When to walk away?

Okay guys, so I tend to play cash games over MTT these days..
I normally play either $0.10/$0.25 or $0/50/$1.. and pretty much everytime, starting with about $80, end up on about $130 within the first hour and then by then end of the night, couple hours later, i'm leaving only like $15 up!

So i was wondering, to make a steady profit, when do you guys say to yourself, right i'm cashing this out.. Do you set yourselves a limit and then tell yourself you're going to leave the table when you hit it?

.. was just thinking how other players go about this?

Guisquets. x

First, you must learn when to hold them and when to fold them.

My biggest downfall that Chippy!

Whenever you want to stop playing IMO

Hi Guisquets
For me, and this is live 2/5 NL, I have to set myself a target otherwise I end up in exactly the same situation. My basic rule is if I double my nights starting roll then I leave. Even if it happens in the first 5 hands. I dont do it every time but whenever I dont do it I end up either leaving with a few dollars up or a lot of dollars down.

This is one of the things I want to focus on for 2012. If its about increasing my bankroll then I need to stick to this approach. If I am playing purely for fun though, then I generally have to look at it as though i am paying for entertainment the same way as if I went to the movies (but often more expensive)

I dont know what proper bankroll management practices would say but this is how I do it.

CuttleFish

You seem alright so a bit more advice.

Basically you want to stay when you are playing well and you feel good. You want there to be one or two bad players at the table that you're targeting. You want to leave when you aren't playing well and making good decisions or you feel tired or you're not concentrating properly.

A good thing might be to set a number of hands or time played. For example say you're going to play for an hour or two and then stop when the time's up.

It's all about making good decisions and playing bad players. If both are true stay, if one isn't then leave.

Oh and number one hint.



It has absolutely and unequivocally nothing to do with money. Won, lost or current. Welcome to CC.

Terrible thinking. You limit when you're playing well and that's wrong, you want to play more when you're playing well to win more money. Also, see above.

I agree its not what should be done, but it is what works for me based on my own mental make-up. We all have different triggers for different psychological responses, and I can easily trigger getting "lost" in a game if I dont keep some rules in place.

I appreciate that but there are much better rules you can use than how much money you've won or lost. Time played is a perfect example. Play for a few hours, however long a normal session is or what you feel comfortable with then leave.

I know your way of thinking helps you at the moment but it's a flaw that will hold you back from improving and it's a mental block you need to break.

Understand completely where you're coming from Lucky..
Looking at it from your view, then as you said, why stop when you're up,running well and feeling good..
Thanks for your opinions fellas! I really need to get this side of my game sorted!

Guisquets.

Better to have a stoploss than a cash out limit for reasons stated by Chippy.

This is good advive. I agree with Lucky here.
That's the great thing about cash table , you can move around or set certain amount of hours. Whenever I try to set the amount of money... say make double my stack as a endpoint before I leave it could happen in the first hand or it might not happen in the first 3 hours....what to do?
I sat for 8 hours in cash game trying to double my stack and felt like it was a waste of my time, at least in tournament there usually is an end point by 8 hours.
For me I usually know if the table might be pofitable for me during the first 2-3 cycles of play around the table....if I dont feel weakness from certain players I will leave.

CuttleFish,

I would say that evaluating your continued play like this in the short term may be correct but ultimately it is a form of tilt.

I highly suggest reading what Tommy Angelo has to say about Quitting. He is a Quitting Master:

"When you are winning and you reach a point in the session when the happiness you will gain by winning more money will be much less than the pain you will endure if you lose, quit!" -Elements of Poker

In the longer term you should evaluate why when you double your BI you feel the need to quit?

I would imagine that it has more to do with Bankroll management where you likely are playing 2/5 nl with not a big enough BR so that when you get up you change your play and loose scared money or feel the need to quit to preserve some winnings. To play 2/5 nl you really should have a BR of at least 20 BI. (for full disclosure I too have been playing 2/5 nl under bankrolled and as part of my new years resolution I am am quitting these stakes till I have 20BI)

Generally, you should evaluate your mindset and the table and make your decision from there. Dont evaluate solely on your chip stack. If you are playing your A-Game and at right table stay, if one of these things is not right evaluate, and if you are playing bad and not playing your A-Game RUN!

Again I really recommend reading Tommy Angelo to anyone who is interested in thinking about quitting as he (almost to a fault) thinks about it and writes about it.

To Gunner and Lucky,

I changed my approach based on what you said here. I hadn't really seen it as a leak but what you said made sense.

Had a session the other day, first of the New Year and bought in for $300. Was up to about $600 after 2 hrs. I would normally have walked but I was playing solid poker and on the right table. Cards werent really going my way pre-flop, think I had AK once and JJ as the best hands, but playing position well. Ended up staying and walked at $1050 up. Only chose to leave because my A-game was starting to drift. This was about 6 hr mark.

Big help to my game, thanks.

CuttleFish

Well, I tend to to have a problem of not learning when to walk away too.
The only live holdem I've played was 1/2 and I usually buy in for 100. I usually go up to about 150 and it feels like I've hit a ceiling. Then slowly bleed down and i usually end up losing a bit. I feel like once you stop feeling good about your play, and have to ask yourself if you should stop playing ... stop playing.

That's just what I feel.
I'm also open to other peoples suggestions about improving live cash games game play.

^^^^ start here and it can only get better.

Keep the underlined in your head. Guide line for what to do.

You never mentioned when to run???????

Really glad to hear that Cuttle, congrats!


You're getting ahead of yourself. You must learn to walk away before you run