never fails was a parx on sat 1/2 bought in 200 played 7 hrs
ran it up as high as 800 1st 5hrs lost 2 big hands last 2 hrs ended up +325
at 800 said to myself sit back wait pick spots but once again
if i lose 3 buy in at 200 each i quit but whenever im up nice i dont now when to stop

I leave when I don't want to play anymore or when it stops being profitable, which is often the same time.

GreekPhil,

As albedoa said leave when you are not playing your A game or the table becomes non profitable.

Here's a short formula I use for my self:

I buy-in for 300 and have a profit lock active at 500 plus. The moment I reach 500, my stop loss is 10% from my max stack. If I reach a max of 900 I usually cash out when I loose a pot $90 or more. Take a break for coffee or lunch/dinner and join back in with 300.

GolfPro

If the amount of money you have in front of you causes you to change your game, leave immediately.

I leave when I feel like it, or at a preset time because I have to go to work or I want to be home by X:00 (I live an hour away).

I don't know about leaving because the stack causes you to change your game. Differences in stack size should cause you to change your game, at least in big-bet games. There's a world of difference between playing NLHE, for example, with 50 BB effective stacks and 500 BB effective stacks.

If it causes you to play differently in a bad way—say, scared or recklessly—then you should leave. You should also go home and do some research and thinking about how to play with a big stack. Deep-stack play can be very profitable when done right.

Personally, I leave when I'm ready to leave. Once in a great while I'll leave if the game gets bad, but that seldom happens. I suppose that if I were playing higher than my bankroll can justify, and I were to catch a few big wins, I might lock up the win, but I avoid playing over my bankroll as much as possible.

Agree, that wasn't what I meant though, and that's not how OP sounded.

OP said to himself "wait, sit back, pick spots".

That's not really a +EV way to go about playing. It sounds more like, "Oh, I have a big profit, time to play tight. Don't want to lose any of it." instead of "A lot of us are deep stacked, I should play a little more careful"

Leave when you want or you feel like you can't play your A game. I find just taking a walk around the casino after 4+ hours playing really extends my range.

I think playing slightly longer sessions than you "want" is good poker training, especially if you make that time really super focused playing. Being able to stay focused for long periods of time (and training yourself to do so) will make you a better poker player.

There is nothing really wrong with playing a slightly less optimal B+ style during certain stretches of long sessions either. I have been playing longer sessions to hit some hour goals and just playing some really ABC straightforward poker in weaker games is totally acceptable if you know when you're playing that way and can adjust/leave if the game changes in such a way to make ABC poker almost unprofitable.

I'm the exact opposite of OP. I've got no problem leaving when I'm up - my huge leak is chasing losses and turning a bad night into a disasterous one.

I don't leave to book a win, but I'm definitely better at recognizing that I've had a good night and that I'm getting tired now. It's easier for me to recognize that it is time to go on a good night than on a bad one.

I've recognized that I'm not comfortable playing deep (250BB+), and that my game changes. I'll put it into nit mode for a while, then just pack up. Seems to make me slightly more comfortable sitting with a big stack, even if I don't plan to risk it. (YES, I know that's not good).

It's effective stack size as well, if I'm 500BB+ but nobody else is deep, I'll play until I realize I'm not playing well.

Easy enough to pull out a cigar, cut it and wait for the BB to come around my way. Then it's off to have a cigar, racking up if I know I'm done (no sense keeping another player out of the seat).

If you're playing a long session and you've had to move tables a couple of times because of tables breaking... it's time to at least re-assess.

I find for a lot of people, the biggest leak is staying too long. They run up a stack of chips when it's the casual gamblers having a few drinks after work, then they lose it all at 3am when it's the grinders waiting for their spots.

The casino will be there tomorrow. Get up and come back during the time period during which you won these chips in the first place.

Had one insane pot around my 7th hour recently and I couldn't handle how big the pot was. Bought drinks for the table and racked up right away, almost certain I would have donked off a buyin in a few orbits if I'd kept playing. If you feel like getting up, there is always another game.

So much this.

So many times I stayed later than I wanted because there were a couple super-weak players that were easy money, and then I realized there are people like that at almost every table.

