Poker stop-loss: knowing when to end a session
Bankroll management answers a long-term question: which stakes to play with the money you have. The stop-loss answers tonight's question: how much you allow yourself to lose before you close your tables. The two go together, and the second is often the one players forget.
What is a stop-loss in poker?
A stop-loss is a loss limit set before you play. When your session reaches that loss, you stop, no matter what. The decision is made with a cool head, while you are clear, so you don't have to make it in the heat of the moment, when you no longer are.
Without a stop-loss, the end of a bad session is decided by emotion: the urge to win it back, one more table, the stakes above. That is the classic tilt scenario, and it is where the biggest losses happen.
Playing responsibly
Your bankroll is money you can lose without your life changing. Not your rent, groceries, bills or savings. Count every deposit as lost the moment you make it. If you are not ready to lose it, do not deposit it.
Bankroll management protects you from variance, it does not make you a winner. If you deposit again to win your money back, go past the limits you set yourself or if gambling takes a place that worries you, talk about it. Free and confidential support services exist in most countries: find them on our responsible gambling page.
In buy-ins, in time or in level of play
There are three ways to set your limit, and they combine well.
- In buy-ins. The most common. In cash games, think per table: with 3 buy-ins per table, that's 3 buy-ins on one table, but 12 to 18 if you open 4 to 6 at once. In MTT, your stop-loss is the max number of entries for the night, re-entries included. Expressed in buy-ins, the limit follows your stakes instead of a fixed amount.
- In time. A max session length, because your level drops with fatigue, whether you win or lose.
- In level of play. You stop when you spot your C game signs, even if you have lost nothing. It is the most demanding limit, and often the most useful.
What about the stop-win?
A stop-win means stopping after a certain win, to lock in the session. It divides players. On one side, on paper, leaving a table where you play well makes no sense: tonight's session is only a piece of your long-term result. On the other, a big win can lower your level too: overconfidence, hands played too loose, the urge to move up on a whim.
The soundest position sits in between: no automatic stop-win, but the same attention to your level after a big win as after a big loss.
Linking it to your bankroll management
Your stop-loss should stay small compared with your bankroll. With a 100 buy-in bankroll, losing 3 buy-ins on one table is normal variance. On 6 tables, 3 buy-ins per table means 18 buy-ins, almost a fifth of your bankroll in one night. If your stop-loss weighs too much, play fewer tables or one level lower rather than raising it.
The free BRM calculator gives you your number of buy-ins from your goal, your formats and your progress. The stop-loss is its everyday version.
When your level drops, that is a stop too
A session can end without a loss and still end badly. If you played the last two hours in C game, the evening's result hides a problem that will cost you elsewhere. Logging your level slice by slice after each session, as in the session routine, shows whether you stop at the right time or always too late.
Setting your budget before you play
The moment to set your stop-loss is the warm-up, right before you open your tables: your max buy-in from your rules and the evening's max loss. After the session, one question only: did you keep to your budget? Over the weeks, the answer says more about your discipline than any result.
Prepare.Play.Log.
Your warm-up in 5 minutes before you play, your session logged in 2 minutes after: your A, B or C level, what made it switch, your result. Your bankroll follows by itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is a stop-loss in poker?
A loss limit set before you play. When your session reaches it, you stop, no matter what. The decision is made with a cool head so you don't have to make it in the heat of the moment.
Which stop-loss should I choose in poker?
There is no universal number. In cash games, many players think per table, for example 3 buy-ins per table, so 12 to 18 buy-ins on 4 to 6 tables. In MTT, you set a max number of entries for the night instead. What matters is that it stays small compared with your bankroll and that you set it before the session.
Do I need a stop-win in poker?
An automatic stop-win is hard to defend, since one session is only a piece of your long-term result. On the other hand, a big win can lower your level as much as a big loss, and deserves the same attention.
When should I end a poker session?
When you reach your stop-loss, your max length, or when you spot your C game signs. Stopping while you play badly, even without a loss, is often the best decision of the evening.
What is the difference between stop-loss and bankroll management?
Bankroll management sets the stakes that suit your bankroll, over the long term. The stop-loss sets the max loss of one session. The second is the everyday version of the first.