4 Signs to Know When to Quit A Poker Session (Ask Alec - Poker Tips)

[@ShredCo]

This should be title 'when to quit a session' not when to quit poker!

[@lukechandra6233]

The 4 signs that I need to quit poker 1. I always lose 2. I hate losing 3. I can't afford to keep playing/losing 4. I suck at poker

[@rogerjdf]

Luke Chandra 😂

[@youbetyourlifejeffwalker7826]

Luke Chandra haha good one

[@IceCreeeaaam]

I find I can play my A game for 8-10 hours as long as I have a break every couple of hours. I don't often play that much though because it's frankly mind numbing for me doing that almost every day. My regular schedule is play for an hour have a 20 minute break, play for another hour have a 40 minute break, play for just over an hour and finish. It doesn't sound like much but you get through over 3K hands a day on that schedule and manage usually to get through about 20K hands per week at 4 table zoom. That's enough to give you an okay amount of extra spending money at anything above NL10 as well as pursue plenty of other stuff in your life. If you're a half decent player you can easily make an extra $500+ a month on a very casual schedule.

[@morphius3027]

i like to leave if the table goes severely short handed like to 4 to 5 players who are all playing super nitty...i need a mix of nitty and loose players....i def might stay if the table goes short handed but the remaining players are all playing agro...another reason to quit is if you hear that voice telling yourself you should leave...for example: you've been playing a 1/3 nlh with $1300 behind in 4hrs of play...you bought in for $300 and the table dynamics are changing that it appears it will be much more difficult to extract much more....just leave.

[@ActivistVictor]

see merit in staying, just use their nitty tendancies against them, if you raise, they'll fold, and even if they call you can probably xc-bet them off many flops

[@D4Z3D_]

+ActivistVictor Its much more profitable to quit and go do something else and come back for loose drunk game, than to tediously grind 2BB/h winrate vs nits

[@ActivistVictor]

John Smith i see merit in what you say. i would say in some ways it's also good practive to play against nitty players just to get a feel of what you should do if you ever find them in tournaments for example, but maybe, just dont do it that often

[@hoganmeyer7741]

That's very true, sometimes I'll be ready to play another few hours, but not ready to start a new table, so if the game breaks or changes significantly, time to call it a night.

[@the-chillian]

I play low enough stakes that I implement a stop-loss by simply avoiding the casino's ATM and starting out only with the cash in my pocket that I'm willing to lose. Once that's gone, so am I. I have yet to do so well that I need to think about a win cap, but I do hate being "upstuck", as Laak puts it. Guys who keep visiting the ATM again and again... I kinda want to just shake them and try to get them to notice what they're doing, for their own good. For _my_ good I don't mind, of course, but at some point you have a problem if you can't stop doing that. I guess my stamina for poker is really low, because I can rarely manage more than about 3 hours before I get that tingly feeling behind my eyes that tells me I'm about to make some really bad decisions. It cost me a bit of money before I learned _that_ lesson. I almost feel guilty for my play this past weekend. Was getting killed by the deck all night and was down about $150 before I turned it around in literally 2 hands and ended up about $200 -- whereupon, I immediately left. But then, I _did_ say before I called a bet that put me all-in on the second-to-last hand that I was going to leave either way.

[@LuisTorres-zj3tl]

the stakes must be really low if you get killed by the deck all night and are only stuck 150

[@the-chillian]

Luis Torres $1/2. I was also playing fairly tight for that table. Which didn't keep me from getting rivered when I did get into a hand. Also, as I imply, "all night" for me would be about 3 hours. So not all that long.

[@LuisTorres-zj3tl]

yeah, that makes sense. i guess there was a lot of action which would justify you playing tight?

[@the-chillian]

Luis Torres These guys were going in with any 2 cards, especially in limped pots, and being willing to call sizable river bets with bottom pair they were un-bluffable. I had a guy keep calling pot-sized bets on super-dry flop and turn with K-4 off -- then he hit his K on the river to beat my pocket 8s. Unless I happened to hit a strong hand, it was pretty hard to win pots.

[@LuisTorres-zj3tl]

I love those games tho bc you can make really thin value bets

[@peten409]

I find myself getting antsy after 1-2 hrs for about 30 minutes and if I can get thru that I'm good for a couple more hours. I like to leave when I've made a good play at the table and I've lost my edge.

[@youbetyourlifejeffwalker7826]

A very helpful video! I especially liked the idea of quitting while you're ahead.

