When do you leave a table?

What is the best way to determine the best time to leave the table. For example I had a buy in on a table of $2, saw about 8 aborts and was down 1/4 of my buy in. Should I be leaving based on the amount lost? Should I be staying based on number of orbits? Maybe the play is about to turn in my favor.

How do you determine when to leave and head for another table or even take a break?

On the same note when do you leave if you are doing well at a cerain table?

You shouldnt base when you stay/leave a table depeneding on how much money you win or lose. The biggest factor in deciding when to leave is the other players at the table. If i sat down at a table and there were three massive fish id hand around even if i got stacked twice. However if those three fish get stacked and leave im also going, even if ive tripled my buy in. Youll earn alot more money playing bad opponents then good (obv) and therefore if your tables become a nit-fest just stand up and go, you wont be making much profit at all.

I'm usually leaving if I have more than 10% of my roll on the table, unless there are still plenty of fish left for me to make even more profit at little risk.

I will generally leave a table when I'm AHEAD!! No, really--Chris Ferguson has a great aricle on FT about BR mng. He says, and of course I agree, that when the pot reaches 10% of his BR (that may not be the complete case-ck on FT to be sure) he'll leave just before the blinds reach him! Also, he has more good advice on the subject I don't quite remember!

I leave when the fish leave, and I'm sitting at a 6-max table with 5 nitty regulars.

I generally don't use up/down question as a guide to leaving. I know the bankroll bibles mention something to do with percentages and discipline but that doesn't really work for me.

I find that you should leave if you feel that you are being outplayed, or cannot play optimally for some other reason - say tilting. Whether you're up or down a session doesn't really matter because poker is about the long run of things. The exception is if the knowledge of being up or down begins to influence your decisions at the table.

Getting a big stack at a table gives you advantages and leaving because of bankroll rules (I'm not sure all people agree with this) sort of forfeits this advantage that you've had to work for.

Hope this helps

I use Holdem Manager to display the VPIP stat for the whole table. Usually if it goes below 20% I try to find a new table ... of course I make sure that this is an accurate reflection of the table, sometimes I have 510 hands on a nit and the rest I have 50 (and some might be huge fish). Basically the theory is though as the table tightens up, I leave.

When you can't see who is the fish at the table, then it usually means it's you, and you should leave. On the other hand i don't necessarily leave a table because there is no loose fish left. A couple of super nits on my left and i will stay just to steal their blinds and show a decent profit.

To the OP: don't let your stack fall below your initial buy-in. Just reload as soon as you lose any amount. You sit at a cash table because you want to play a strategy that works well given your buy-in's depth. Keep that depth throughout the session.

About that, I tend to leave the tables when I get more than 200bb deep, unless i have a very good fish that i want to keep playing with. I'm just not too confortable this deep yet.

I'll leave a table if:

A) too many smart, aggressive players are at the table
B) if the table action dries up, and it's just the nits and me
C) if there's >2 empty seats at full ring
D) if I double my buy-in (unless the table is especially juicy)

Speaking as one that swims, if I double my buy in I'm usually history.

Knowing my play is still marginal, I figure at this time it's best for my bankroll if I lock in profits and walk when I'm up.

This is the best advice ever. We'll leave when we're in a profitable situation, and stay when we're in a bad one.

Also, if you had the opportunity to play 50$ NL with a fish who plays 25$ NL, wouldn't you do it? What do you think 25$ NL is if you and the fish both have a 50$ stack. Who do you think is going to adjust better to playing 200bb deep, you or the fish?

Good point, but it's not that simple.

First, there's BRM issues. it's fun to play 50NL against a fish unless you are not rolled for 50NL and a bad beat is a significant blow to your BR.

Then, when you double up, it's usually because Mr fish just lost his stack to you, so his stack is still only $25 and you're still playing 25NL against the fish. But if there are good players at the table with big stacks, then your'e playing 200BB deep against them.

