{"id":2540698,"date":"2025-03-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2540698"},"modified":"2025-12-08T09:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T09:23:17","slug":"the-session-quit-timer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/the-session-quit-timer\/","title":{"rendered":"A Stand-up Problem Solved: The Session Quit Timer"},"content":{"rendered":"\"tournament<\/a>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

I had coffee with Tommy Angelo last week. I love treating Tommy because he orders regular drip coffee, black, thank you. He even orders the small \u2013 then he goes back and gets a refill. That way he gets two small cups of steaming hot coffee instead of half a large cup of hot coffee and half a cup of tepid coffee. Even if I throw the barista a couple of bucks for the refill, Tommy\u2019s a cheap date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As usual, we didn\u2019t talk about poker so much, though we did giggle at the idea of modeling Oaks regular D.D. in a solver and wondered what the game theory optimal strategy<\/a> against him would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But mostly we talked about family and friends, medical miracles \u2013 the usual things.<\/p>\n\n\n

\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\tTLDR:<\/strong>\u00a0See AI summary of this article.<\/span><\/div>

In cash games, knowing when to leave is crucial. The concept of a “session quit timer” serves as a predetermined cue to end a session, helping players avoid extended play that can lead to losses.

Key Takeaways:<\/strong>
* The Challenge of Standing Up:<\/strong> Leaving a game, especially when ahead or in a good game, is psychologically challenging. The hardest part is making the decision to stand up.
* Session Quit Timer:<\/strong> Setting an alarm or reminder to signal the end of a session can enforce discipline. This could be as simple as a phone alarm reminding you to “stand up, cash out, and drive carefully.”
* Accountability Through Community:<\/strong> Sharing your quit time with a trusted group, such as a Discord server, adds a layer of accountability. Posting your intended quit time makes you more likely to adhere to it.
* Comfort in Routine:<\/strong> Having a set end time removes the internal debate about whether to continue playing, leading to more consistent and disciplined sessions.

By implementing a session quit timer, players can make more rational decisions about when to end their sessions, leading to better long-term results.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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  1. Standing up<\/a>
  2. Painless departure \u2013 the session quit timer<\/a>
  3. Accountability works wonders<\/a>
  4. The comfort of departure<\/a>
  5. Sometimes Tommy is wrong<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

    Standing up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Tommy has said enough pithy things in his poker writing career to fill a book. Which is convenient because he did write a book \u2013 it\u2019s called Elements of Poker, and it improved Phil Galfond\u2019s golf game. It was when Tommy and I were standing up to leave that I thought about standing up, and what Tommy said about it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    Walking away is easy. The hard part is standing up.<\/p>\n\u2013T. Angelo<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Any poker player who has ever been stuck in a good game, ahead piles in a bad game, or anywhere in between, recognizes this. Of course, this only applies to cash games \u2013 in tournament poker<\/a>, they make you stand up just when you were really starting to have fun. But if you\u2019re a cash game player, you could be forgiven for thinking that they pour super-glue on the chairs \u2013 it\u2019s hard to stand up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Painless departure \u2013 the session quit timer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    A few months ago, I had a couple poker sessions where every fiber of my being said to stand up. Except, ironically, my quads, hamstrings, glutes, and abs \u2013 the muscles that do the actual standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Standing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    So I sat. And lost more money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After that, I realized that I needed to find a way to get the message all the way to my leg muscles. And I came up with the perfect solution: the session quit timer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A session quit timer could be as trivial as an alarm going off on your phone that says, \u201cStand up, cash out, and drive carefully on the way home.\u201d Now, when I say \u201cyour phone,\u201d I\u2019m being literal, because I sure as hell don\u2019t trust that to work on my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But it\u2019s not as if I can\u2019t be responsible when it really matters. I often pick up my grandchild (the legendary \u201cE-Blast\u201d) at school. If I\u2019m not standing outside their classroom door when the release bell sounds, pause a beat and then start calling hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I just needed a device that would move my level of session quitting responsibility into the same zip code as \u201cFourth-grader pick-up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Accountability works wonders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m in a small poker discussion group on Discord with a handful of trusted friends. We don\u2019t have near the traffic as the cash game poker<\/a> discussion group on the PokerCoaching Discord<\/a> (which is an awesome gathering place), but we all know and trust each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I set up a thread on that server called \u201cSession Quit Timers.\u201d When I sit down to start a poker session, I post something like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Usually somebody will drop a thumbs-up or heart on that post. That\u2019s all it takes. Sure enough\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s like E-blast is waiting for me at school. And man, I have put this thing to the acid test. Like I have a \u201cNo BB past 12:30am\u201d post in that thread, but at 12:15am I am buried in an incredible game. My wife is sound asleep and will have no idea of what time I get home. The Oaks cappuccino machine is now online, and (wait for this\u2026) they\u2019re going to keep dealing cards all night if that\u2019s what the players want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Doesn\u2019t matter. When the big blind reaches me, if it\u2019s past 12:30am, I\u2019m gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The comfort of departure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Somewhat to my surprise, I find it comforting knowing that there\u2019s a hard stop. Because while I could get unstuck in the hour between 12:30am and 1:30am, Tommy, my Discord buddies, and I all know it\u2019s unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the new regime, I don\u2019t angst over the demonic calculus of another hour or three of poker against decent sleep, cognitive function the next day, and so on. I know I\u2019m going to make my best poker strategy<\/a> decisions until that first post-12:30am big blind comes around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then I\u2019m going to stand up, cash out, and safely drive home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes Tommy is wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes Tommy Angelo is right, but sometimes Tommy doesn\u2019t even know what day it is. It turns out that standing up can be just as easy as walking away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I had coffee with Tommy Angelo last week. I love treating Tommy because he orders regular drip coffee, black, thank you. He even orders the small \u2013 then he goes back and gets a refill. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":2540784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2540698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cash-games","category-mindset-lifestyle"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t