre playing well and making correct decisions and plays, even if u keep getting sucked out on and losing, it is ok to stay, as in the long run your correct decisions will make u money. discipline is a highly overlooked skill for a winning player. u seem to konw when youre not playing your best. just take a break.

Re: Tilt
 

Thanks everybody - I really appreciate the advice.

This is a somewhat weird tangent - what if I know I'm not playing my best but still have a really hard time stopping? Anything that you've found works?

Re: Tilt
 

<<what if I know I'm not playing my best but still have a really hard time stopping? Anything that you've found works?>>

Discipiline yourself to at least take an extended break...

You are aware of a significant leak in your game. The fact that you are winning despite this signficant leak should be encouraging. Barry Greenstein book pg 74:

"Gamblers tend to be competitive people with compulsive tendencies... To be successful, you have to come to terms with the compulsive gambler inside of you."

Sounds to me like you haven't come to terms with your compulsive behavior.

Good tournament players are often fish in cash games because they are very bad at controlling losses. (In tourneys, they are forced to stop). Sounds to me like you know the problem, you just can stop it.

Good luck.