Today I finished a cash session because I was 2 buy in's in profit and any time i can finish a session that much in profit, I'm happy. Problem was, it was only 6 mins after sitting down at 2 tables. Now I know this is known as ratholing but is it profitable in the long run to take early double ups or should I carry on playing? I can only manage a hourish at the tables in the evening so I can't exactly grind up profits quickly.
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Often you can use the big stack to your advantage. You also sometimes just go on nice heaters on certain tables and you could have ended up 4/5/6+ buyins up after an hour.
Then again you could have lost it all.
I don't tend to let the size of my stacks dictate when I stop. It boils down to if i'm losing concentration/lost interest or I feel there are too many better players than me.
IMO, the only reasons you should ever leave a table are:
1) You don't wanna play anymore
2) You aren't good enough to beat the table
3) You're tilting.
Leaving because you're X amount up or X amount down doesn't really make any sense, assuming you're still playing your A game. If winning 2 BIs, means you tighten up and start playing differently, then it is a form of tilt and you should try to get out of this habit.
People leave to 'lock up' a profit, but the next time you sit at the table, you've got 100xBB again and you're gonna need to risk it again, to win more. The only reason to 'hit and run' is in games like roulette where you are losing long term, so the only way you can ever really win is to hit and run.
If you're a winning player, then you are making money every time you're sat at the table you can beat, so the more you sit the more you win.
EDIT: I'm not saying you do this, but another point to this topic is, if you run away every time for double up (for instance), then when someone is sat with £20 @ 8NL how do you stack them? You can't. Sitting with big stacks is how you win big pots.
Always a good time to stop.
Leave the table when you are winning or losing, not when you are broke.
Shamelessly stolen from Elements of Poker - Tommy Angelo:
You quit right now, a winner. We have established as a given that you will be happy. We will call the amount of happiness you will feel X
You continue to play and you win some more money before quitting. You will be happier than X, but not all that much happier. You'll probably be around one-fifth X to one-tenth X happier.
You continue to play and you end up losing for the day, No more X for you. Nothing but Y, Y, Y.
There's a whole section in this book dedicated to 'quitting' - I'd thoroughly recommend reading it, happy to lend it to you if you want it?
Hopefully we aint trying to win at poker by being lucky, it's by having more skill than the opponent, so no amount of BIs won or lost should change things if you're playing bad players.
It's the same as Wacko (I only choose him cos he's a sicko lol) playing an MTT, winning it and thinking, well I won't play anymore tonight cos I've won one now. Everytime he sits down, he is effectively making money cos he's better than probably 99% of MTT players on here, so he wants to sit down as much as possible.
Went on a right old monkey tilt.
Apologies if I upset anyone.
If this happens.....STAND ASAP
Oh that was you lol.
Another dire sesion I have given up after an hour.