Imposing self limits...

[badblood44]

The key here is determining how well or poorly you're playing, not dollars won or lost.

I've heard pros say that they'll play until they feel themselves playing at less than their optimum and that's when they call it a night.

Sure it can be disappointing to lose a buy-in, especially when you feel you're playing some good poker.

Trust me, you can lose a ton playing well and win a ton playing poorly.

Recognizing when your game is faltering is a key factor in determining when to call it quits.

[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.