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is it rite to quit too soon when i am winning???


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I am a newbie to the game and I am loving it. For now I am playing the game as the love for it and trying to make money as a career poker player to pay off my debts. Sometime I would made about $50 to $100 in just within 10 to 30 minutes of sitting down at a $3-$6 table with $100 of my start off money. I wanting to quit the game early cuz my goal is to make extra money of about a day pay worth, but at the same time I felt as though it would be like the hit&run scenario. And since I did not want to leave that image, I try to stay a little longer and lost all of the money including mine at the end. Not much regret but I really want to know is it a okay thing to do when I want to leave a game early especially while I am winning in a game too soon?. Thanks in advance :-)

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Absolutely fine. It is your money, sit down, leave whenever you want. Take the money go sit at a new table, leave your winnings in the bank. This way, you can get up before you lose it all back.Whatever you are comfortable having on the table. Keep in mind that in NL, you need enough to get paid big, if you flop a monster.

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If your goal is to make an income playing poker, then you absolutely need to protect your winnings. So if you make your daily requirement in half an hour, then you need to protect that. Getting up and leaving ahead is a fine option, and you should never feel ashamed for doing so.But if you really want to stay at the table and play some more, ask for a colour change for most of your chips. If you're playing with $1 chips, leave a big enough stake to play a bit, but change your initial buy-in plus a profit to $5 chips and simply don't ever touch them. That way at least you won't bust out. Probably the key is to figure out why you got so far ahead. If it's just because you hit every flop you called, then you have to realize that your winnings are the result of random fluctuation and you can just as easily lose them; best to get out with the profits. OTOH if you're winning because you have perfect reads on some or all of your opponents, then it's safe to keep going until they adjust their game, or leave and are replaced by better players. That kind of self-analysis can be tough (because the reason for a big rush is almost always cards hitting rather than superior skill, and people don't like to admit that), but it's critical to be able to do it if you plan to play professionally.

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First, there's nothing wrong with winning in the first few hands and then cashing out when you are way ahead. Go for it!However, there is a hit and run fallacy that some poker players have and that is to hit a game make some profit then cash out (run). The fallacy is that someone can sit down win a couple of hands and cash out everytime they play, but as Sklansky has been quoted "It's all one long poker game," meaning eventually you'll be grinding it out over the long run. Going to 20 games for just 15 minutes is just like going to one game for 5 hours. There will be winning sessions and losing sessions so over the long run it WILL even out hopefully to a nice 1 to 3 big bet per hour average (instead of a losing one).

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I don't agree with using this hit and run strategy and cashing out when your ahead. Your not going to start off winning everytime, so what do you do when you've lost the same amount of money as opposed to winning in the same amount of time, do you just get up and leave? I doubt that'll happen. Your going to probably try and win your money back and sometimes you'll end up with a huge losing session. You may have records that book 6 or 7 wins and 1 loss, but the loss will equate to all your wins. Personally I leave when I don't feel like playing, not when I feel I've won enough. I think you need to look at the money you sit down as money that's invested into winning more, if you lose it, you lose it, if you win, that's great. Never make decisions based on how much you have in front of you, play every hand the same way regardless. The moment you let money affect your poker decisions, your not going to be in good shape.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you're looking to play for income... Learn to play long sessions... Most players have a specific amount of time that they play before they hit the wall, learn to stretch this longer and longer... Maybe try it bi-weekly or monthly (depending on the time you're putting into the tables). The reason this is profitable is if you know a few regulars hit the wall at say.. 2 hours or 4 hours.. whatever it may be.. you casually ask when they started.. and if you can play your A game longer than they play theres... and they continue playing past there "limit"... You're going to make the money.The best Pro to look at for this is Phil Ivey, he can probobly play at the top of his game in cash games longer than anyone, and because of this he has extra profits from other players who push there limits... learn your limits and push them, teach yourself control and patience and you will make more money with longer sessions.

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I don't agree with using this hit and run strategy and cashing out when your ahead.
It's not a strategy, it's an ethical question. There's nothing wrong with it. Those other people lost that money fair and square and what you do with it now is none of their business. You're there to make money, not to make friends, and if you start worrying more about what the other players think of you as a person than you do about the money, you have no business doing it for a living.In a home game among friends, things are different of course. While you may still be there to make money, you also have long term relationships to protect and those may be more valuable to you. How you handle it in that situation is a judgement call. My best friend and I have an informal rule about not quitting the game while losers want to keep playing. If there's somewhere we have to be then we go, otherwise we keep playing. It's not a rule for the rest of the game, just a personal thing we do when we're playing among friends.The people in the casino are not your friends. They're there to take your money. It's your job to not let that happen and if the best way to do that is to cash out 20 min into the session then that's what you do.
Never make decisions based on how much you have in front of you, play every hand the same way regardless.
That's horrible advice on soooo many levels.
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If your goal is to make an income playing poker, then you absolutely need to protect your winnings. So if you make your daily requirement in half an hour, then you need to protect that. Getting up and leaving ahead is a fine option, and you should never feel ashamed for doing so. That's crazy.If your at a table where you're beating the game, you should stay untill the dynamics change and make it less profitable.IF your goal is to make money long term, you're going to want to play as many hands at good tables as possible.Short term gains are meaningless in terms of income from poker.