[@maromorostar6621]

I just had one of those days, terrible cards 4 hours straight, frustrating! Ended playing a couple of trashy hands, and it didn't go well. Had a couple of great hands and every single one of them i couldn't win a pot. Lost half of my buy in, and i left the casino. So happy i did, it was a relief to leave that session.

[@jonathanyturralde]

I love the last tip especially. I'm a new player and love love love poker, yet I love my family more, so trying to find time to play is tricky.

[@jeremyhuang13]

I watch a ton of poker but find most are boring. However I enjoy watching you play because your games are interesting and tend to think above the next level especially on Poker Night in America. Nice job dude

[@JonasPolsky]

Get your shit together, Marco!

[@MR-Production]

Marko is an editor, not a cameraman, and it's a Marko with a 'K' :)

[@JonasPolsky]

HAHAHA! Just bustin' chops, I can tell it's notes for an editor.

[@brian092393]

Thank you for the great information. I think this will help a lot of people, including myself

[@Abbershay]

for me one of the biggies is when i start losing hands that should win

[@morphius3027]

lol thought the vid was 4 reasons i should quit playing poker all together lol

[@oyuyuy]

Yes, do a video about this too pls

[@lauropadilla1114]

so many good reasons to quit.

[@sundayafternoonathome5163]

MOR PHIUS me too ... just looking for that vid is a possible sign .. lol

[@McGavel1]

lol

[@D4Z3D_]

This guy is a fckn baiter

[@johnf2496]

Thanks Alec. I had a rough one tonight. I was down 400 hundred in a 1-2 game. battled it back up to a 35 profit. Got the feeling to leave but the game was looking like it was gonna break and people started playing very loose and even plain stupid. Against my better judgment I stayed. I should have asked myself then. 'Even though this game looks to have +EV can or do you want to withstand the increased variance?' the answer was no and I learned the hard way tonight.

[@fonzieavila2825]

After being up $1200, I ended up giving it all back and my initial buyin. This happens way too often and as I sat in my car thinking about why it is that I do that to myself as often as I do, I turned to KZbin hoping to find some perspective on this “leak” of mine. Before finding this video, I made up a rule that I need to abide by. And that is that if I find myself making a loose open or call a three bet with a mediocre holding out of position, that this was going to be when I would stand up and rack up. After watching this video, my tilt seemed to disappear because even though “it happened again”, I get to do it again with a different perspective. So thanks for the video.

[@TrickXMaster]

wow great vid, I used to be a online player in 2007-2009 but started at casino poker for fun and making extra cash in 2014. This is really helpful, I will rewetch

[@shahrukh.f4790]

Awesome one! I gradually adapted to most things you say in this video the hard way, it's funny as i put less than half the hours i used to before but won much more on monthly basis since i cut down on those long B-C game sessions. I know many people can grind 12-16 hrs 6 times a week but that's definately not me and forsure i don't think it's good for improving your long term ev as you become much more mechanical player and don't progress as fast compared to if you focused on quality and more study.

[@fundiver198]

Great advice. I really agree with the stop loss idea, because lets face it, its almost impossible not to tilt to some degree, when you are getting coolered, sucked out on and generally running like crap for an extended period of time. However the cap win is more questionable. My own experience is, that this is a bit like stock market investing, where you want to dump your losers, sure, but you also want to let your winners run. Maybe its just me. But in online poker I do feel, that its often an advantage to sit at the table with a huge chip stack. If you are up say 2 buyins or more, then everyone can see that, and maybe they think, you must be a really good player, and therefore they dont want to mess with you as much. Again, maybe thats just me, but I do feel, this is how, it works for me. So I LOVE continuing, when I am sitting with 300 or more BB at a 100 BB max buyin table. You just need to be sure, that you know how to handle the extra stack depth, when you run into someone else, who also had a winning session.

[@josephanthonyharrisiii6091]

fundiver198 my experience with being up 300 bb is take log off and take a 2 hr break or walk. start again later with 100 bb and repeat. Stop loss is and hedging your losses is important too. Nobody is a poker god.

[@fundiver198]

From a risk management perspective it can make sense to take your money off the table, if you are up a lot, and someone else can threaten your stack. This is especially true, if you are playing stakes, which are high compared to your bankroll. However I would still not take a forced break, just because I am up XX buyins. I would much rather take a break, because I played X hours, because I am tired, or anything like that.

[@josephanthonyharrisiii6091]

fundiver198 Yeah when I first started playing I would deposit $50-100 dollars and play 25 cent 50 cent online. I would be up 200-300 dollars and lose it all. Now I just play live and work on my disipline. I'll deposit $20 into poker stars and bankroll challenge it but I need a laptop and a HUD before I start playing online again.

