How to Quit When Ahead
For some poker players getting ahead just gives them more ammo to get even more ahead.
For others however, getting ahead could mean that they start to care less about how they are playing.
Some players will get ahead and then soon lose everything they gained.
For those players, it is important to quit when you get ahead.
It is not easy to do, but it needs to be done.
The hardest question is not whether or not to quit when ahead, but how ahead to get before you quit.
Poker would not be any fun if you got up a couple hundred dollars in an hour and then just quit.
How would you ever get up more then a couple hundred dollars if you quit before you have the chance to make more? It would be impossible because you would never give yourself a chance to do it.
You would always be losing or getting up a couple hundred dollars.
Those days where you win big are crucial to winning poker over a long period of time.
A lot of times those big wins are the ones that make you ahead at the end of the month.
So when to quit? A good time to quit is not necessarily when you are ahead, but when you are ahead and start to get down.
Example: Say that you start with $100.
00 and you get up to $1000.
00 and you think to yourself, "wow I am up pretty good".
If you are not ready to be done playing you should not quit just because you are up and you don't want to lose that money.
That is just dumb, and that isn't poker.
Instead, set a limit to when you quit making sure you still leave ahead.
If you get up to $1000.
00 then set up a bank for yourself.
You cannot cash that money out but you could put some of it sort of to the side.
Take $700.
00 to the side and play with $300.
00; if you lose that money then you stop.
$300.
00 is still three times the buy in so you will not have any problem playing with only $300.
00 As you get more ahead, you just keep adding money into your "don't lose bank".
Even the method above is still worrying about your money a little bit more then you should.
It is still very good if you must stop yourself from losing what you won.
You could just simply stop when you are ahead, but if you want to keep playing then the bank method works well.
Of course, you do not have to only do it at $1000.
00; you could do it as soon as you want to.
You may want to start your bank right away as soon as you start to get up.
If you do decide you want to quit when you get ahead, just pick an amount before you start playing.
If you get up to that amount then just quit while you are ahead.
If you do not get up to that amount then don't quit.
It is really just a matter of self discipline; only you can decide when it is time for you to quit.
For others however, getting ahead could mean that they start to care less about how they are playing.
Some players will get ahead and then soon lose everything they gained.
For those players, it is important to quit when you get ahead.
It is not easy to do, but it needs to be done.
The hardest question is not whether or not to quit when ahead, but how ahead to get before you quit.
Poker would not be any fun if you got up a couple hundred dollars in an hour and then just quit.
How would you ever get up more then a couple hundred dollars if you quit before you have the chance to make more? It would be impossible because you would never give yourself a chance to do it.
You would always be losing or getting up a couple hundred dollars.
Those days where you win big are crucial to winning poker over a long period of time.
A lot of times those big wins are the ones that make you ahead at the end of the month.
So when to quit? A good time to quit is not necessarily when you are ahead, but when you are ahead and start to get down.
Example: Say that you start with $100.
00 and you get up to $1000.
00 and you think to yourself, "wow I am up pretty good".
If you are not ready to be done playing you should not quit just because you are up and you don't want to lose that money.
That is just dumb, and that isn't poker.
Instead, set a limit to when you quit making sure you still leave ahead.
If you get up to $1000.
00 then set up a bank for yourself.
You cannot cash that money out but you could put some of it sort of to the side.
Take $700.
00 to the side and play with $300.
00; if you lose that money then you stop.
$300.
00 is still three times the buy in so you will not have any problem playing with only $300.
00 As you get more ahead, you just keep adding money into your "don't lose bank".
Even the method above is still worrying about your money a little bit more then you should.
It is still very good if you must stop yourself from losing what you won.
You could just simply stop when you are ahead, but if you want to keep playing then the bank method works well.
Of course, you do not have to only do it at $1000.
00; you could do it as soon as you want to.
You may want to start your bank right away as soon as you start to get up.
If you do decide you want to quit when you get ahead, just pick an amount before you start playing.
If you get up to that amount then just quit while you are ahead.
If you do not get up to that amount then don't quit.
It is really just a matter of self discipline; only you can decide when it is time for you to quit.