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First, caring about your image for leaving the table early with a lead in money is a non-issue. One of the primary boasts of on-line poker is being able to switch/leave tables instantly. However, proper table etiquette insists on playing at least a little while after a big win. That being said, If I have somewhere to go, or want to leave, I'll leave.Second, there is a saying in the poker world, "eats like a canary, shits like an elephant." This refers to someone who leaves whenever they are up a little bit, but can't seem to get up from the table when they're losing, ending up losing large portions of their bankroll. You don't want to be this.Finally, since there is some controversy, I'll list what I think are acceptable reasons for leaving a game, while winning, regardless of whether or not you think you can beat the game.1) You are getting tired.2) You have about half or more of the money on the table.3) You have something else to do.4*) People are gambling to get even with you. - in a limit game, mathematicians will tell you this is a good thing, but trust me, you don't want to be the guy all of the regular "good timers" are trying to "WICKED SIC!" - in a NL game, make a judgment call. I've often doubled or tripled up, after already being chipleader from people trying to gamble with me. However, if they were rebuying max limit ($200), even if they were terrible players, they would have been dangerous, and I would have gotten up.

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I cant believe some of the answers here.Its simple.... you get up when you feel like it. Wether your winning or not. If you dont feel like playing any longer and continue to do so, you will generally suffer.If you think you made enough for the day and your thoughts are beginning to wonder, get off the table. You need to stay focused.Here is what I have done, if I hit big I would play for a while. If at any time I thought about getting off I did. Its about getting off a winner. Protect your winnings, if you have a small bank roll. This is very important. If you still feel like playing, I do this.... I join a 10 dollar MTT which I figure I can hang out in for a few hours, can play bad and only down 10 bucks.Walking away a winner is so important when your trying to establish your bankroll.I started with very small bankroll and, that is the advise I was given. If you walk away 10 bucks up each day....thats 300 a month!

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Finally, since there is some controversy, I'll list what I think are acceptable reasons for leaving a game, while winning, regardless of whether or not you think you can beat the game.1) You are getting tired.2) You have about half or more of the money on the table.3) You have something else to do.4*) People are gambling to get even with you.
Here's my list of acceptable reasons to leave the table.1) I want to.2) The game is no longer profitable3) I feel like it4) I'm tired5) Because I can6) I'm not playing my best game7) There's a more profitable game elsewhere8) I'm hungry and don't want to eat at the table today9) My girlfriend is going to leave me if I don't get home in time to kiss her goodnight and tuck her in10) My girlfriend is REALLY going to leave me if I'm not home before she wakes up11) I want to12) The drunk tourist that thinks 59s is a raising hand finaly busted out and can't get more money out of the ATM13) The dealer looked at me funny14) The dealer has had a good nights sleep, a shower, and spent a few hours with his family between visits to my table15) My car registration expired while I was at the casino16) The floorman offered to comp me a room so I can take a shower.17) The security guard told me it was an offer I couldn't refuse.18) The idiots that were gunning for me finaly ran out of ammunition19) The casino asks if they can buy back some of my chips so that other people can play too20) Buffy the Vampire Slayer is on21) It's the episode where she gets laidIn other words, I'll get up and leave the table whenever I please, and if the other players don't like me walking off with chips that were once theirs, they shouldn't have given them to me in the first place. They're mine now and they have no claim on them.
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6 months ago I would have said H&R is the wrong thing to do. Then again, I was raised playing poker with my dad and his friends where check raising was considered a sin. I will be playing in a PL game tonight and if I can win 50% of my buy in quick.... I'm gone baby. Good luck :twisted:

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I read an article recently that talked about streaks online. Apparently, something about the 'random' number generator causes streaks to last longer. If you're getting good cards, stick around; if you're getting rags, leave. Having played a fair bit online, I can say that there certainly seems to be some legitimacy to this theory. Maybe it's just me though.Personally, I go by feel: If my gut is telling me to leave, I get up and go, even if I'm on a winning streak. The few times I've ignored my gut and decided to stick around, I invariably lost money.

