I'm not looking for sarcastic comments or "stay until the table is no longer good" etc... I understand all of that.

When I am on my A game I am a strong player, I make solid reads and generally get value when value is due. Over the past 3 months I have been up 1.5 buy ins or more 70% of my sessions.

I am generally in the top 3 stacks at my table and I feel that my play against the short stacks is mediocre. I have trouble pin pointing the problem, but it's always against the short stacks.

More recently I have become way more disciplined with playing in position, calling 3 bets and folding to raises with easily dominated hands. When 200-300 BB's deep I feel that my play against other players around my chip amount is solid and I am a feared player.

Unfortunately the gambool inside of me doesn't leave unless I have something to go do for the day, are there any recommendations. Would it be better for me to move up to the next stakes when I hit that buy in amount?

Moving up stakes is a horrible idea. Is there another table at the stakes you play at? If not, perhaps a break is in order and then come back in at earliest opportunity with your normal buy in.

when i hit a certain profit point, i leave just before the big blind hits me.

i take a break, get something to eat, walk on the boardwalk maybe buy something.

i then go back and start all over again.

you have to be disciplined and not give up any profits you have worked so hard to get.

There is other tables. Are you recommending I transfer tables to go down to normal buy in? This room makes you transfer with your entire stack although Noone would notice if you went down to max I feel awkward doing it.

A break.seems very easy in theory but in the moment it always seems +ev to stay.

I am a similar issue. My issue is sticking to my stop loss. I just want to keep playing b/c I'm addicting to the same.

So it's similar to yours in that you want "something to go do for the day" and so don't "want" to leave.

My outside, superficial impression of your situation is this: Your issue isn't the inability to determine the best time to leave the game or know when to book a win. Your issue is psychological and relates to the impact variance has on your play and thought process (everything from when to bet/fold/call to how you value the real-world value associated with the chips you move around during the course of a hand --> what the money means to you).

Focus less on when to leave and more on how to maintain your A-game, and why you have A, B, and C games to begin with. Focus on what causes you to adjust your play, and how those adjustments lead you from an A-game to something less optimal.

I know you said, "I'm not looking for sarcastic comments or "stay until the table is no longer good" etc... I understand all of that." But what about your psychology?

it always seems that way but part of being successful is to leave and take some profit.

my strategy is to target the weak players at the table and once they're gone and the table tightens up or the table is full of solid players, that's your cue to leave and take a break or go to another table.

but in my experience when i take profit, i'm feeling good, and when i come back i feel sharper and fresh.

Keep in mind I play at a horse track so nothings around the area. I think the best thing would be to leave to eat and come back when I'm around my threshold

taking a break is always a smart idea, because many times i have stuck too long playing and wind up losing all my profits, then i get mad at myself for not leaving when i was up, which makes me want to play more so i can win what i lost back...you can see where i'm going with this.

My psych during my A game is pretty solid as stated, I do have a problem with watching betting tendencies from new players and will call down light if i am feeling tired. Another reason why a food break could be a great idea

Pick up an empty rack, fill it up, and leave.

Exactly, well I don't go back to get my losses back but the first part.

The room I play doesn't offer racks.and when you take your chips to the cashier if you can't fit them in your 2 hands your remaining chips are free game to those who grab them before you get back to grab the rest. They also stopped coloring ppl up so It's really stressful. I've found it +ev to just wait for ppl to leave and grab the chips they can't carry to the cashier. Normally just $1s but still worth it.

There's a couple of potential factors. The most benign is short stackers have an edge against deep stacks in play. They don't have to worry about getting pushed off their hands. Most of the time, there is plenty of money in the pot to justify stacking off with a draw or knowing that there is no IO against them if they jam their TP hand. A bigger stack has more worries. In this case, there is little you can do if there is a big stack and a short stack involved in a hand.

However, I suspect you don't mean that situation. What happens is often when people get deep, they start opening up their range considerably, without realizing that this is a mistake against a short stack raiser. If the villain has 30BB, it doesn't matter if you have 300BB, the effective stacks are 30BB. You can't call that raise with SC or small pairs. If you do, you end up bleeding chips because you have to fold a lot of the time on the flop and can't make up the losses the few times you hit.

Another problem can be "winner's chips." Some players when they get ahead start making calls and bluffs with the thought in the back of their minds, "I'm playing with someone else's chips, they aren't as important as my chips." If you've caught yourself looking at someone's stack after they won a big pot against you and got mad when they get up and leave, you're guilty of this. Another manifestation is when you're up big, drop down and then justify it by going, "well, I still won for the night."

