Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 29 May 2009 / Leave a comment

Most poker players tend to play shorter sessions when they win, and longer ones when they lose. This is simply because the desire to get even is very powerful when losing, and the satisfaction of winning tends to lead players to quit prematurely.

In reality though, what players should be doing is this in reverse; staying in games when winning for as long as possible, and quitting much earlier when losing.

Fear counts for a lot in poker, and no one is that scared of losing players. When you are winning you are not only in a better psychological state than when losing, but you are actually in a much better strategic position than when losing, as your stack has already done a lot of damage to those around you - a point which leads players to be much more fearful of your bets.

Poker is a game where you are always trying to push your edge as hard as possible, yet most players do not do this in terms of how long they play in specific games. If there is one very bad player at the table, or you are bullying the table at will with a large stack, you should basically never be quitting as long as the circumstances of the game remain the same. Conversely, if you are a loser at a difficult table, you should basically never be staying.

Time and time again you will see players who are stuck a buy in or two refusing to quit in games where they have little or no edge, even though it is quite obvious that most factors are against them. And conversely, you will frequently see people who are in a great table position quitting prematurely because they have already made a profit and want to protect their winnings.

Poker is frequently a game where you are looking to behave in the opposite manner to how others are, and nowhere is this more true than in deciding when to quit. Staying in games for as long as possible when winning, and quitting quite early when losing is one of the hallmarks of the truly greatest players, and it will drastically change your win rate.

Generally in poker, the better you feel the better your chance of winning, and the worse you feel the more likely it is that you will lose. Push your edge as hard as possible when winning, and look to get out as quickly as possible when losing - it will greatly improve your win rate over the long run.

Related Entries

Knowing When To Quit
Choosing Between Games
Fatigue In Poker
Tiredness Can Kill
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Related Entries

Knowing When To Quit
Choosing Between Games
Fatigue In Poker
Tiredness Can Kill
Staying One Step Ahead

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