What do you do when you’re ridiculously stuck in a session? (4 Viewers)

[Windwalker]

I knew the crazy good run I was having had to end at some point, and it did last night.

Last night was a $50/$100 NLH home game, with $40k average stacks when we started.

I was either card-dead for long periods of time or when I did have something, I almost always (70-75% of the time) ended up with second nuts.

In a 11-hour session, I got cracked in the following ways:

- 7 middle or bottom sets beaten by top or middle sets.
- 2 full houses beaten by bigger boats.
- 5 flushes beaten by bigger flushes.
- 4 runner-runner cracks after all-in pushes.

AND some insane chops with villains hitting one or two outers. The most egregious one of all:

I call 3x BB from villain in late position from the button with 58 suited.

Flop is rainbow 4 7 6.

To my absolute amazement, we are all-in with multiple raises after the flop. Villain turns over 35 unsuited.

We agree to run it twice.

He spikes an 8 on BOTH boards.

My question is, when you have nights like this, when do you stop? How stuck is stuck enough before calling it quits? I’m a pretty level-headed player, but I couldn’t see the forest through the trees.

 

[Changster]

400bb’s as a hard rule for me.

 

[TheDuke]

I just take what I'm willing to lose in a session.

Like my uncle Les used to say "When the money is gone, it's time to move on".

 

[Geremie]

It really isn’t about how much you’re up or down, but more so the mental state. If you’re fresh and thinking clearly, then you can still play your optimal game...there’s potential to climb out of the hole.

But once your decision making becomes spewy (even if it’s only 1x rebuy or 10x rebuy), then it’s not optimal to continue.

 

[LeLe]

I usually only play at stake Much lower than the OP but this is what i do when i have bad night,

Take a short break if you lose a few big stake in a row, rethink if you are playing badly or just bad coin flip.

If playing badly = either end the session or try to play good poker, you need to play poker according to your opponent.

If just bad coin flip, try to take choose a better spot and take longer time to think when playing hands like AK to A10 what your oppontent is most likely to be playing with.

example AK is bad to go all in against super tight people that all in range is only AA KK AK but good against LAG people

 

[kmccormick100]

My rule is usually after dusting off 3 full buy-ins in a casino, whatever that may be for the stakes I'm playing. I do usually top off to at least 100 or 200bb as my stack runs low, so I rarely get "stacked" for 3 complete buy ins, tends to be more of a long session of run bad like you described.

 

[jpietrella]

I typically come up with the stop line prior to the session. When I hit it, I quit, no negotiation. I usually set this at 3-4 buy-ins.

 

[bsdunbar1]

It really isn’t about how much you’re up or down, but more so the mental state. If you’re fresh and thinking clearly, then you can still play your optimal game...there’s potential to climb out of the hole.

But once your decision making becomes spewy (even if it’s only 1x rebuy or 10x rebuy), then it’s not optimal to continue.

^This
If I know I am playing bad and making low % moves because I am bored or tired/etc. Then it is time to quit.
But if I am continually getting beat by unrealistic run outs I continue to play and rebuy. Eventually, if I am not the problem playing bad, it will come around and good play will win that money back.

 

[Pinkdan]

“when I hit it, I quit”

- @jpietrella

 

[Josh Kifer]

It really isn’t about how much you’re up or down, but more so the mental state. If you’re fresh and thinking clearly, then you can still play your optimal game...there’s potential to climb out of the hole.

But once your decision making becomes spewy (even if it’s only 1x rebuy or 10x rebuy), then it’s not optimal to continue.

This is dead on.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I've been playing "seriously" for a decade now, and I struggled with this for a long time. Honestly, sometimes I still do.

I have a few rules I follow that make nights like this easier to deal with:

• Take notes. I record my stack size periodically, as well as notes on key hands. Looking back at these notes occasionally can help me identify some types of tilt (playing trash pre, value owning myself, etc.).
• If I feel myself getting angry or emotional, especially after a bad suckout, I take a walk. It might be five minutes or thirty, whatever I need to get back in the right mindset.
• If I can't get back to where I should be mentally, rack up and go no matter how good the game is.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I also set a stop-loss before the session starts (generally 3-4 BI), and once I hit it, I walk no matter what.

 

[Payback]

Don't ask me.... I'm the guy that will buy in 6, 10 or more times a night just so I can keep playing. Quitting is not a strength of mine.

 

[BGinGA]

I break out the uzi and go home a winner.

 

[moechar]

I break out the uzi and go home a winner.

@BGinGA after running bad all night:

 

[Payback]

I break out the uzi and go home a winner.

I too used to just break @Uzi and also went home a winner!

