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Stop losses

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Friday December, 4th 2009 by fullhouse

Stop losses can help save a player’s bankroll from unnecessary destruction. A stop loss is just as it sounds, a point at which you will stop playing in an attempt to essentially cut your losses and move on. Stop losses are important because it is incredibly easy to get carried away when playing poker. Have you ever just kept playing after a long losing session only to continue to lose more and more money? The odds are that you were kicking yourself not quitting earlier. Maybe you even promise to quit when you lose a set amount of money but then decide to keep playing anyway. This is one of the reasons that stop losses fail to serve a purpose for some players. What use is a stop loss if you are only going to disregard it when the time comes to implement it? Just like all other aspects of poker it is vital that you demonstrate self discipline when incorporating a stop loss into your game.

Setting a stop loss

Your stop loss will be determined by a handful of different variables. Sit and Go players will use a different stop loss than cash game and tournament players. The unique characteristics of these three different formats will provide varying levels of risk. Another important factor in setting a stop loss is the limits that you are playing. The higher the stakes you are playing the more likely it is that you will encounter a downswing. If you are prone to downswings it becomes increasingly important that you set a strict stop loss. The third and perhaps most important consideration when setting a stop loss is your emotional control. Some players can go on the worst runs imaginable and come out unscathed while others might go crazy after losing just a few small pots. It is all a matter of your tolerance for variance.

So how do these factors help to decide what your particular stop loss should be? Well, only you can accurately determine your own stop losses, but here are some guidelines that you can adjust accordingly.

Stop loss guidelines

Cash game players will experience frequent swings that can sometimes be extremely devastating. Heads Up players are the most susceptible to major downswings as variance is multiplied when you are facing only one player. Full Ring cash game players will endure the least amount of destruction.

Heads Up players should set a stop loss at around 10 buy ins. This may seem a bit high, but a 10 buy in downer is no big deal for a Heads Up player.

6-Max players tend to set stop losses right around 5 buy ins. Some players will set the bar a bit higher if they can continue to play tilt free even after losing 5 or more buy ins.

Full Ring players usually have stop losses around the same as 6-Max players. While the variance is lighter in Full Ring than 6-Max, it is not by much.

Tournament players don’t typically have to worry about stop losses as most don’t play enough at a time for downswings to become an issue. For those of you who plan to play a bunch at a time it would be a good idea to take a break once you go 10 tournaments without a cash.

Sit and Go players run into all kinds of downswings. A SNG player is usually the most frustrated because it is like losing a small tournament each and every time that they get unlucky. A solid stop loss for SNG players is around 10 buy ins.