Apologies if this should be in a different forum, but since I only play Limit I am posting here.

1. While I only play for entertainment, I do keep records on every session. That is part of the fun for me. Should I be including promo $ in my session win/loss or keep it separate? On one hand, I think of it as rakeback as they are taking $ all the time on top of the rake, but it also is not really WON $ at playing the cards dealt against the other players. Curious as to how others handle this.

2. While my sample size is only about 125 hours live play, all my sessions over 4 hour long(50 hr total) I am down about 3BB/hr while all my sessions under 4 hours(75 hr total) I am up 2/BB hour. Are these sample sizes still too small to make any adjustments based on them(for example, limiting my time at the table to 4 hour sessions)?

Thanks much.

For #1, keep it separate but record it at least for tax purposes if you're in the US.

For #2. This might tell you you're not playing your best when sessions go long, but as you say, it's a very small sample.

The good news is that you're keeping accurate records. You can't take steps to improve if you don't actually have hard data on how you're doing.

Also, post hands here that were tough or confusing to you.

it may be that you lock up wins + quit early when you're winning

but when you're stuck you play a long time to try to get even

lots of folks do this and it's not ideal

in fact it should be the other way around imo. play longer sessions when up, and shorter when down

I look guilty. My records show:
Out of eight 4+ hour sessions, I reloaded five of them.
Out of thirty-one times <4hr sessions, I reloaded twice.

If I am buying in for 30 Big bets, how low can my stack get before a reload is smart?

It depends on the game and on how your stack size affects your confidence.

You don't ever want to be all in playing limit poker; I can't tell you how much money I've won over the years when I had the second-best hand because bad, scared, and/or under-rolled players were all in before the betting was done. Some of the side pots I've won were as big as or bigger than the main pot.

So in theory you need 12 big bets (assuming the cap is a bet and three raises) to cover a cap on all four streets (2 big bets preflop, 2 big bets on the flop, 4 big bets on the turn, and 4 big bets on the river). In practice, about 6 big bets should suffice unless your game is unusually loose and aggressive.

I myself don't like to play that short; I'll usually rebuy if my stack falls below 10 big bets. But that's more for psychological comfort than practical necessity. (Then again, I once went 11 big bets on the river with a straight flush against my opponent's Ace-high flush; we only stopped raising because he was all in.)

As for the correlation between lower win rates and longer sessions, I agree that it's not clear which is the cause and which the effect. If you want to delve into this further, track your results every hour. For example, you might note that in a particular session you won $42 in hour 1, lost $16 in hour 2, lost $98 in hour 3, and won $228 in hour 4. Then after about 100 sessions, you might be able to demonstrate that your win rate does or does not decline after playing for a certain number of hours.

The other thing you'll want to do is get up every hour or two, walk around, and ask yourself a few questions: Is the game still good? Am I playing well (regardless of results)? Am I tired or frustrated or annoyed to a degree that would compromise my ability to make good betting decisions? The answers to all of these questions should inform your decision to continue playing or not.

Either that or just play a set amount of time or until game conditions are unprofitable (table full of sharks).

What I like about the "set amount of time" model is it keeps the player honest and emphasizes the long-term nature of poker. It's not about getting your money back-- who gives a crap if you have a losing session? And it's not about "getting" particular players who "got" you. The money's just as green if it comes from a different player tomorrow. Heck, sometimes the money comes from coolering the best player at the table with AA against her KK while the fish keep sucking out on you.

And it also recognizes something that's true even if you are playing in a good game and running good, which is that after a certain number of hours, your skills are naturally going to decline.

Good stuff. I should've read this before my last session!