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I don't agree with using this hit and run strategy and cashing out when your ahead.  
It's not a strategy, it's an ethical question. There's nothing wrong with it. Those other people lost that money fair and square and what you do with it now is none of their business. You're there to make money, not to make friends, and if you start worrying more about what the other players think of you as a person than you do about the money, you have no business doing it for a living.In a home game among friends, things are different of course. While you may still be there to make money, you also have long term relationships to protect and those may be more valuable to you. How you handle it in that situation is a judgement call. My best friend and I have an informal rule about not quitting the game while losers want to keep playing. If there's somewhere we have to be then we go, otherwise we keep playing. It's not a rule for the rest of the game, just a personal thing we do when we're playing among friends.The people in the casino are not your friends. They're there to take your money. It's your job to not let that happen and if the best way to do that is to cash out 20 min into the session then that's what you do.
Never make decisions based on how much you have in front of you, play every hand the same way regardless.  
That's horrible advice on soooo many levels.
WOW, I'm not sure where I mentioned anything about it being ethical, making friends or anything like that. I simply stated that using this hit and run strategy doesn't work, because you don't always start out winning, some of your biggest sessions are when you lose a lot before you start to win. It is a strategy because your leaving while your ahead and early. The point is you never know how much more you could make if you stay longer, you may lose it all back as well, but if you look at every session as profit or loss, your missing the point. Poker profits are calculated in the long-term, not the short term. You can have 10 consecutive losing sessions and in the long run, those 10 sessions mean nothing in the scheme of things. Your staying or leaving should be determined by whether the game is beatable or not, if you feel like playing or not and if the answer is yes to both, you should continue to play whether your stuck or up.Oh yeah, I'm sure you should make all your decisions in poker based on how many chips you have in front of you? So, if you have $50 in chips compared to $100 in chips, you adjust your play accordingly? It's like hmmm I have AA, if I had $100 I'd raise, but since I only have $50 I think I'll just call in case I lose. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If you play your hands this way, your obviously losing a load of money by not maximizing the value for your pots. Lastly, it just makes you look like an ass. Whether you care or not is strictly up to you, but if you play somewhere on a regular basis, I'm not sure you want to be known as the person who gets up and leaves when they win big. I don't think this is something I'd want as a target on my back. We're all here to win money, but there's a saying "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours". You getting up and leaving when you win big and early is no different than being a Nit and ruining the game for everybody else. I personally remember players that do the hit and run, usually it's after one of the worst suckouts possible. Yes, you want to maximize your profits, but at the same time sometimes it's worth sacrificing a bit in order to keep a good game going. You can't always be looking out for yourself, I think Daniel mentioned something similar to this in 1 of his articles about Nits.
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WOW' date=' I'm not sure where I mentioned anything about it being ethical, making friends or anything like that. I simply stated that using this hit and run strategy doesn't work[/quote']And I was simply pointing out that the question was not a question of strategy but one of ethics. The poster asked if it was acceptable behaviour, not if it was a good strategy. That said, there may be some strategic reasons to do it in some situations. That's a case by case thing you'll have to work out on your own.
Oh yeah, I'm sure you should make all your decisions in poker based on how many chips you have in front of you?
That's ridiculous. You said you should never make decisions based on chip stack, which I said was horrible advice. It's just as bad to say you should make all your decisions based on stack size. See, there's a middle ground in there... Say, you wouldn't happen to be a republican, would you?
So, if you have $50 in chips compared to $100 in chips, you adjust your play accordingly?
Yes.
It's like hmmm I have AA, if I had $100 I'd raise, but since I only have $50 I think I'll just call in case I lose.
No.
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. If you play your hands this way, your obviously losing a load of money by not maximizing the value for your pots.
I agree.
Lastly, it just makes you look like an ass. Whether you care or not is strictly up to you, but if you play somewhere on a regular basis, I'm not sure you want to be known as the person who gets up and leaves when they win big.
Sounds like a pretty good reputation to me.
I don't think this is something I'd want as a target on my back.
Why not? If it makes people adjust their play when I'm in the pot, so much the better. Gun for me and I'll snap off your bluffs one by one... stay out of my pots and I'll buy up your blinds. If my reputation makes you play less than optimal poker against me, then I'll take even more of your money.
We're all here to win money, but there's a saying "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours".
I know that saying. I don't know what it has to do with poker unless you're suggesting we should collude. THAT would be unethical (and in most places, illegal).
You getting up and leaving when you win big and early is no different than being a Nit and ruining the game for everybody else.
I'm a polite player, I don't berate other players, throw cards, abuse the dealers, ask for deck changes, speak other languages at the table, act out of turn or do any of the other myriad of things that can ruin the game for other people. However I do not feel I have any obligation whatsoever to the table to stay and play just because I happen to be ahead at the moment.
I personally remember players that do the hit and run, usually it's after one of the worst suckouts possible. Yes, you want to maximize your profits, but at the same time sometimes it's worth sacrificing a bit in order to keep a good game going.
Are you suggesting I should sacrifice my winnings to keep a good game going for you, or that I should be willing to risk my winnings to keep a good game going for me? If it's the former, then I disagree. Unless it's a home game or a table full of friends, I can't think of a single good reason I should play when I don't want to.
You can't always be looking out for yourself, I think Daniel mentioned something similar to this in 1 of his articles about Nits.
When it comes to my life away from the table, I'm a warm hearted, generous (to a fault), compassionate person. I go out of my way to help total strangers (little old ladies crossing the street type stuff) and to do nice things for my friends. But when I'm at the poker table I don't soft play anyone. I'd checkraise bluff my grandmother out of her rent check if she sat down at my table. I guarantee you none of the other players at the table have your best interests at heart. If you really want to help them out, buy them a few poker books or give them the phone number to GA. Staying in the game just because you won their money isn't doing them or yourself any favors.Of course if the game is good and you're playing well, you should stay and play. If you're doing it because you want to, whether for monetary or social value, that's fantastic. But if you want to leave for any reason, then get up and go and take the chips with you. They're yours, you earned them.
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hey by all means leave whenever you want to, but it puts a target on your back when you hit and run and I can't possibly see how it benefits you to have players at the table dislike you. I'm sure your real happy when somebody hits a couple miracle hands, gets up and leaves with a whole lot of your money without giving you a chance to win it back right? Chip stack is relevant of course in a No Limit game, but not in a limit game. I'm not sure if your referring to a No Limit game, but I'm referring to a Limit Game, which is what the original poster mentioned was the game he played. What you have in front of you is irrelevant in a Limit game, because every hand is to be played the same way regardless of your chip stack.I didn't say play when you don't want to, but hitting and running is not going to make you money believe it or not. Like I said, you can book 10 straight wins, but your 1 or 2 losses will be much more than your wins, that's for sure. My advice was to stop looking at every session as a win or loss and start looking at whether you played well or played bad. If you played like crap and won, you should be more upset than if you played great and lost for the session. I never said don't play your opponents hard, but I prefere to contribute to the game as well. I want to win obviously, but I want to make the game enjoyable for the bad players, so they stay and play. Imagine a table full of rocks with no action at all, who's going to win money? Getting up and leaving after you take the fish's money doesn't contribute to the game, it only helps yourself. I never said anything about collusion, but your killing the game when you take everybody's money and leave without giving anybody a chance to win it back. Nobody wants to play poker with a player like this who is selfish and leaves right away when he wins. Obviously, you don't care much about this, but I'm just giving my opinion and that is the way I see it and I'm not asking you to agree or disagree.

