Knowing When To Quit
One of the most common mistakes new players make is that they do not know when to step away from the table and either take a break from the game or stop playing completely for the session. Your average player that wins a lot of chips will often stay in a game long after it stopped producing profitable results, and even worse, the same player will often dig themselves too deep of a hole when they are down for the night, constantly trying to get back to at least even.
So what do you do? Some like to set limits for themselves, both in the win and loss category. They’ll step away either when they’ve lost $100 or won $100, or some variation of the number. Professional players however will urge that you learn how to identify when a game is profitable, because it might be worth staying in there even when you are losing and especially when you are winner, as it may prove beneficial in the long run.
Profitable games are the ones where you correctly believe yourself to be one of if not the best player at the table, surrounded by weak opponents who are prone to overdrawing at hands and making bad calls. Games like these can turn great profits for hours, but you need to also be able to tell when the good action is drying up. If the table becomes way too tight, now might be a good time to pack it up for the night and come back another day.
Another for sure sign of when to quit a session is when you feel that you aren’t playing your absolute best poker, especially if you feel on tilt. Players that are angry, frustrated or upset will make hasty calls and raises and just play bad overall poker, which can be devastating to your chip stack. Develop the personal discipline to never let yourself play when you are in this state of mind and your wallet will thank you.
