Imposing self limits...

[GeoffM]

No limit for me. If I double up, I leave table and join another with half what I won, but I really won't leave a table unless I find myself getting tired or just not playing my best game.

[2Tone]

I’m pretty disciplined, and don’t go on tilt very often (which is not to say I don’t have plenty of other issues/problems). Part of the way I do this is by setting strict loss limits. I sit at the Party 2/4 with the “suggested” $100. If I go down to $40 (or below, but only as a result of having started with more when the hand began), I quit. If I’ve lost more than that, either I’m playing poorly or the fish are simply having a lucky night, and that’s that. Plus, if I have too little in front of me, I tend to feel outgunned and think twice about raising even when it’s the right play.

On the flip side, I don’t see any reason not to ride a hot streak as far as it will take you.

[parskynhutch]

What I like to do is set time limits for myself. For instance, I will tell myself "ok, today you can play for 4 hours". Whether I am winning or losing after the first hour is meaningless. As long as I am not playing exceptionally bad poker, I will continue to grind it out. After that 4 hours, whether I'm down a ton or up a ton, I get up and walk away. I find that this allows me concentrate my thoughts on the important issues at hand, like the cards on the board, and the players at the table.

[PShabi]

I think TP, Badblood, and 2tone have it right here.

I play until I feel I am not playing at my optimal level, and then I quit. I've had nights at the 2/4 tables where I've taken a $100 buy-in down to $18 and ended up making money in the session after a comeback.

Unfortunately, you "realizing" the fact that your not playing at your optimal level doesn't occur the first bad hand you play. So, I still lose a little money before I quit usually, but I'm prety good at figuring out sooner rather than later.

For a number of reasons, I've always had a lot of self-discipline. When I get knocked off my game, it's because I'm tired and can't focus anymore. Losing money doesn't change my play at all. To me, it's easy and natural. I guess it never occured to me how much of an obstacle this is to some players.