Also, the deeper you play the more easy it is for short stackers to exploit you, so their presence or not affects your decision.

When i double up i don't always leave and i don't always stay. I reevaluate the table and consider effective stack sizes against all my oppoenents.

If you are properly rolled for $25 NL... ONE bad beat at $50 NL shouldn't kill you.

And I highly recommend doing this.. I've played with a couple of just god awful players at $25 NL..done a search and seen them sitting at a $50 NL or $50 6 max table... I go sit as fast as possible.

Haven't done it in awhile and am playing $50 NL now regularly but I would do the same thing if I run into an ATM playing $50 who then goes and sits on a $100.

To play with a terrible player I have reads on above my bankroll I think is a longterm +EV play. You can always avoid playing hands (without the nuts) against anyone else at the table.


As far as the OP... I leave a table when the action dries up which is usually when the fish busts/leaves. I don't have any considerations for money won/lost or anything else like that. If you go on a roll at a $50 NL table and say end up with a stack of $200+... your effective stack is only as big as your opponent.. so what difference does it make how much you have on the table if you couldn't even put half of it in on one hand?

First, I wasn't giving advice. As a student, I wouldn't post among teachers and try to present myself as cablabe of giving advice. In response to the OP, I was simply stating some of my criteria as to when I may leave a table.

Also, why do you only quote only the first line of my post, when the second line contains, imo, a valid qualifier?

If my play was better, staying in a winning situation would certainly make sense.

Until such time as my play is more dependable, I'll help my bankroll by locking in winnings.

Fair enough. But generally, you don't want to sit down at a table where your "play is still marginal". You need to be game selecting so that you're sitting at a table where you have a skill edge on your competition. And when you have an edge on your competition (especially postflop), you want to be as deep as possible.

Understood.

As far as selecting a game, staying in the micros is the best I can do to try and keep my competition somewhere in range.

By "game selecting" do you mean simply looking for big VP's? Or choosing between 6max or FR?

I am still quite a new player, and picking a table with fish smaller than I is a bit of a challenge.

Well, when I'm picking tables at 25$ NL, I use the first 10 hands at the table to figure out if I have a loose fish on my right or not. If I don't, I'll usually change tables.

And yeah, by game selecting I mean picking a table that has easily beatable competition.

Very interesting and informative post. It makes the perfect counter-point to the billion "I hate fish I'm quitting poker" posts I read everyday. It makes perfect sense. Pop quiz, who do you sit down with - Ivey, Lindgren,Cunningham,Chan and Hansen (or whoever you think are good players) or with a table of players all chasing 49os to the river. I'd pick the latter and stifle the whining if my AA got caught on the river.

More people would read this!!!

One question (I guess this shows how out of the loop I am) what is a nitfest - I never heard of that in this context before??

Merlin333

Since poker is mostly a situational game, I tend to leave the table when the situation is no longer profitable or when I've hit my limit. If there's a few deep stacks in a cash game and the table is tight, I might not stick around. However, if the table is real loose and the competition seems amatuer then I'll stay for awhile.

Well, you shouldn't base whether or not you leave on if you are up or down. And since poker is very much a game of chance of probability, if you lose many hands in a row, it doesn't mean your next one has a higher chance of being better. Usually it means that the other people at the table are playing better than you and you should leave. However, if you are making money, don't necessarily leave because you might just be playing better than the others at the table.

I have to pee

i judge my time to leave completely based on the players in the table.

even if i make my buy-in 4x what it started as, i figure im playing well and someone at the table is obviously giving chips away, lol

I will usually leave the table if:

1) My chair "squeaks"
2) I've got to fart really loud
3) The buffet line has only 3 people in it
4) The Wayne Newton shows is about to start

No really, card dead, out of money or +3x my invest

playing on the micro tables I leave usually when one of 2 things happen

I lose my buy in
I triple my buy in

My Probnlem is when i gget stuck...i tend to stay and keeeeep getttin abused....feeeeling tyhat my luck will turn aaround but it never does...thanx for all the tipps i will use them

if you are playing within your bankroll you should be playing to so that if you do lose the entire 2$ you won't feel it much. if that is the case then i like to play until i either double my buy in or lose one buy in and then take a break or the rest of the day off and begin later or tomorrow.

