This is something I am incredibly guilty of, I know it, yet I keep doing it.

If I catch a bad run and go down a buyin or 2 I'll keep playing (I've got tilt under control, I'll keep playing as long as I feel I'm playing well) but if I go up a couple of buyins, even after as little as 30mins-1hr, I'll stop and bask in the "glory" of my wins. I don't play for a living, I'm just building the BR on the side of other stuff, but I take my poker very seriously. Even when I was playing NL25 with 50+ buyins, I was still doing this so there is something deeper in my case that's holding me back.

Weird thing is, the other day I was on a bit of a downswing at NL50, and yet I felt more comfortable than ever, I wasn't going to leave as I felt I was far better than most of the table and I played fairly well for about 3hrs (longer than I usually play). Then today I had a decent run and stopped after <1hr.

Anyone got any miraculous cures for this? I know it's related to the fear of losing, but even well rolled I'm just as bad. It goes away when I play around on NL10 but I can't seriously play there forever can I?

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I tend to do this too. I played less than 300 hands last night and was up $14. I figured this was enough for me so I went ahead and quit. I dont honestly see anything wrong with this approach if you are not a fulltime player.

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KRE8R probably has about seventy college funds in his NL5 roll.

i think about this too sometimes when i am up or down. Should I just quit?
I think a good "cure" for this is this.... Its a game. As long as you are enjoying yourself and playing the best you can possibly play then there is no reason to quit regardless of how many buyins you have won or lost. I quit when i feel like i am going to lose my money because i am playing poorly and not recognizing when i am obviously beat. I also will quit when i start thinking everyone is bluffing or making moves on me. That can get me in seroius trouble.

With all these books that are out now people think "This is the way and only way you should play" or "You can not lose if you play this way or that way". I take poker very seroiusly. I am coming around these forums to improve my game and talk about poker with others that share the same passion. I read the book "Zen and Poker" (something along that line, which i highly recommend) the best way to describe poker is from that book.....

"Poker is like playing a football game with a sniper in the stands." That is very very true. You can't control the flops, the turns, the rivers, your opponents cards and his/her decisions, etc.

If you feel like you are playing the best possible poker you can play then there is no reason to quit. Cards come and cards go. You can't control it.

b&d

If you're not playing for a living and instead your goal is to maximize happiness/enjoyment then you should do what you can to further your goal. If quitting-while-ahead makes you happy then this is what you should do.

If maximizing the amount of money you make (or the amount you don't lose) is your goal (and not maximizing happiness) then that is what you should focus on and in that case you should keep playing when you are winning unless you are tired or would otherwise lose concentration. When you are on a good streak it often means that you are playing well and that's when you should keep playing if your goal is to maximize the amount of money you make.

I just play for fun so I quit when I feel like quitting. If I lose in a tourney then it depends but if it's a disgusting loss somehow -- such as losing a ridiculous hand to a ridiculous donkey -- then that's usually when I stop because I'm not having fun. If I win I like to bask in the glory and usually quit but not always.

I play live so it is quite easy to go up 5 or 6 buy-ins in an hour, but the problem I have is that with a big stack all of those small pots which I was loving to pick up seem inconsequential, and as a result I tend to try and win monster pots, which only gets me in trouble, so I will often leave early. If this is a problem for you then seeing as you are playing online you might want to try switching tables to essentially take money off the table, securing your win for the day but allowing yourself to play longer when you are running hot/playing at your best.

David I have the exact same problem. On my recent heater I was up 4 BI's in under an hour. I was flopping sets, my bluffs were working and nobody could draw out on me. The way I see it is that it will never last. There's nothing more frustrating for me than playing well for an hour and being up a lot to then have a really crappy suck out even if it only cost me 1 BI. It's not so much the fear of losing the money as it is the fear of ending on a sour note imo for me.

i used to quit when i was ahead after going on a major rush and i have no real idea why i stopped.

its a very standard statement and one that could be churned out by anyone BUT if im sitting with a few complete donks who im cleaning out, then im more than happy to stay until they go or until the table turns tough on me.

as i say, im not 100% sure why i stopped doing this but i have a feeling its cos ive developed( ) a massive ego where i LOVE to beat the living hell outta these clowns who rape me on a regular basis.

also, ive found that me playing well leads to me winning more which leads to me playing well which leads etc etc etc.....

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I get this problem and it causes me to play non-optimally. I may win an amount that I consider a decent days work within the first 45 minutes. I then become protective of my profit.
E.g I Raise AK, miss the flop and think do I really want to spend $25 on a Cbet, he'll probably call so I check.
Or I get a hand like KTo on the button and think I know I should raise but what if I end up missing flop, cbetting and losing pot etc etc.

Obviously you then have to leave game since you are playing badly.

No real solution, just solidarity!

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i think the best way to combat this is to start changing ur mentality away from the "quitting after winning a certain amount of $$" to the "quitting after playing a certain amount of hours for the day".

I try to view it as I try and play as many hands as possible. If I'm playing them correctly and in a +ev manner it doesn't matter if I spike up and down.