totallyirreverent.com

When to stay and play.
Being a winning player isn’t just about playing good cards…it’s really about making good decisions about when to play and when to call it a day…

And there is one important decision you face every time you sit down and play in a cash game:

When do I quit, or should I keep playing?

WHEN DO YOU KEEP ON PLAYING?

Many players are playing the short hours when they’re winning, and long sessions when they’re losing. It should be the other way around…

When you are winning, at least a few of the other players must be losing. So when the table has your opponents losing and you winning, they aren’t playing their best.

When you’re winning, other players fear you, and you have a great table image established that needs to be used fully. When you have a strong table image, you can get away with things that you can’t whenever you’re losing.

You can get away bluffing much more often, since you have a strong table image – one that’s to be feared.

Usually a losing player is scared to get involved with a winning player for fear of losing, so it’s much easier for you to pick up pots without the best hand. You have the ability to win without cards.

You can represent more hands than you actually have because your opponents believe you’re picking up strong hands.

The best time to quit is when you become tired, or when you begin to play poorly, or the table dynamics change against you (usually happens when new players arrive after a while).

WHEN SHOULD YOU LEAVE THE TABLE?

Many players just can’t seem to call it quits whenever they’re losing. You have to remember the poker game — continues live and online, that next game is just a few clicks away.

If you’ve lost more than 30 big blinds at a given table, it’s usually time to quit. If you’ve gone all-in in NL cash game and lost twice, it’s time to find another table that’s not looking at a losing player. Once you lose a few pots, the other players will be inspired to play against you.

When you’re losing, it’s much more difficult to be on your A game. Instead, you’re more likely to be on tilt (or at least fighting that tilt feeling inside), which has a tendency to cause players to loosen up and start gambling much more… which just worsens a losing streak. You start playing against the odds more.

When you’re satisfied with your winnings is another time to pocket those winnings and take a break while you’re ahead. This is one of the most difficult decisions to make, because it’s tough to leave the table when the situation favors you; however, if you stay long enough, you’ll either get tired or your image will go bad or both.

So, I’m a big believer that when you’ve won more than 4 to 5 times your starting stack size and you’re starting to see the tides turn or grow tired and start to lose focus – just stand up, stretch and stack up your chips and say “nice playing with ya’ll – good luck” and leave the table with their money!

Closing points:

So, in cash game play, the biggest decisions you’ll make are:

1. Recognizing the best table to play (online, look for tables with biggest average pot size, which often indicates a looser table)

2. Recognizing when you’re in a winning vs. losing position versus players at your table

3. Staying as long as possible when you’re winning (and protecting your winnings)

4. Leaving as soon as possible when you’re losing (to minimize the impacts to your bankroll).

5. Leaving when you’re winning after you’re up several times your buy-in and are beginning to tire or see the tides beginning to turn on you.

6. Recognizing when you’re at your best and you’re on your A game and avoiding the tables when you’re not.