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hey by all means leave whenever you want to' date=' but it puts a target on your back when you hit and run and I can't possibly see how it benefits you to have players at the table dislike you. [/quote']Really? You can't? *shrugs* Players that have an emotional stake in the game will adjust their play as a result. Players that like me will call my bets when I have a big hand and won't bet into me with their big hands. Players that don't like me will push their marginal hands too hard and will call with weaker hands in hopes of getting one over on me. They'll also bluff at me more often.I'm a genial sort of guy and prefer to be liked than disliked as a general rule, so when I'm at the table I keep it friendly and light, but that doesn't mean I won't do a hit and run if I feel it's the best financial decision I can make in the game.
I'm sure your real happy when somebody hits a couple miracle hands, gets up and leaves with a whole lot of your money without giving you a chance to win it back right?
Of course I'm not happy about it. Hell, I'm not happy when a fish leaves the table, ever. But there's an underlying assumption in your question that is simply wrong. You say "leaves with a whole lot of your money" (emphasis added). It's not my money. It ceased to be my money the instant I put it into the pot and it became his money the instant he won the pot.
Chip stack is relevant of course in a No Limit game, but not in a limit game.
Wrong. You play as if it's irrelevant. It's highly relevant in many situations.
I'm not sure if your referring to a No Limit game, but I'm referring to a Limit Game, which is what the original poster mentioned was the game he played. What you have in front of you is irrelevant in a Limit game, because every hand is to be played the same way regardless of your chip stack.
*shrugs* Have it your way.
I didn't say play when you don't want to, but hitting and running is not going to make you money believe it or not.
In the long run, it's going to make me the exact same amount of money as staying and playing would, all other considerations being equal. Of course, all other things are NOT equal. One of the leaks in my game is getting a little too loose following a big win. If I were to get up and go every time I hit a big win, I'd be a much more profitable player in the long run because I wouldn't play in the time period in which I am on my worst game -- immediately following a win. But that's just me, not everyone plays as poorly as I do.
Like I said, you can book 10 straight wins, but your 1 or 2 losses will be much more than your wins, that's for sure.
You're sure about a lot of things, aren't you? Are you sure you're not on the WMD inspection team?Let me just be sure I understand you correctly. If I book 10 straight wins of 100 dollars each, then it's "for sure" that my two losing sessions will be much more than my wins? What if my 2 loosing sessions are for 50 bucks each? Still so sure about it?
My advice was to stop looking at every session as a win or loss and start looking at whether you played well or played bad. If you played like crap and won, you should be more upset than if you played great and lost for the session.
I can't ever remember a time when I left the casino a winner and been upset about it.I critique my own play whether I won or lost, and try to recognize when I got lucky as opposed to when I played well. But I don't let it stop me from dropping the cash off at the bank with a smile on my face.
I never said don't play your opponents hard, but I prefere to contribute to the game as well. I want to win obviously, but I want to make the game enjoyable for the bad players, so they stay and play.
So do I. That's why I smile a lot and talk it up with people, avoid criticizing players, don't get mad at the dealer or other players, etc.... None of which has anything to do with when I decide it's time for me to leave.
Imagine a table full of rocks with no action at all, who's going to win money?
Dunno. I won't be at that table long enough to find out.
Getting up and leaving after you take the fish's money doesn't contribute to the game, it only helps yourself.
Right. Why do you play poker?
I never said anything about collusion, but your killing the game when you take everybody's money and leave without giving anybody a chance to win it back.
I have never once in my entire life left the table with someone elses money. That would be illegal. Once those chips are in my stack, they are my money. Nobody else has any say over what I do with them.
Nobody wants to play poker with a player like this who is selfish and leaves right away when he wins.
And yet somehow the casino still lets me play and people don't immediately jump out of their chairs when I sit down. Of course home games are a vastly different creature, as I noted in my original post. Then maintaining the relationships and keeping the game alive is worth more than a quick score.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I think it was Ivey who said you play better poker when you are UP money, so it makes some sense to keep playing - and to leave SOONER when you are losing, saving you from chasing, playing too many hands, etc.So I think your hit and run is unwise. Even though in the example you give you'd have saved some cash.Maybe the analysis yuou need to make of yourself is "when should I have left, having lost the 50 I had been up and after my initial stake took a hit (when should you have left, rather than lose it all?)Cheers

