Knowing when to walk away from the poker table can be tough to manage. Many poker players stay at the table way too long. It's better to leave too soon than too late. Small profits are better than big losses. Building your bankroll is a slow and boring process. That’s why you need to set maximum and minimum limits on what you will win and lose during any given session. Telling yourself to get up and leave can be a tough decision for everyone. I had a moment like that this weekend. I usually obey my internal monologue but I didn’t this past week at the Borgata. I was playing $6/$12 Limit Holdem and went up around $150 in less than an hour. I would normally walk away from the table with that profit and go back later in the day or the next.
In this instance, I stayed because I was waiting for my brother to finish working. He was covering the WPT event. That was a really bad move on my part. I didn’t have a hotel room and didn’t feel like walking around or playing any other games. I would have been better off going upstairs and watching the WPT final table. Instead, I stayed and eventually walked away down $100. It was a big swing for obvious reasons. To be a consistent winner you must learn to budget your money. I didn’t in this case.
I didn’t necessarily play poorly but I did lose money. I also didn’t cold call any 3 bets blind. Many people do that when they get a bigger stack. I tried to avoid that at all costs unless I had a monster hand. I also had a lot of big hands cracked as time went on and the limits I was playing can dictate a swing like this. The rake and dealer tips can kill you too.
People sometimes keep playing to win back their money. I didn’t do this thankfully. I set a limit to lose and when I came close to hitting it, I got up and walked away. I never have a problem with that aspect of my game. Occasionally, like most players, I will ignore my winning threshold and play a little longer than I should. This eventually eats into your profits and over the long run, it can add up to alot of lost money. You must set your winning and losing limits and stick to them. I was close to hitting my winning limit and stayed. Don’t let this happen to you if you are looking to be a profitable poker player. If you’re playing for fun, then stay as long as you want.
1. I disagree with this. If you believe that you have +EV by sitting at that particular table, you should play for as long as you are capable of playing your A-game. Stopping when you've hit an artificial limit to winnings is just going to cost you money. Remember, unless you never plan on playing poker again, you are always even at any given moment.
Posted at 3:42AM on Sep 27th 2005 by Keith