The Big One : Knowing When To Quit While You Are Ahead
Have you ever been in a good game and have won a lot, and then suddenly your
luck started going downhill, and you ended up losing more than you had won?
What started of as a great game ended up making you feel like a pathetic
loser, and left you wondering whether you should have quit gracefully, and
with a good feeling while you were still ahead?
This is such a tricky scenario that there can be no straight yes or no
answer for it. If you look through various other articles related to it, you
would find that almost all the “gambling gurus” are against this trend, and
dismissing the idea as almost stupid. But then you have some very good
players that are amongst the best in the world, who quit when they are on
the peak. So it is confusing to analyze what actually needs to be done, and
what is the smartest thing to do in such a situation?
The move would greatly differ from person to person. Occasional gamblers
will quit because they feel that they have played enough and need to spend
time with their wife/girlfriend/kids etc. If you are a pro, this will really
not be your reason. Now whether the girlfriend is more important or poker is
a personal choice, but let us take a scenario where there are no such other
distractions/commitments. So should you quit when you are ahead?
If you have been playing a good game, and you are on the roll, apparently
the best player on the table, there should be no good reason to quit. We are
not talking about the beginners luck here, but a fully developed game plan,
where everything is going just right for you. But in games like poker, it
doesn’t take too long for a good table to turn into bad one. If you feel the
situation is changing, and you risk being the sucker now, there is no reason
why you should not get out, or at least leave the table. While it is
important to play to your full potential, especially when you are winning,
there is no reason to foolishly put down good money after winning a lot just
to prove a point!
Then there are some players that do stupid things that make sure that they
lose heavily. If you feel that’s what happening to you, just quit
gracefully, and with the winnings. Come back with a fresh mind, and try your
hand later. This will not necessarily mean that you will win the next day
(in fact you may lose very heavily), but the idea is to minimize the risk,
or to make sure that you do not play when you are sure to lose.