I have a general cash question, but feel more comfortable asking it here than in the BR tab... hope no one minds...How many losses in a day is too many...? I basically play pretty tight, win a decent amount, build my bankroll, and then lose a sizable portion of it on a hand I probably shouldn't be playing...
If you're up a couple hundred bucks, do you quit for the day? Do you keep pushing, thinking you're on a streak? I just feel sometimes that I get into craps syndrome... roll and roll and roll and then eventually crap out...
Also, on the inverse, if you lose a buyin, do you just suck it up and refill or kick the computer and curse yourself to sleep that you played that damned A5s.
I think my question basically boils down to variance... I'm trying to cut down the swings, if at all possible, and would probably accept earning a little less to achieve it... Not to be a buttkisser, but I respect highly all of the BTPers, and would love any opinions you guys have...
Thanks... MVP

Just my personal experience. And for the record, I'm not playing to get rich, and I don't absolutely need the money that I make. I'm playing to learn and to improve. I want to play a winning game every time I sit down.

When I am either way up or way down in a session, I find that I stop playing as well. When I'm way down, I tilt a little bit. When I'm way up, I have so much money on the table that I stop taking every dollar of it as seriously as I did when I started.

So I tend to quit when things are either way up or way down. Say 1.5 to 2 buy-ins either way.

If I'm winning and still feeling focused, I may just quit for ten minutes, note the good session in my spreadsheet, get up and walk around the house, scritch the cats, and then get back to work on a new set of tables with new buy-ins. In my head, it's now a new "session." And I only have one buy-in on each table again. For some reason, I play better this way.

Your mileage may vary.

I agree with the 1.5-2 buy in as a loss limit. My bankroll can afford much more than this at the level I play but I figure after 2 buys if it nots happening its not happening.

I try to continue playing when I am up but also find that once I'm up 2 buy-ins I tend to want to call it a day. I may never make one of those huge 4-5X scores but I hardly ever give it back after a double up.

YogaDude

I have enough trust in myself to know when to quit, that I usually ont put a specific number on it. I have had sittings where I lost 3 buy ins, felt good about the way I had played and bought in again. I have also had nights where I didnt feel great about my play, and was getting frustrerated, and left on my first buy in.

I had one day I lost 4 buyins on straight horrible bad beats. Somehow I was still in great shape not tilting at all...I played and won half of it back.

However...this is not the case most of the time. A lot of times it depends on my mood before I even start playing.

Theres no need to set a specific number IMO..but hopefully you can tell when you're playing like crap.

I use the three strikes rule... if I make three errors in calls, folds, not maximizing my made hands to the full potential or not playing optimal strategy against my particular opponents I pack it in and call it a day. This may cost me a stack or two, it could happen when I'm way up.

If I'm playing good poker and losing to horrible suck outs or really unfortunate second bests, I quit when I feel that it has effected me emotionally for more than a minute. I quit down the other day after getting my money in with the best of it and losing, I was mentally effected and no longer ready to deal with losing. I lost a buy in or two the next day when not properly adjusting to a tight passive table, I quit because beating the tight passive is a slow and painful process and I wasn't ready to deal with it. Today I played the tight passive game and broke even then for the second session moved to a different site and made a decent score.

If you feel yourself getting irritated/angry/frustrated/etc because of either bad plays or bad beats, then it's time to quit right there, regardless of how much you've lost. You generally don't wanna lose more than 10% of your bankroll when you are in the phase of building it, but as long as you are feeling great about your play I don't think you need to be too worried, as kenny said.

Thanks guys... I know this is a dumb question, but do you all set aside a certain amount of money as your "Poker BR"... I run a cash business... It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly how much money I have (not like I'm too rich to count it... more like tied up in different places...)... I mean, when I'm down I'm talking like a couple hundred bucks, nothing that I'm going to have to remortgage my house for... I sort of keep track of how I'm doing during my whole poker life (about a year and a half) as opposed to in regards to a BR...
Not sure if this is just rambling... MVP

If youre a serious player you need to have a poker bankroll that you dont touch for anything else. At some point aftre youve stopped youre bankroll building, you can start taking out all or percentage of your winnings, but yes you really need to have the roll seperate from your other money and always keep strict reocrds of how your doing.

This whole thread does belong in the bankroll section! It's an important discussion and we should chat about it some more over there. Unfortunately my newly granted powers as mod of that section don't seem to allow me to put it there.

k3nt... Ever since you got that damned badge, you've been letting the power get to you... ... Sorry bout the "wrong thread" thing, and, I know it sounds dumb, but I like writing where people know me (not sure if thats a good or bad thing )...