You also hint with your title and your proposed solution a fourth potential reason: you like to gamble. The biggest paradox in poker is that people are attracted to poker in the first place because of the gambling aspect, but to become a consistent winner you have to not gamble. Playing an "A" game means that you're never getting the wrong odds or giving the right odds to play. There are times you lose and times you win, but if you are doing it correctly you'll over time make more money. Unfortunately, if you've developed a the skills to know that you're going to make money, you cease to be gambling. Poker outside of the gambling aspect is pretty boring. Folding is boring. Shoving AI in exciting. Short stacks get their stacks in more easily, so there is more excitement.

This is why your proposed solution is wrong for you if the fourth reason is correct. Moving up removes the sense of being superior to the table. You're back to gambling. When you're gambling, you're not making money long term.

you need to change your mindset regarding poker;

winning or losing is irrelevant; you should reward yourself on making the right play at that point in time given all of the information that you had available to you

keep playing as long as you're not tilted, tired, upset, distracted, or concerned about the money.

leave if the game is bad, stay if its good.

don't focus on winning or losing, its irrelevant. review your results every few weeks, not daily

I'm not sure moving up is a terrible idea, given its a tiny sample size the few shots I've taken at 2/5 I'm 3 for 4 and up 450bbs. But I understand that could have been variance. I like to gamble in the sense of playing cards. I don't find myself making -ev bets or call after the flop, I still do on occasion PF.

The biggest frustration is simple. I'm a winning player when I'm on my A game, but I stay too long. This is going to be my next big step in poker, overcoming this.

I think you missed the point

And I remember the reason I left all 3 of those sessions was because the money on the table was worth a lot to me

brojay, i think that you're well aware of this "problem" and you're on your way to correcting this leak.

This is just insane.. buy a hoody and cargo shorts and stuff your chips there. Goto another room steal a rack and use that.

These are just excuses.

Hoodies aren't allowed and you can be permabanned if you rathole chips in cargo shorts. **** almost hit the fan last month when stopped doing color ups. A lot of the regs have become really good at balancing 60+ chips to the cashier in each hand but my balancing isn't that good.

Sigh... I'm going to take a week off and try to start with a fresh mind next week. It'd be nice to start pulling a 10bb per hour profit... Even 5.

To the contrary---this poster has nailed the point. You are focused too much on results. This issue is primarily about playing your A game, or, in other words, making the best decisions possible, given your level of poker knowledge.

Just because you were up for the night doesn't mean you played well and just because you were down doesn't mean you played bad. Measure "success" in terms of your EV decision making.

If you are fatigued, but only been playing a few hours, then get some food, take a break. Also, pay attention to session length; generally, it's hard to play for six hours or more productively.

But don't forget that you may find yourself in situations where your A game is not sufficient. This is not a slight against your character, but just a reality we all face at some stage.

For example, you indicate you struggle with deep-stack play and calling-down short-stacks light. So, in other words, your knowledge of deep-stack strategy needs improvement. To my mind, you are not really focusing on the problem here---it's not about knowing when to leave, but admitting you have leaks in your game and learning how to fix them.

LOL

Was this whole post not me admitting a leak?

You lack discipline.

Here is what you need to do.

#1 When you are at home, sit down and write down a list of all the things you do right
#2 Make a list of all the things you do wrong
#3 Make a list of all the things you wish you would do
#4 Make a list of all the correct ways and situations in which you "leave" a game

Everytime you play, aspire to conform to your lists.

Once you are able to do so reliably, then you've reach a significant "level" of poker.

Give you an example. I have a list of rules. If I break two of my rules, no matter what or why, I IMMEDIATELY LEAVE.

And I have a few rules where if I break them ONCE I have to immediately switch tables.

My RULES

#1 Never argue poker theory at the table
#2 Never correct another player's mistakes
#3 Do not show bluffs
#4 Do not voluntarily tell players that I make my living with poker
#5 Do not call when I know 100% I'm beat
#6 Do not lose my temper
#7 Do not get into ego based leveling wars
#8 Take a 5-10 minute break every 2hrs
#9 Do not eat at the table
#10 Make the proper bet/shove that I "know" I must make based on the math

The list goes on and on

The important thing is that those rules supercede my desires. The rules out rank "me" and thus, whenever I break two of those rules (or one rule twice) in a single session, I immediately rack up. Doesn't matter if i've only been playing 10 minutes.

That is discipline. Once you hold yourself to that standard, you'd be surprised how that impacts your play, decisions, and how you go about the game.