How Long To Play?

OK, it's one of those "it depends" questions, but here's my experience. I jump into a new table and, maybe because no-one has me figured out yet, I seem to go up maybe 50-100% of my bankroll pretty quickly, say under half an hour. Trouble is that I stick with that table for several hours more and either trickle it away or more likely make a bad call against an all-in.

Does anyone follow personal guidelines such as I quit after an hour or when I've made x% of my buy-in?

Just wondering as I've seen no guidance on this one on the site.

Purely as a personal opinion (not been playing long enough to know anything else) but it might be worth looking back over the hand histories of the sessions where this has happened if it is a pattern that repeats regularly. I'll be getting poker tracker when the BR gets big enough but the trial version might give you some insight into what's happening.

If it's just because your style suits coming into new tables then why not work like that, stay for a while, get the wins and then switch tables. If it's because your concentration slips after a certain period of time then that's different and maybe a switch of tables with a break in between will help?

As i say, just my opinion.

good thoughts, thanks. and of course that was me going up 50-100% of my buy-in, not bankroll

cheers

Mark

I assume you're playing NL ring to go up that much that fast. Yes, it depends. If you want an arbitrary rule of thumb leave when you've either doubled up or lost 50% of your buy-in. Leave prior to that if the table dynamics are such (or change to such) that it isn't worth your time to play there. Say everyone is folding preflop every hand or one guy is raising 10xBB every hand and you're scared to play anything other than AA or KK, etc.

Now, there are plenty of reasons to rebuy and keep playing if you lose early, and there are plenty of reasons to stay and suck the table dry for 5X plus your buyin. But, as an arbitrary rule of thumb, below 50% of buy in or over 200% think of leaving. Take a break, have a snack or something and then start another table if you want.

thanks a lot - funnily enough that half or double guideline was just what I'd come to through trial and error, but good to have some corroboration

Basically, you want to play in a game for as long as you have an edge or until you find another game with a better edge. There is no reason why you should leave after you win money if you still have an edge over the other players. My gut instinct tells me that you have only been winning early on after sitting at a table and later losing because of variance. If you played alot more you would find that you lose just as much early on as latter.

If this is not the case then there could be a very large leak in your game. I would advise fixing the leak instead of trying to constantly change tables. If you are losing more after sitting at a table for awhile then you either have a very transparent way of playing or you are not paying enough attention to the other players. You should learn to analyze other player's games or get a program like game time + to do it for you.

Some multi-tablers feel that it's a good idea to change tables every once in awhile because they are not paying as much attention to individual tables as much as a player playing just one. I think they would be better off getting game time + because that way they can play multiple tables and at the same time have adequate knowledge of their opponent's game.

There are a few profitable hit and run styles that only work by changing tables frequently. Also, if you are ultra rockish and you don't want to loosen up then it might be a good idea to change tables frequently and have multiple usernames so you won't get pegged as a rock.

Online I like to play as long as I'm winning. Generally I like full tables but I'll keep playing short handed as long as I'm still doing well. Once I lose more than about 10 to 20% of my stack then I'll consider leaving the table.

Brick and mortar is another story, there are often long waits so once I get on a table I'll likely stay regardless of how I'm doing.

Lucid - thanks for the tip - you're probably right about my game - some leaks need fixing. the hardest one is sticking with what looks like a great hand before the flop right to the bitter end. Using pokertracker, I can see that on balance I lose money with KK and AA!

hadn't heard of game time + but will check it out.

presumably rockish means tight aggressive?

Rockish means ultra tight. A player that sees 0-15% of the flops would be a rock.

I have the same problem, it seems like I reach my "limit" at a particular table, then I end up losing some (or all of it) back. Here are some of the things that I noticed about my game:

-Tricky play will only get you so far. Usually you can use some tricky play to win a few big pots, but others at the table will catch on and your tricks are worthless.

-Not switching gears enough. Once you've pulled those tricks, it's time to go back to playing a straight forward game again. When the table gets tight, loosen up, when it's loose, tighten up.

-Overconfidence. I'm the big stack at the table now, all should bow before me...

-Playing too loose. .25 cent blind is nothing compared to by $70 stack, lets see some flops. This also applies to calling other people's bets, that $3 river bet is not very much compared to my stack, let's see what he has.

Personally I still haven't plugged my leaks, and this is still a problem for me. So I'm continuing to table-hop until I figure out what my problems are. However I will still stay at a table if: 1-There is a maniac there, 2-A lot of loose players (limpers and calling stations), 3-I have the fear/respect of the other players.