~~~ IF...you are sitting down to win money, to gain a profit, and not just to sit down to play a game of poker......~~~


Do you think the player should sit down knowing that they will be there for hours?

yes/no/ or opinions on the why's and why nots

Poker should be viewed as one long continuous session, so the length of one specific cash session doesn't matter. Try to make the most profitable plays for the long term on every hand, even if you can only play for an hour today.

No - Only the hand you are currently playing is important, history is from the past and can be calculated, what is in future can not be predicted.

<div>It's entirely possible that we each have our own definition of "the long haul" when it comes to sitting down to a game of poker, a single game. Each game, each time we take a seat.

The question was...
"Do you think the player should sit down knowing that they will be there for hours?"

This photo represents almost 4 hours, steady chipping away, folding, calling, folding, calling , calling, calling, calling, folding, folding, folding.

Started this game around 10:30 pm last night.

When I sat down....I wasn't getting up except to go to the bank and come back.


If it had been 2pm instead of 2am when this photo was snipped.....i would have sat there til the cows came home, or my bladder busted.

But I have work at 11am,
so there you go. Not falling asleep at work....is important you know. </div>

Only play for as long as your playing your "A" game. The game never ends, its all one great big session. The only thing time is good for is for the variance to work its self out.

Hope this helps, good luck out there!

Originally Posted by MinorMisfit

Only play for as long as your playing your "A" game. The game never ends, its all one great big session. The only thing time is good for is for the variance to work its self out.

Hope this helps, good luck out there!

I like that!

The comments about poker being one long continuous session are valid, but this doesn't actually translate to saying session length doesn't matter at all.

MinorMisfit makes a great point, that your session length may need to be dictated somewhat by whether or not you can continue playing well, since your profitability depends on your state of mind amongst other game conditions.

But another issue at play here is that the shorter your session length, the lower your hourly will be due to the information-gathering factor. If you don't sit long enough to gather reads on your opponents, then you have to play pretty straightforward, can't get out of line, and ultimately will do a lot of guesswork in hands regarding how your opponents play.

So if we're talking about live play in particular, yes I would definitely plan to be there a while. My average session length live is about 5 hours, and I definitely never PLAN to play less than 4. If extenuating circumstances pop up that lead me to believe I'm not profitable anymore (let's say I get coolered 3 times and know I'll be playing my C game or worse) then I can leave early. BUT in general I plan to be there a while if I go at all.

This can be a bit different online where you accumulate reads faster, and actually I think you need to fall more on the side of short sessions, because it requires a higher level of focus (especially if you multi table). So I probably would never play more than a 3 hour session online, and I'd always be taking a short stand up/stretch break every 30-60 minutes.

At the end of the day, a lot of it will also come down to you and your preferences though. Just figure out what works for you and then maximize based on that.

Originally Posted by Scourrge

The comments about poker being one long continuous session are valid, but this doesn't actually translate to saying session length doesn't matter at all.

MinorMisfit makes a great point, that your session length may need to be dictated somewhat by whether or not you can continue playing well, since your profitability depends on your state of mind amongst other game conditions.

But another issue at play here is that the shorter your session length, the lower your hourly will be due to the information-gathering factor. If you don't sit long enough to gather reads on your opponents, then you have to play pretty straightforward, can't get out of line, and ultimately will do a lot of guesswork in hands regarding how your opponents play.

So if we're talking about live play in particular, yes I would definitely plan to be there a while. My average session length live is about 5 hours, and I definitely never PLAN to play less than 4. If extenuating circumstances pop up that lead me to believe I'm not profitable anymore (let's say I get coolered 3 times and know I'll be playing my C game or worse) then I can leave early. BUT in general I plan to be there a while if I go at all.

This can be a bit different online where you accumulate reads faster, and actually I think you need to fall more on the side of short sessions, because it requires a higher level of focus (especially if you multi table). So I probably would never play more than a 3 hour session online, and I'd always be taking a short stand up/stretch break every 30-60 minutes.

At the end of the day, a lot of it will also come down to you and your preferences though. Just figure out what works for you and then maximize based on that.

Great input!


(we really need that reply in thread like button)

Long haul mindset is crucial in helping you over coming variance or bad beats in the long haul you gotta believe one day you are going to win big have a bit of hope chase the dream but you got to know when to quit and return later in cash games sit n gos.In tournaments big fields you gotta have patience and grind it out view it as this game going to take 12 or 15 hours have I got that time to spare can I wait for a better spot good luck

Originally Posted by hugh blair

Long haul mindset is crucial in helping you over coming variance or bad beats in the long haul you gotta believe one day you are going to win big have a bit of hope chase the dream but you got to know when to quit and return later in cash games sit n gos.In tournaments big fields you gotta have patience and grind it out view it as this game going to take 12 or 15 hours have I got that time to spare can I wait for a better spot good luck

Good input.


(waiting...have to remember that one)

When you play in a big tournament, you have to be willing to play for over 4 hours.
And the later hour will be really important

Originally Posted by korneel

When you play in a big tournament, you have to be willing to play for over 4 hours.
And the later hour will be really important

Those last hours are when my attention is really focused on that game.

I agree!

Thanks for contributing Korneel.

Originally Posted by Robmrjet

~~~ IF...you are sitting down to win money, to gain a profit, and not just to sit down to play a game of poker......~~~


Do you think the player should sit down knowing that they will be there for hours?

yes/no/ or opinions on the why's and why nots

Yes

Yes you should expect to play for a while before being in the black and depending on your goal on how much profit you want to make in a day before you quit for the day is key to knowing when to leave while you are up. The only time I would sit longer than when I have met my goal for the day is if I am running hot but even then I would still leave after winning another hand or two. So it is very critical that you leave when you have made the amount of money you have set for yourself.

Originally Posted by Rustyknife01

Yes

Short, to the point, and easily understandable.

I like this guy already!

Originally Posted by MKaizer07

Yes you should expect to play for a while before being in the black and depending on your goal on how much profit you want to make in a day before you quit for the day is key to knowing when to leave while you are up. The only time I would sit longer than when I have met my goal for the day is if I am running hot but even then I would still leave after winning another hand or two. So it is very critical that you leave when you have made the amount of money you have set for yourself.

Solid advice.
Thanks for the input Kaizer.

When you believe that "I am still early to play a cash game." even if it'll be to compare and play for more than 8 hours by a tournament, that's a very good thing.