 

[shorticus]

I usually have a preset limit, but I’m also always monitoring my play to make sure I’m not getting outplayed. I’m more likely to continue playing if people are getting miracles against me.

 

[MrCatPants]

I had one of these nights last weekend - playing PLO8. Top set against middle set, nut low draw - middle set hits quads on the turn, low doesn't come home on the river type of situations. Lost 600 BB in about two hours.

As others have mentioned, if you're not making bad decisions, rebuy away. But for me, if I'm losing too fast and too many bad beats, I'll usually decide it just 'isn't my night' at some point. 3-4 buy-ins in usually.

 

[FickieRowler]

This is a great thread!!
300 big blinds is my hard out.
I used to switch to only ultra premium hands after dropping 300bbs, but on multiple occasions, that led to 10x more pain and frustration.
So now...300bbs and done. All remaining pocket $ for the night gets spent on liver damage.

 

[Windwalker]

It was hard to tell when I was in it, but in analyzing my play today, I was definitely on the worst kind of tilt — where you think you’re making good decisions, but you’re really not. Case in point is calling the 3bb raise with 58s in the example above. I ended up losing about 800 big blinds last night, probably my worst night in a long time.

i’m still way up overall, but the notes about thinking clearly really stick out.

 

[Nanook]

Although I agree with the mental state comments above, I am a strong believer that there needs to be a hard stop somewhere. It doesn't matter what you choose for your hard stop, 2, 3 or4 buy ins of 100bb, but whatever you choose you have to stick to it.

Some nights it just isn't going to be your night and you just have to walk away.

 

[davin]

400bb’s as a hard rule for me.

Same here 400bb is my cap as well

 

[utgtrash]

7 undersets is really statistically tough to do unless you’re playing plo which even then us tough, but you can fold that in plo. background check on the dealer maybe? I rarely tilt and if I do that’s the only time I know I should quit regardless of how stuck I am. I mean sometimes I know I’m not a favorite in the game I’m in but I’ll still play to improve my game if the game isn’t too big to risk it. tbh if you’re not tilting and you’re a favorite over at least 2 ppl at the table i don’t know if you need a stop loss or anything like that. but I don’t play higher than 10-25 so I’m not sure my experience translates well to the typical 50-100 environment (I don’t see why not tho). That’s a big game! You’re not playing in the Kevin hart game are you?

 

[surfik]

Mid session:
take a half hour break, have a smoke, shower or take a walk to cool down

After session:
review your hands and chack if you doing something wrong

 

[Anthony Martino]

If I'm running that bad I check the nationality of the players beating me. If there are a pair of Cubans....I know what the fuck is going on!

In all seriousness, everyone already covered the things I will echo

LOSS LIMIT: I have a set amount that is my daily threshold for pain. Doesn't matter how good the game is, if I lose that amount, it's time to go, tomorrow is a new day

GO FOR WALK: You start feeling your body get hotter as the frustration sets in. Stand up and go for a walk, take a breather.

And just because I have a loss limit doesn't mean I have to hit it. If I'm not "feeling it" (in b4 out of context thread!) I will take my ball and go home. I don't need to lose every last dollar in my pocket

Don't feel bad, this is my profession and I'm not immune to tilt. Shit, last week I saw the best PLO player in the room go on tilt after he doubled me up. He started straddling pre or potting pre EVERY HAND. He went from the hunter to the prey as he became the fish everyone was trying to catch

 

[upNdown]

I had one of these nights last weekend - playing PLO8. Top set against middle set, nut low draw - middle set hits quads on the turn, low doesn't come home on the river type of situations. Lost 600 BB in about two hours.

As others have mentioned, if you're not making bad decisions, rebuy away. But for me, if I'm losing too fast and too many bad beats, I'll usually decide it just 'isn't my night' at some point. 3-4 buy-ins in usually.

I have to ask. Safe to assume you were playing pot limit, not fixed limit? Because loosing 600 big bets in two hours in a split pot game would be a significant feat.

 

[Rbonus012]

I will find out in a couple days when @detroitdad takes all my money playing circus games

 

[Frogzilla]

Life is one long session. I ask myself, am I ready to play my next buy-in? It’s convenient (you’re already at the poker table) but maybe it’s also getting late and I’m getting tired. Has very little to do with profit/loss in the session

Also I’m not tracking bad beats so closely, dwelling on those might be adding to your frustration?

 

[Legend5555]

I just take what I'm willing to lose in a session.

Like my uncle Les used to say "When the money is gone, it's time to move on".

Have fun you secret handshake assholes!

 

[Legend5555]

I don't set a loss limit. I just play as long as I feel the game is good and I'm not tired or making some clearly bad decisions. The first time I notice myself open or call lighter preflop than I should or make a bad bluff, I'm done.