I play $1/$2 NL and used to stop at 5 BI. I dropped that back to 3 BI though because I found that I usually just wasn't playing well when I got to that stage.

It's good advice to stay at a good game regardless of your loss but I've found that to be more philosophical than practical. It's hard to judge our quality of play while we're at the table and, given the number of hands that don't see showdown, it's entirely possible the table is just outplaying us. So, even though I could be leaving a good game, I stop at 3 BI and haven't been disappointed with the decision yet.

I play 1-2 nl, about half the time i leave if i lose a 200 buying the other half i will rebuy 1 more time at max. Alot of times when i rebuy i will walk away close to even or a small winner 4-8 hours down the road. But I hate chasing losses, it effects me quite a bit and i think it does on a subconcius level to. So most i ever lost in a session was 300 most ive ever won is 560 profit, if not counting alcohol/food.

Think its more of a personal preference and how well you can take bad beats an losses, I know myself well enough to make the right decision i think. But I advocate setting a stoploss amount

Here is a hand which probably should have told me to quit immediately.

Last night in a 2-5 game I called off $100 on the river with jack high.

V was drunk and playing very agressively, but we have played quite a few hands together over time, and I don't expect him to run a stone bluff against me.

V straddled, several limpers and I called the straddle from BB with J-9h. Flop was Q, T, 2 with one heart. I check, V bet the flop $25, rest folded, I called (could have raised of course but decided not to). Turn was A rainbow. I checked, V bet $50 I called. I never looked back at my hand and somehow I was saying in my mind after the turn "ok if it's a K or a 7 on the river I'm probably good". River 7 rolled off, I checked again and he bet 100, and I was thinking - hmm, should I shove or not? He could have KJ, and probably would not call a shove with worse than the same straight (he was drunk but he's not a fish). I wimped out and called - he showed two pair and I rolled over my jack high, noticing at that point that I had completely misread the hand/board situation. A couple of regular opponents said - "wow you called with Jack high - must have had a read". And I had to say, no just being a moron.

As most respondents said in this thread if you think you are playing your A game you should play on. But what if you are playing your F game, but it's early and still looks like a good game? I played on

At some point, other players at the table will identify you as a player on a cooler and start to call your raises or limps with hands they would otherwise fold with. If enough of them do that your downswing is likely to get worse even if your play is good; in fact if you have tightened up to try to play only very high value hands it may be even more vulnerable.

Set a limit and leave. I personally like 30 BB; if I get there, I knock off for the day and go do something that takes my mind off poker.

I stay until I decide the game is no longer good or I am not playing optimally
In a 20 game last week, for the first time I can remember, I was in for five racks and had decided it was too good a game to leave. 4 hours later I was a rack winner when the game broke.
I think as long as the monetary figure isn't a big deal and you feel the game conditions are favorable there's no reason to get up.

Once that thought creeps into your brain "am I playing my best?" you probably aren't playing your best. And if you're questioning the things you're doing, it's probably best to quit.

More importantly, play a bigger game - the rake in 3/6 will eat you alive over 11 hours, good luck making money.

He doesn't explicitly say it in the OP, but the game in question was 30/60.

The big red flag here is sitting for an 11 hour stretch. Sorry but no one is playing their A game towards the end of that long a stretch. I myself struggle with this as I know my game starts to fade after 4 or 5 hours yet manage to "convince myself" to continue playing another 4 or 5 hours, most usually to my detriment. What I am working on now is getting up from the table as soon as I find myself wondering "why the hell did I just play that hand?" When I reach this point its time to get up.

AW

Yes it was 30/60 and it has the lowest rake in the house. I took a 2hr break and came back to the same table of clowns. It was an epic table, one of those that you read about in the back of penthouse right after the "encounter with my high school English teacher". I remember walking away to the bathroom and coming back to a $1800 pot being raked in by j5 soooooted. The guys were joking because the dude who won the pot decided to cold 4! Preflop with it . . Good hand to crack aces with I guess lol

game no longer profitable/2 buy ins

2 max buy ins is my limit. At that point I just think even if I'm playing well it's just time to take a break because I want to ensure I'm playing my A game at all times, even if a game is good and I'm just not running well. Ensures no tilt etc

Stop/Loss has been 2 buy-ins for me for the past year or so. Back in the day I've dropped 7 BI's and grinded back every time but it's just not profitable to do for anyone.

Unless the game is crazy juicy my absolute max is probably 4.

4 BIs for $1/2 / $1/3. 3 BIs for $2/5/$5/5. 2BIs for $5/10

Losing image = -EV

I've always been of the mindset that it doesn't matter. Either you're in the condition to be playing, the game is good and you should play -- or you aren't, it isn't, and you shouldn't.

most i ever lost live 1500 playing 2-5, online 5100ish play 10/20 i think plo hu