An Interesting Buy in Theory
Let’s say you’re playing at a standard Brick and Mortar casino. You decide to abide by the 20 buy-in rule and thus when you buy in you only risk 1/20 of your bankroll. After a few hours of play, you’re up about 5 buy-ins. At the same time, two others at the poker table is also up about 4-5 buy-ins. The question is, do you stay and continue to play or do you get up and leave.
Now this issue can be addressed a few different ways. First, you need to gauge your playing state. If you see you’re starting to get sloppy or are tired or are in any other state mentally or physically that is impairing your game, you should immediately get up and leave. But let’s say those aren’t factors, let’s saying you’re playing your optimal poker online game.
The next thing you look at is your edge. Look at the opponents who have also amassed a large stack close to or equal to yours. If you can identify that they are better than you (sometimes you’ll have to swallow your pride and admit this), they it may be safe for you to take your 500% Return on Investment and call it a good night. On the converse, if the players are fishy, and just happened to catch a few runs of distorted variance and you’re confident that you can outplay them, it’s probably a good idea for you to stick around and maximize your profit.
Of course, this is purely theoretical. As a practical guide, if you’re satisfied with winning 5 buy-ins and want to leave, don’t let the temptation or your edge keep you in the game. Just leave and be happy with your profit. Remember this when you play poker online.