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I think it was Ivey who said you play better poker when you are UP money, so it makes some sense to keep playing - and to leave SOONER when you are losing, saving you from chasing, playing too many hands, etc.
Maybe for him, but there are some people (myself included sometimes) who play worse when they are up. We start to call when we shouldn't, or chase draws that we shouldn't, just because "its only $x, I'd still be up $y". For me that kind of thing usually happens if I get up a lot, like doubling my buy-in in a relatively short time due to good cards/bad opponents.
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I think it was Ivey who said you play better poker when you are UP money, so it makes some sense to keep playing - and to leave SOONER when you are losing, saving you from chasing, playing too many hands, etc.
Maybe for him, but there are some people (myself included sometimes) who play worse when they are up. We start to call when we shouldn't, or chase draws that we shouldn't, just because "its only $x, I'd still be up $y". For me that kind of thing usually happens if I get up a lot, like doubling my buy-in in a relatively short time due to good cards/bad opponents.
that's a problem you have with your own game. I'm not sure how you could possibly move up to the higher limits with this type of mentality and expect to win. Like I said earlier, stop letting how much your up or down in money influence your decisions. You should play the same way whether your up or down money. If your playing with money you can't afford to lose, you shouldn't be playing in the first place.
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that's a problem you have with your own game. I'm not sure how you could possibly move up to the higher limits with this type of mentality and expect to win. Like I said earlier, stop letting how much your up or down in money influence your decisions. You should play the same way whether your up or down money. If your playing with money you can't afford to lose, you shouldn't be playing in the first place.
Of course its a problem that I sometimes have with my game, and its something that I've been getting better at correcting. But as I work on that, if I feel myself playing worse because I went on a big rush, then I stop playing or take a break. Ideally you should play the same if you are winning or losing but most people don't. Playing with money that you can't afford to lose is a whole different thing, something that no one should ever do.
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