Feel free to bump this if it's the wrong thread for this forum. I figured I'd get better quality answers here rather than in Beginners Questions.

This problem I have is killing my winrate. Been playing round 4 years between 25-50NL and it's been one endless swing due to major inconsistencies in these areas.

What should my plan each session be in regards to how many hands or hours I should be playing per day or session, how many buy-ins per day are acceptable to lose,(assuming I'm playing within my bankroll) and most importantly, during winning sessions, when is enough, enough? I find myself time and time again never knowing when to stop in all 3 areas.

Some feedback please.

If you're a winning player, you're playing well and the game conditions are good: The more hrs you play, the more money you make.

How long you play depends on you. I find I usually need a break somewhere between 2-3 hrs depending on how many tables I'm playing.

Deciding to quit early should be because you aren't playing well and/or are tilting. If you're feeling good, try and extend it a bit. Ideally, your results should have no affect on how long you play, so long as your bankroll is ok. However, some people cannot help tilting after losing x amount; so if you know your amount then having a stop-loss is ok.

imo the best approach is when you are winning and feel you are playing well, dont stop. = increase winnings

if you start off a session losing and begin to play your B game or w/e, take a break. = decrease losses

If you can't handle loosing money then you should have something like 2-3 BI stop loss,and when winning just play while you are playing your A game!

There seems to be a thought in the background here that you wouldn't have losing runs if only you stopped before they happened.

I'd be lying if I said this wasn't half true. I'll usually stop for the day if I'm up 4 buy-ins in fear of losing any back, regardless of if I'm playing my A game or not.

Good feedback. I'll keep these things in mind.

Check out this book "The Mental Game of Poker: Proven Strategies for Improving Tilt Control, Confidence, Motivation, Coping with Variance, and More"

This is a fallacy. Mostly losing riuns happen because of tilt or not playing ur A game

If your winning then you are going to win, short term results dont matter. Excluding tilt there is no reason to quit just because you are losing.

Quit only because you are not playing your a game anymore.

A large % of my winning sessions I have been 3+ buyins down early on or at some stage.

Its all about making correct +EV decisions. As long as you keep doing that you should continue to play.

what about etiquette? how long after you are winning should you stop? do you quit just after a big pot you win? should you just set a scheduled time with your playing partners regardless of winnings beforehand?

whenever i play cash games though, it is always losing half or 2/3 my money right away, then grinding for a long time to get to a small profit. i always personally let the blinds pass by me one more time when i'm about to leave, that's my etiquette thing that i do.

If you are winning in a game, it's probably best to stay longer in that game since the conditions and your play are favorable. If you are losing, you need to look at how you are playing and determine if the game may be too tough for you.

Some players set a stop loss, like 3+4 buy-ins to help with bankroll management, however, if you are going to play for long-term results, you need to learn how to handle tilt and evaulate games. It's not about how much you win/lose during any given session, it is in fact your long term win rate that determines if you are a winning player.

There is no rule as to when you should get up, anytime you begin to feel uncomfortable at a table for any reason, just leave.

My stop loss is 3BI per day at 6-max. I tilt minimally but like many well known pros keep saying, I don't believe you can play at your best level when you are losing.
I play as long as I can when I am winning.

Ill take a shot at being specific here for you, as the "play until you are not playing well" is easier said then done, and in my opinion is a lazy and less than helpful response. Often, you are playing well until you lose, and then its too late. That said, i can usually pick up some hints its time to stop. They are:

1-generally, after eight to twelve hours live my brain fatigues. Anyone else have input on number of hours before fatigue sets in?

2- i suddenly start limping, because i want to play, but am too lazy to find spots to raise.

3- i stop bothering to get reads on new players

Anyone else?

All suggestions are good but bottom line, it all depends on you. You know yourself better than anyone so it's up to you to decide how long you play, when to stop etc etc...

Personally, I seem to play better playing long sessions 4 tabling. That's just me.