When to quit a session ? I keep making same mistakes

Hi guys,
I have this weird problem. I have never quit at the highest point of my session. I have been playing at my local B&M at least 5 days a week for the past month. Not a single day have I quit at the highest point for the night.
I am overall positive (about 165 BB playing 2-4$ limit) . However the storyline is same all over.

If i am up 120$ say in3 hours then I would play 1-2 more hours and leave up 70$ or maybe i am up 180$ up at a point and then leave the night only 100$ up. I JUST NEVER seem to get my TIMING RIGHT when to quit .

Q1: Since I am one of those guys who like to stick to 1 same thing day after day (making it a discipline) I would like some advice on what should I keep my Up and down limit and quit right after I reach that (regardless of how much time i have been in the casino). Even if I have been there 10 mins if I reach that limit i should quit.

Q2: What is the up and down cutoff (regarding profit or loss) you guys impose on yourself for 1 night.
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For an example of my frustration, here is what happened just yesterday.

In my first half an hour went up 130$ in 2 hands. I DIDNT outplay anyone just got plain lucky (hit quad tens and trip eights back to back but i was playing playable hands in that loose table).

Then the downswing started. lost my 130$ and my initial 100$ buyin rest of the night playing a bunch of fish. I was playing my usual tight game (with occasional looseness playing suited connectors and gaps).

* Flopped the nut straight and lost to backdoor flush.
* Went AA against KK and he caught his K in the turn.
* Went KK and 10-10 both times against AA when my cards appeared safe overpairs LOL.
* Went QQ against AK when he caught K in the river.
* No four flushes came through.
* Played pretty much the blinds rest of the time

I SHOULDVE QUIT in my first 10 mins LOL

I don't make my decision of when to leave based on how big a swing I've had recently. I leave if:

* I am bored (and thus liable to play too loosly just to have more fun).
* I am too tired to pay attention or I am otherwise having trouble concentrating (and may miss something important).
* I just suffered a real bad beat or other big loss and can't stop thinking about it (I am probably liable to start playing on tilt and should take a break.)
* I realize that my opponents are outplaying me and I do not have the best of it at this table (either because I started out at a bad table, or because some weak players left and got replaced with strong players).
* I look at the clock and it is 5am and I realize I have to be up at 9am the next morning (who am I kidding--I play til 9am in this case =) ).

So if I am playing at a table full of fish and I lose two buy-ins to bad luck (and I'm sure it's not because I'm on tilt or not concentrating), I will continue to play at that table. Similarly, if I just won a few hands but soon discover that I am playing some tough opposition and just got lucky on a few hands, I'd be inclined to leave the table.

As for your bad streak yesterday--this is natural variance. Nobody can win every session. You've been steadily winning and proven to yourself that you can beat the field you are playing. Don't let a losing night affect you.

"I was playing my usual tight game (with occasional looseness playing suited connectors and gaps)"

I've seen players drag monster pots (and hit jackpots), and give it all back and them some because they loosen up. "Queens are hot tonite"-type players. When you run good, you find more reasons to play hands you shouldn't be playing.

I'm not suggesting this is the case for you. However, make sure you are making an honest assessment of how your play changed or remained the same after dragging $130 in 2 hands.

As far as your second question, I play by the 30BB rule. Generally, I limit myself to losing 30BB per session before I decide I need to take a break. Having a losing session can cause you to go on tilt without you even taking notice. I find this rule provides a stop-loss against tilting away too much.

glad for all your insights.

I think I will introduce my 30 BB rule. I used to have a rule of +15 BB or -30 BB rule but didnt adhere to it (to my own detriment !!). I think I will start enforcing it STARTING TODAY !!).

only thing i hate is that if i get above 15-20BB in 10-15 mins then it feels bummer to quit right then and go home. But it sure beats giving it all back. .

Since I play so few hands (barely 5-8 hands/hour outside the blinds) the blinds start to eat you up in 3-4 hours if you dont get any good cards or get good ones and dont hit the flop or get sucked out 1-2 times.

The only artificial limit I set on my sessions is that I generally try to call it a night if I lose more than 30BB or so. This is just to prevent myself from unknowingly tilting rather than any sort of money management scheme.

If I can honestly say I still feel good and the game is still good, I'll stick with it anyway. (I was down 50BB at one point in a 3/6 mixed game the other night, but the game was way too good to quit.)

Other than that, I play until I get tired, bored, or have to do something else.

Setting any types of limit is generally a bad idea. If the table is good you need to stay, thats it. Only when your play starts to dwindle should you leave, and usually at 50 BB is when it starts.

Why would you leave at 30 BB positive? If your opponents are bad they are bad, just continue to play good and you'll be alright. You also must take into consideration that a brick and mortar 2/4 game is like playing the party .5/1, swings will happen so you need to max them out.

And Tyler: 30 BB is nothing on any session. If you are quad tabling if you lose two pots per table you are down 30 BB. If you feel flustered after losing 30 BB then take a break, but don't quit for the day you are much more likely to win it back if you were to play longer.

Why should you expect to quit at your highest point? One session is very short term and therefore highly dependent on chance, let alone a tiny stretch of hands within a session (when you would presumable know when to quit).

Decide how long you are going to play. Play that long. Forget about the results.

The only time you should quit early is when you are not playing well. Reason you might not play well:

- You are up (down) and letting the results affect your play.
- You are tired or otherwise unable to focus on the game (emotions, etc.)
- The table is too tough for your game.

Originally Posted by elipsesjeff

And Tyler: 30 BB is nothing on any session. If you are quad tabling if you lose two pots per table you are down 30 BB. If you feel flustered after losing 30 BB then take a break, but don't quit for the day you are much more likely to win it back if you were to play longer.

If I lose 2 pots in a row on 4 tables before I've won anything for the day, i'm probably not about to be playing optimally.

Originally Posted by TylerK

Originally Posted by elipsesjeff

And Tyler: 30 BB is nothing on any session. If you are quad tabling if you lose two pots per table you are down 30 BB. If you feel flustered after losing 30 BB then take a break, but don't quit for the day you are much more likely to win it back if you were to play longer.

If I lose 2 pots in a row on 4 tables before I've won anything for the day, i'm probably not about to be playing optimally.

True, but thats what I'm getting at, it shouldn't. Would you be so upset after losing two pots in a row on only 1 table? Probably not. So whats the difference its on 4 tables? You know as well as I do that two hands hardly define a session.

Quitting at your highest point is always hard because you only want to go up from where you are. I've been up 60BB on a 5/10 B&M limit game and fell down to 35 by the end of the night... I even thought about standing up at 60

Originally Posted by elipsesjeff

Originally Posted by TylerK

Originally Posted by elipsesjeff

And Tyler: 30 BB is nothing on any session. If you are quad tabling if you lose two pots per table you are down 30 BB. If you feel flustered after losing 30 BB then take a break, but don't quit for the day you are much more likely to win it back if you were to play longer.

If I lose 2 pots in a row on 4 tables before I've won anything for the day, i'm probably not about to be playing optimally.

True, but thats what I'm getting at, it shouldn't. Would you be so upset after losing two pots in a row on only 1 table? Probably not. So whats the difference its on 4 tables? You know as well as I do that two hands hardly define a session.

I'm not saying it's ideal at all, but I think it's fairly safe for me.

limit poker is one long indefinite session. quit when your head is clouded and you can't play clearly. continue playing if your head is clear. that's all there is to it.

Also quit when the table conditions go bad.

Re-evalute your tables when you start to run bad.

One game I play is "table survivor." If I have 4 tables, I will pick the wrost one and just leave every hour or so (unless all 4 tables+seats are very good.)