How to Decide when your Poker Session is Over

Winning in poker involves discipline as well as the skillful play of hands. Knowing how to decide when your poker session is over is a key area that distinguishes many of the most profitable players from the rest. Conversely, over extending sessions – for example to chase losses – is a common reason why online poker players lose money.

This article looks as how to decide when your poker session is over from several angles. Firstly we look at why a fresh mind and clear thinking are so important to your profits. Secondly, many aspects of ‘tilt’ are covered, both the obvious and the more subtle. Finally distractions and loss of focus can happen even during a winning session, the signs that you should take a break from the tables even when winning are discussed.
Poker is a game of cumulative good decisions. A single inappropriate call can often commit a player to a hand due to excellent pot-odds, meaning it is important to ensure every decision is as good as you can make it. Having a fresh mind and thinking clearly about each situation as it occurs is the mark of many winning players.

Since no player can maintain the clear focus on the tables required to maximize profits indefinitely, taking regular breaks from the tables can become a positive routine. Each individual will have different durations which they can maintain focus – make sure that you are honest about your own optimum time and take a short break when you reach this limit.
Tilt is the enemy of poker players at all levels. The ‘classic’ tilt involves anger and frustration after a bad beat. Taking a break from the tables immediately could save a lot of players money under these circumstances. More subtle variations of tilt include the desire to ‘get even’ with a player who outdrew you or even a feeling that you will somehow lose with every big hand you play.

These secondary forms of tilt can be very dangerous. The first step is honesty in self-evaluation, you must learn to identify when they happen. This should then act as a trigger for deciding that your poker session is over. Take a short break and come back thinking clearly about the poker decisions you make – the profits will surely follow.

Even during a winning session there can be signs that you should take a break from the tables. Many players find themselves distracted, chatting on IM, checking websites or watching TV. If this happens then you are not using all of the information available in your games to make the most profitable decisions. Distractions should be minimized when playing poker – if you find yourself getting distracted then ending your poker session for a short break can help to get focus back. Remember that profitable poker is a long-term proposition, the tables will still be waiting for you after a break.
To summarize, fresh and clear thinking about poker decisions is the hallmark of profitable poker players. The decision on when to end your poker session all relate to those times you are not making the best decisions possible. These include tiredness, tilt and finding your self getting easily distracted.