Nowadays it takes a real special kind of spewtard to keep me late. The last guy was drunk and was making $20-$30 raises every hand (1/2) and barreling $100 on every street. I stayed a few hours late until the alcohol in him wore off.

When the chips are gone, it's time to move on.

Some of us live in casino free zones and only get there from time to time. I find that I hate to get up whatever is happening because I know I won't get back for a while. I just take my lumps ( and occasional wins) and leave when I am tired or my ride insists. There are a lot of us like this in this silly backward state. Good advice here from other posters for folks who play often.

I leave the game as soon as I start thinking that I should start thinking about leaving soon.

I made the mistake of playing "one more orbit" or "till the bb comes around" or "I have 3K locked up, if I lose this extra 75 I'll leave", etc. and then I would see opportunity after opportunity that I either didnt 3bet, or folded a medium starting hand only to see I would have took someone out. So now as soon as I start to "think" it's almost time to leave, the best thing to do is just stop, rather than to play tight/weak/conservative.

"So enjoy it, you secret hand-shaking *******s."

Lately, I've been more conscious of taking regular breaks whether I'm winning or losing. My method is to set a 2-3 hour alarm on my phone. When it goes off, I finish the hand I'm currently in, stand up, and take a 10-15 minute walk. Rinse and repeat every 2-3 hours.

I feel like I have been more aware of how alert I am while playing by adhering to a strict break schedule.

As for when to walk away from the table for the day, I don't usually put super long sessions. I tend to either walk when I reach my stop-loss for the day or when I'm noticeably fatigued to the point that a break just won't cut it.

If you're disciplined enough to adhere to a stop loss and not allow yourself to go for big numbers, then don't be too hard on yourself when you give back some of your win. You thought you were gonna win more. You didn't. What's even more typical, are players who put in really long hours when they're losing, but never seem to put in those hours when they're ahead. So, imo, you are on the right path. If it makes you feel better, then come up with a figure and say to yourself:" if I get ahead X amount Of money, I'm only going to allow myself to give X of it back."

Except you can't do that in big bet poker.

Well you can, it's just not a wise strategy.

When I start thinking about what I'm going to spend my winnings on, its time to leave. I've already pocketed the money mentally at that point, so I have to follow through physically.

Generally, I will play at least two hours, unless I bust. Less than that feels like a hit and run.

I have the hardest time deciding when to leave when I'm piddling around for a few hours in a low to midrange loss situation. Its hard to leave when you're down $20....or $50 etc. But sometimes you should if you feel like you're no longer playing well....or you think the table will be better at your next session.

I try and leave when my game or my edge in the game has diminished.

And also to reinforce Playbig. As soon as the thought about leaving has entered the brain and begun to wander it's way around you should probably get up and at least take a break. I'm getting better at it but the action junkie in me still has a voice and constantly challenges my discipline.

This is something I'll definitely be incorporating into my game, as I think having 'forced' reflection time will definitely cause me to analyse the last 2 or 3 hours of play a bit more objectively. Thank you

I also suffer from the mid-range loss problem that Chippa mentioned. I find it very hard to pull myself away from a table after a few hours if I'm only showing a small loss.

When I play a session, I set a stop/loss of 2 or 3 buyins. I try to structure it like a job and usually have a set amount of time I plan to play for. I will leave early or stay later depending on how the table is. Try not to get caught up in the amount that you are up or down in a given session. Always remember that if you are a winning playing you will continue to win in the long run. Session to session fluctuations are insignificant in the long run. Table selection and making sure you're playing your A game are key. Best of luck.

when I max out my atm limits, casino markers and cash advance on all credit cards

I would always leave fast if I lost when I played at the Wynn. My stop was 1 buyin. I would always log like 6-8 hour sessions when up.

I would set stops on my gains.

IE I run my stack up to 1500 from 500. I tell myself I am willing to risk $200 of this. Once my stack dips below 1300 I'm gone.

Generally I think it's time to leave once you are counting your chips. Once you count your chips and mentally know you have a nice profit you will play differently. It's similar to checking the scoreboard too often when playing a sport. You are no longer focused on the game as much. So I would set stops on my gains and leave if I found myself counting my gains too often.

It's never bad to take a profit. But it's also unrealistic to assume you will be able to walk away when your stack is at it's pinnacle. If you stop once you reach your chip high, you risk not making more in a good session.