There's a popular expression, "Quit while you're ahead", which I
recommend you completely ignore. It gets badly misinterpreted in poker, and is
as unhelpful as Kenny Rogers' tip, "You never count your money when you're
sitting at the table/There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's
done."
Kenny obviously never played tournaments. If you don't count
your money, it's impossible to play correctly according to the increasing
blinds. Whoever said "Quit while you're ahead" was obviously a million-to-one
to win a tournament, since he'd be leaving the room as soon as he became chip
leader. And he wasn't much of a cash player either.
You shouldn't walk away from a cash game
just because you're "winning enough". Walk away when you're losing enough. If
you've lost more than two (maximum three) "pull-ups" for the game, go home.
Either you're playing worse than your opponents, or you've been unlucky enough
that your head might be affected. If you don't put a limit on how much you can
lose in one night, you can easily get into a situation where you'd need three
or four (or more) winning sessions to "get out of it". And that's very bad
money management.
If you're winning, you should keep at it until you're
tired or the texture of the game changes. If the "fish" leave, or people sit
down with more money than makes you feel comfortable, or you make a bad
mistake, or start yawning, or your profit starts to decline, go home.
Otherwise, keep playing your rush. Of course you still want to quit while
you're ahead, but not because you're ahead. Leave a winning game only for other
reasons. If you put a strict financial cap on your losses, but not your
profits, that's good maths. More poker commentary at
www.biggerdeal.com
Main Menu)
he Guardian G2 Poker Column 
