Quitting is something that poker players are hesitant to discuss, but it is something that could save you a lot of money. You will inevitably have sessions where everything is going wrong and nothing seems to go your way; it is learning to properly handle these situations that is important.
No one can ensure that every session they play runs smoothly, it just can’t be done, but every poker player has the ability to quit when it is clear that it is not their day. Some poker players will claim that there is no point in quitting because “they don’t tilt.” The truth is, however, that almost every single poker player in the world is prone to tilt. When you aren’t playing poker you might think to yourself that you can maintain a tilt free style of play, but once you run into a few tough hands everything is liable to change.
In theory it is easy to control your emotions in poker, but in practice it is much harder. No one can honestly say that it is an easy task to learn how to eliminate tilt form your game, but this is why you always have the option of quitting. Quitting has a negative connotation, but it can be one of the best things that you can do as a poker play. Some players will just step away from the tables when they feel the anger or frustration taking them over, but other players will set actual defined points at which they will quit. These points are usually represented by a number of buy ins lost and referred to as stop losses. Stop losses are implemented so that players don’t have to judge for themselves whether or not they are too tilted to play, they instead let the numbers dictate the quitting point. Both methods of quitting have their ups and downs, but virtually every poker player should force themselves to quit in one way or another.
Tools for Quitting
As mentioned above, stop losses are a great way to ensure that your losses are kept to a minimum. It is a fact that you are unlikely to be able to play your best when you are down a significant sum of money, in these instances it is better to take a break. Your stop loss is going to be up to you as a handful of different variable will come into play when setting an actual stop loss number (including skill, degree of tilt, and limits). If a stop loss isn’t your style, however, you can always try to quit whenever you feel the need. This is the harder route because many players will feel as though there will never be a point at which their play will become unprofitable. You have to be able to take an honest look at how you are playing and determine whether or not you are in a position to play poker at your highest level. Again, this can be tough to do, so if you don’t think that you can realistically analyze your emotional stability, you will be better off simply adhering to a stop loss. While stop losses are generally going to be the better option, you are better off learning how to quit based on how you are feeling than not quitting at all. You can’t make money when you quit, but you can’t lose any either. Remember that quitting is just a temporary precaution and that you can always come back tomorrow.
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