Quote Originally Posted by future_proof
Just thinking a bit more about the right time to quit for the day
After having time to think, and spending a little time playing some real-money online poker, I would very much agree that the best rule to follow on when to quit playing poker is when you are no longer playing winning poker.

The rules I proposed for myself were written when I had zero experience playing poker for real money (online or in meatspace), and at a time when my wife and I were facing a much less forgiving financial situation than we are today. The rule about leaving when I doubled up had two intentions. The first was to give me a clear goal to shoot for each time I sat down at a table. The second was to keep me from having to trust myself to be honest about wether or not it was time to quit. I wanted to remove "thinking and feeling" from the equation, because I didn't trust myself to be objective and honest.

Fortunately, much of the financial stress we've been having has been removed, and I am in a much better position to put some of my hard-earned money at risk. That, combined with the fact that I now have 2-3 weeks of real money experience under my belt has given me the confidence to trust myself as to when I need to quit.

These days I'll quit playing for a variety of reasons. To spend time with my wife. Because I'm tired. When I've been grinding away for hours making no progress, and I start thinking of playing hands that I shouldn't just to break the monotony. Because I'm losing and getting upset. Basically if I start thinking about something else more than poker, or if I'm battling the urge to play things I would normally not do because I think it's about time for me to get "lucky", then it's time for me to quit.