Knowing When to Quit

Realizing when to quit is one of the toughest things to do for a poker player. Just yesterday I was playing online at Full Tilt and had a pretty bad experience. I was playing in the $24+$2 19k guarantee. I had an average stack and the shortstack at the table moved all-in, I called. He had fives and I had sevens. My opponent hit a set on the flop. Then I became shortstacked, moved all-in preflop with AQs and was called by someone with A7d. My opponent hit his flush and I was eliminated. Yeah, that totally sucked, especially since we were close to the bubble.

After the tournament I decided to play a $.25-.50 cash game to try and make up for my loss. I picked up aces and raised preflop, everybody folded except for one person who moved all-in for his last $15. I called. He had AK with one spade. The flop came three spades, and he hit his flush on the turn when another spade came. I was left speechless after taking yet another horrible beat. This was probably the correct time for me to quit. I kept on going though.

Soon I picked up pocket kings. Someone in early position raised, I re-raised, and received one call. The flop came 10-9-6. I bet and was called. The turn came a 3. I made another bet and was called once again. The river was a 7. My opponent hit his straight. I bet, he re-raised and I smooth called. I lost a bunch of money on that hand. It was a pretty sick beat but I probably should have never been playing. In poker when your luck is bad it's just flat out bad. If you keep taking bad beats stop. Don't try to play your way out of it because you'll most likely dig yourself into a deeper hole.

Here are the pros thoughts on knowing when to quit.