Short Handed NL-When do I stop playing?

I've been playing SNGs for a while and decided to play some SH NL games last night at the $0.02/$0.05 stakes on PS. I started with $6.00 and after about 20 minutes I was up to $8.50. After about 30 minutes I was down to $5.00 for reasons such as losing A high straight to a FH with villian min betting every time. After 45 min I was at $1.00 so I quit due to major tilt.

My question is when should I stop playing and move to another table or stop playing. When I'm up 25-50%?...after 45 minutes?...when I get to my original starting $$$?

(1) When you want to end your session (2) When you are no longer playing your best (3) When you feel you no longer have an edge at the table.

In order of above 3 then 2 then 1

this is something I struggle with too... basically I ask myself... am I playing stupid... Did I loose my money hoping to win? would I do that over again the same way? Was I playing like a total idiot... ???

If the answer is I was playing like and idiot and No I wouldn't do that again.... I ask myself if I am still t-ed off ... if I am then I take a break...

If I would do the same thing again... I make a quick note of what hand I am on... in my history so I can go back and review up until that point... perhaps I was making mistakes... perhaps I WAS just getting sucked out on...

... if you cannot self regulate and know when you are not centered and not capable of playing well... not capable of noticing when you are chasing and hoping to win... expanding your range because you know the next hand will be the monster... THEN try this... if you are up 3/4 of your buy in then stop. Take a break. When you get down 3/4 of your buy in or bust... take a break...

But don't just stop... reflect... think about your session... review the hands... think about what you did wrong... say I will not do that again... clearly... like

"I will risk all my chips on a bluff against folks I have no idea if they will call with junk"

how many times did I have to say... how the heck did he call that "all in" with second pair against a turn that hit 3 to a flush? before I realized... holy cow there are people out there that will call with second pair to a made flush! Started looking out for those folks and stopped bluffing at them and started playing my nut hands for serious value against them...

How do you know when to stop playing...

when you think the other players stink yet YOU are the one loosing money...

when you feel like your are being bullied and don't know what to do..

when you don't want to fold.

when you await your hole cards with too much anticipation... because you WANT to play...


set a limit for yourself and stick to it for say 8-10 sessions... spend time reviewing both your winning and loosing sessions... and think about your emotions before during and after your session... how much did emotions kick in...

The idea is to get a bit of practice at stopping when you don't want to... so that you can when you should...

The only reason to leave due to having a large stack is if there are several other deep-stacked players who you think are considerably better than you. Remember, if you are the only one at the table deep-stacked then your play doesn't change at all.

Originally Posted by SoboQ4

How do you know when to stop playing...

when you think the other players stink yet YOU are the one loosing money...

you can play perfect and lose lots to terrible players running hot. it's no reason to quit.

Originally Posted by martindcx1e

The only reason to leave due to having a large stack is if there are several other deep-stacked players who you think are considerably better than you. Remember, if you are the only one at the table deep-stacked then your play doesn't change at all.

Originally Posted by SoboQ4

How do you know when to stop playing...

when you think the other players stink yet YOU are the one loosing money...

you can play perfect and lose lots to terrible players running hot. it's no reason to quit.

this question of when to say when in poker is related to managing tilt... based on that assumption ... getting beat by weaker players is prime ego material... and when the ego is awakened... tilt seams to creep in...

if you are loosing... and you think you are playing perfect... yet you see from the hand history that you were in fact behind most of the time... then you were wrong ... you got out played...

and if you were ahead most of the time... why were folks calling you?

Was it really stupidity? or did something about the events leading up to that dictate they SHOULD CALL... ???

Ask yourself this... if you knew they would call would you bet the way you did? Did you know they would call?

Anyways this boils down to how to recognize and avoid tilt in your own play... the assumption is that as time goes on your focus decreases... so putting a limit on your time at the table for a given session is just a strategy until you become more self-aware...

I'm making a generalization that loosing occurs from betting or raising when you shouldn't ... I am ignoring calling when you should be raising or folding... sorry

if i see another person type "loosing" instead of "losing" on the internet i'm gonna kill the next small animal i see.

anyways, you're over-thinking this. just stop playing when you are tilting, don't have an edge, or are just plain sucking.

Originally Posted by martindcx1e

if i see another person type "loosing" instead of "losing" on the internet i'm gonna kill the next small animal i see.

Not a squirrel please.. They are just way too cute!!!

Originally Posted by martindcx1e

anyways, you're over-thinking this. just stop playing when you are tilting, don't have an edge, or are just plain sucking.

So... To summarize???

Originally Posted by XxStacksxX

(1) When you want to end your session (2) When you are no longer playing your best (3) When you feel you no longer have an edge at the table.

Originally Posted by SoboQ4

I'm making a generalization that loosing occurs from betting or raising when you shouldn't ... I am ignoring calling when you should be raising or folding... sorry

I disagree with this generalization. Just as martin said, you can play well and still end a session down. That is you don't have to bet or raise when you shouldn't, or call when you shouldn't, to have a losing session. That's how poker works at times. You can make a right move and lose. You can make a series of wrong plays and win.