I have a tendency to make money playing 1/2 then I slowly lose it back until i'm broke. I know that strategically I'm much better than most 1/2 players, however, I can't seem to get away from the game when I'm ahead. I play very well for hours, then I slip and stop caring, and can't seem to leave. The addiction takes over after a while. Does anybody else have this problem. How do you deal with it and what criteria do you use to know when to leave? Thanks.

I thought that playing a set number of hours would be better than trying to reach a financial goal. I tend to try to get a certain amount of money, and either reach it or go broke.

your mental game is not even close to ready for 1/2. you should not be thinking about your wins/losses at all during a session. to answer your question, leave when your stack gets too big for your bankroll, or when you're done for the day.

1/2 live or 1/2 online? ur thought process is of a 1/2 live player

Try to pay attention to small details. Many times you will find small deviations in the way you are thinking, some due to mental fatigue, others due to soft tilt or similar things.

For example, if you are very focussed at the beginning of your session (planning hands ahead, closely observing opponent, etc...) and later on you "catch yourself" going into a more "dull" way of thinking (c-betting without thinking about turns/rivers that you intend to barrel, calling 3bs wo/ having a plan of how to proceed on different flops, etc...), then this is a very clear sign that you should take a break.

Actually tbh if i am up like 5 bi first hour i sit i just close shop and go get drunk usually.

Mental game leak i am aware but i found out that if i stay and grind and somehow spew those buy ins and get to 0, a 12 hour semi tilt 16 tabling session will follow that usually doesn't end too good.

I'm around 5-6 mil hands lifetime and this happened so so many times lol.

I only play live. I just have difficulty focusing for very long periods of time. I think that if i played 4 hour sessions, and quit after that regardless of how much i have in front of me, i might do better. I enjoy playing so much though, it's hard to leave. lol.

Bonita, that's exactly right. I start very focused, then my thinking becomes dull, and I sometimes try to make plays that are risky, which sometimes work, but sometimes backfire.

Also you ll get more insight on this if you ask the mods to move it to the live poker section. Click report post.

We are all online grinders here.

That's totally normal, probably noone can focus 100% for very long periods of time. There are several ways to improve in that area though:

- recognize, when your game is slipping and taking a break (harder to do live than online)

- put in work and analyze spots when you are away from the tables. This will improve your overall gameplan and as a side effect you need to think less about common spots, while still making good decisions (= less fatigue).

- try to extend your "attention" timespan bit by bit (that's very difficult to do, imho, there are guys that can do it but i seem to be unable to figure out how that goes. I think this probably comes with practice, but apparently not to everyone )

I have a filter that says post flop play and it's just a graph record of all my hands where I saw a flop. I strive to either have my green line above 0 each session or my light green ev line above 0. Either or is fine and a I pay zero attention to my overall bankroll.

After about the 130 hand mark I'm a little burnt out so I watch some YouTube vids or read this forum for a bit and then come back and try and get in a further 80hands. I aim for 200 hands at least per day. If I fetch myself a strong coffee I can usually pump out about 400 hands

Your post says otherwise, but don't worry, most losing poker players (by which I mean 'most poker players') think they are better than they are.

When I say that, I mean that strategically i'm better, but the other factors that go into the game effect my winning. IE. discipline, getting away from a game with profit etc. That's all i'm saying. those are my leaks. as far as knowledge goes I'm good, It's the application.

Never play when you are:

S - Sick
H - Hungry
I- Intoxicated
T- Tired or Tilted

Also, when game conditions become less or unprofitable, when you become distracted or bored, or when you start worrying about how much (or little) money you have on the table. I find that a ~300 bb win at a live 1/2 or 1/3 table is pretty much a 'stop win' for me, I rarely can exceed that. Deep stacked play is more complex and you have to adjust to the reverse implied odds against you. Also, I find if I'm having a huge winning session, the table will be 'out to get me' and will slow play the heck out of me.

OP- Tommy Angelo's "Elements of Poker" deals quite a bit with taking breaks and quitting. Might be a good read for you.