NEVER leave a table where you are winning at. DON'T STAY at a table where you are loosing and try to win it back.

There are many factors that should be taken into consideration.

First of all, how have you been doing? Are you losing or winning? if your losing, has it gotten you on tilt or not? If so then its a good time to leave since tilt is probably the main reason people go broke in casinos. Next, how are the people on the table doing? Are they on tilt? Are they fishes? If so then you have a good chance of making a few more bucks. Its harsh but its reality. The worse your opponent is playing, the better it is for you.

Now imagine you have just played for a howl 8 hours and a few new faces come into the game. Even though they might be fishes, its not a good idea of playing someone who is well rested and fresh to play some poker. Leaving at this point would be a good idea. Depending on how you feel and how you think the other players feel, you can get a basic idea of if it would be a statistical advantage for you or not to stay here. Of course someone on tilt will always lean more on saying that it is to his or her advantage, but a good poker player would notice their faults and take the break straight away.

Good luck at the tables!

In the casinos, I tend to play low limit games $3/$6 limit or $2/$4/$4/$8 limit or occasionally $1 $2 NL. I also tend to play tournaments around a $65 buy in. OK I will admit it - I am cheap, tight and conservative with my money. However I love playing at these tables. I like social games and these tend to be more social and I have walked away at least a small winner 90% of the time in live play at these levels.
Because I am so cheap, I have always set a low dollar amount in my head prior to playing. Usually my low dollar is set around not losing more than 60% of the money I brought to the table ($40 left if I brought a hundred, $80 left if I brought $200, etc). Fortunately I rarely have had to pull myself from the tables for dropping that low. Keep in mind that low limit tables may have some outrageous swings and you do have to allow a little larger loss ratio to money brought in order to ride out the swings.
I have always told myself to set a high amount also, but never really have. It seems as I am rolling along winning some cash there comes a point when I have a gut feeling that now would be a good time to leave. It works for me as I am at a decent plus side on the money playing live at these levels and being on the plus side overall makes me a very happy woman.
I do not have that winning percentage online, but I think that is mostly due to the fact that I purposely play free or low cost games and try different strategies that may or may not help me in live play. I use online play as my practice board for live play. If I have played against some of you, I really do not intentionally mean to use you as guinea pigs, I am just trying different betting & playing strategies.
I know I am very small potatoes compared to most of you, but I do love the game as much as anyone.

IMO, the cash game hit and run is very profitable. It also limits your risk at a table where your edge is marginal.

That's a good ? I tend to stay too long most of the time & end up leaving the tbl w/ less than i had when i could've banked a lot earlier on . It's honestly tough to figure out when the best time to leave is for me. Sometimes i forget & even when i remember, i still tend to stay too long lol. So, it's going to take a really good thought process to figure out when the best time for you is.

Seems a few have replied with the 3x buyin answer so maybe I will give that a try. I have been winning at micro limit and what I was doing for the past few days is buy in for say $2 start to win. Do not allow myself to go lower than the original $2 I started with. So if I win a hand get to like 3$3.14 than I must leave that table if I get down to $1.14. That way I have only lost the original buy in, another suggestion that seems popular here

I try to to have an amount or time preset when I sit down at ring game.Usually 3x what I buy inn or 3 hours witch ever comes first. I try not to think of it as coming backor revolations I just play my game and follow time and winning restraints.

basically, if you think you are playing your a-game and you thing you are at a good table where you have a nice edge, you should stay, and if the opposite is true than you should leave

i leave when ive doubled up what i brought in at the table for