[@fundiver198]

Given the variance in poker and the vast number of hands, you can play online in a short time, having 2.000 BB or 20 standard buyins is probably more or less the minimum for proper bankroll management. A more conservative style would even dictate something closer to 5.000 BB or 50 standard buyins. Now obviously this apply less, if you play online poker and deposit 20$, because really, you can just deposit another 20$ tomorrow. But its not a bad idea to put in some hands even at 2 NL before moving to higher stakes. Because lets face it, if you can not even beat 2 NL over a significant sample of say 10.000 hands, then you can also not beat any higher stakes either. So why not learn and improve your game at a stakes, where it cost you the least in real dollars?

[@khoatran6279]

U re the best, listening to u is like listening to an old friend, and I would like to add if sometimes u sit next to an rude player or asshole.U need to stop and change table too .

[@trollhater3737]

thanks!!! step 2 nailed it for me. great advice

[@pastesaffaire683]

I do 1-4h session and im destroying the cash game right now but i dont like to do 8h i lose focus

[@aghoshal4755]

valuable advice. but I wonder whether as a younger player you must have had to put in the hours whether you liked it or not. poker has given you freedoms because you spent the hours grinding to get there

[@paulspud724]

Just found this channel and was a good first video so you got a new sub and will defo be watching more of your content so cheers.

[@mikkamon]

awesome tips! thanks heaps mate, helped me out a lot.

[@ParanormalPopcornFanPage]

Every time I play poker for the first 3 hours I am always up...then I end up being sooo cocky and confident that I believe I can rule the table.. 6-8 hours later I end up with no money??????? HELP ME.

[@nolanforcier1796]

something that helps me alot is when i get up money at the table, i have a slight tendency to tighten up and value the money ive won more so than the money ive invested to play. you have to be ok with losing or risking your buy in at any time at the poker table as to not play scared money. as long as ur getting it in good. but for me when ive made that two to three buy in cap, i dont want to give that away. i say to myself, ive worked to win this money and you better be sure im going to make it as difficult as possible to get it back. so maybe shorten your play times, set an amount where if u win that much you leave automatically, or once you hit that 3-4-5 hour mark, assess your play every half hour or so to see how you playing with the money you've already won. good luck at the tables, hope this helps. Cheers :o)

[@James-xj1cf]

Nicholas Halden just guessing here but maybe you are playing a little to loose preflop. probably taking down a lot of pots with good postflop play but maybe tighten up your opening range to increase your showdown win rate. cold calling too much can also put an expiration date on your chip stack.

[@tiagomota4734]

learn some poker that awalys happen tofish they get lucky build a stack and they always end up loseing but they come at the table with the ideea that they won but then got unlucky and the next time will be different! in reality if you dont know how to play poker you will ALWAYS lose! what you said there is the MARKED inscription of a fish! alot of ppl these days they watch durr and ivy and these pro players play and bluff and after seeing a few seasons of high stakes poker they go to the table thinking they can actualy play poker but thats just so wrong at so many lvls that i dont even want to say... learn some hand reading build some ranges think about preflop play and everytime you call or raise a hand ask yourself how are you going to make money and whats likely to happen with the next players left to act, after you know all that then you will be a winning player! ah and discipline...its everything in poker! i dont what to be rude im trying to give you an answer and as i said before thats the mark of a fish build stacks and then...you knowwhat happens every single time! GL

[@fundiver198]

If you experience, that you consistently perform worse at the end of a session than the beginning, it could be something as simple as you playing worse, as you get tired. And in that case just stop, while you are still fresh, or take an extended break. Just as you would, if you are driving long distance in a car. However there is also another option, if you are playing regular cash tables. And that is, that maybe you have some major weaknesses in your game, which your opponents are able to identify and take advantage on, when they get a read on you. For instance this could be, that you are bluffing to much. In the beginning this might work, since your opponents will take default lines against you and fold to much against your overly aggressive style. However as they pick up on it and adjust, then suddenly you are the one getting exploited and not the other way around.

[@D4Z3D_]

No one can help you.

[@ksmith8708]

Thanks, Alec. Sound and practical advice.

[@LuisTorres-zj3tl]

#2 is a big one for me. i was up almost 1k in a 1-2 game a couple weeks ago, kept playing because i was convinced the bad beat jackpot was going to hit and i could scoop another 1k or so in a room share. ended up losing two big hands and lost my whole fucking stack. and i did have that voice in my head that kept saying "get the hell out of here and go get a cheeseburger!" life lessons

[@zekebones34]

You must have an easy bad beat to think it's going to hit. The one at my casino is quad 10s or better gets beat. Only hits 2-3 times a year

[@LuisTorres-zj3tl]

it was quad 7s. it starts at quad kings but goes down 1 every two weeks. for it to be down to 7s and not hit was pretty unusual.

[@rooksman64]

Luis Torres don't ever play for high hands. That's just a bonus

[@LuisTorres-zj3tl]

it would have been over 1k. it lured me.

[@rooksman64]

Luis Torres well look what happened lol

[@maxmaximus639]

Poker pros run well more often than others....some people rarely ever run well and should quit. Learn where you are on the luck ladder and if pokers not for you then find what your good at and what you do run well with

[@tphuynh85]

omg... thank you... I have to listen to my voice.... and try not to rationalizing my purpose on staying until my big blind...

[@xbubbawhoopass]

What's your thoughts on Doug Polk?

[@xxyanlixx]

alec, can you record your live sessions when you play? like something andrew neeme does on his channel

[@junklord]

Your glasses are slightly crooked. I don't know why it's bugging me so much.

[@ArkaHazrafoxtecch]

super helpful thank you

[@DrasticKDescription]

Glad i found your channel bro. Uve helped me alot

[@ConsciousPoker]

Thanks appreciate that!

[@EarlyDood]

i like to only play poker when i cleaned my room so i can feel comfortable

[@matthewfraser2519]

great video. awesome insight. new subscriber

[@markhwarner]

Great video, Alec!

[@greenturtlekiss3]

I'm on a 17 session hot streak. What's your longest hot streak?

[@mrberio2800]

You're such a good orator Alec ! I really like the way you put these concepts in your perspective. It does help my game looking to your videos. Good job man and keep going!

[@djdarklyceum]

dude i have same gucci glasses...theyre baller. got them on chapel street, melb :)

[@djinnification]

It is nice to talk about not making poker a top priority in your life but some of us don't have the financial security of several hundred grand or even millions of dollars in our bankrolls to be able to afford to step back for even a few weeks. some of us are still grinding.

[@TreyMK12]

good tips as always!!

[@paulpena5040]

My most reliable sign to quit is when I have so many chips I literally need help carrying them to the cage.

[@pastesaffaire683]

I think you're title is misleading i tough it was to stop poker forever

[@D4Z3D_]

me too :D the bait is real

[@davteko2362]

was that mike the mouth matusow on the bike?

[@timwong665]

item 1 =item 4 ? no?

[@christophernguyen1735]

on point

[@jmbgouveia]

wow the mirage in your glasses....cheers :P

[@zetarusi5497]

I just love you man!

[@lovetitleist69]

Phil Ivey said, if he's winning a lot at a good table, he won't quit unless his ass starts hurting from sitting to long.

[@djinnification]

how can you try a "strategy" with a client about not playing as often last week and they email you telling you they won 7 sessions in a row. doesn't sound like they are slowing down at all.

[@nobodybutyou1032]

how much do you earn in a year Alec?

[@D4Z3D_]

And how much do you earn in a decade? Century? Millenium???????

[@tylermokarry9731]

Nice video

[@IDeNCHYI]

so what advice do you give someone who has a life?

[@jamesgorham8170]

Alex,talk a little more in the third person man. I know this video tends to lean naturally to your experience but there's a lot of me me, I ,I in this and some others vids. Like your video's,they help alot,not trying to hate here. Peace.

[@ConsciousPoker]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[@austinb4190]

"Be named Alec Torelli"

[@matheusitagiba8018]

Dude, speak slower!! Take your time, breathe!!

[@paulle7859]

My watching time is 2'

[@joefisher7792]

I'll be damned there's somebody just like me

[@CommonSenseABC]

turn down the volume on the intro ffs

[@playinragz]

$500 buy in $1500 up lololol come on man your playin a 2-5 with that buy in. Your cappin your win rate that high? Nooooooooo people you hit 1 k up you bail! That's way to much to expect even in a loose game. Most 2-5 players hit between $500 and $1000. The ones you see with thousands have bought in 3-4 times and up fifty bucks. Lol

[@mikecheckov5365]

discount jerry seinfeld

[@deathphonix443]

Do you also have a buisness going? Make your money work :)

[@HoldemHustle]

He runs a digital marketing company I think

[@TheThomasskinner]

that's a bad shirt

[@toggaahh]

Dude be concise with your videos. appreciate the advice but you lose me when you start rambling. Pro tip: either rehearse beforehand or do major editing to spare your followers from listening to take five minutes making a point when a sentence or two would suffice.

[@JerkyJones100]

Great advice n great video