diff --git a/fish/benches/think.rs b/fish/benches/think.rs
index fd67e58..87af3ac 100644
--- a/fish/benches/think.rs
+++ b/fish/benches/think.rs
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ const ITERS: u32 = 50_000;
 
 fn think(iters: u32, weights: &Weights, matrix: &Mat, queue: Queue<'_>) -> Option<Piece> {
     let mut bot = fish::bot::Bot::new(weights, matrix, queue);
-    bot.think_for(iters);
+    bot.think(iters);
     bot.suggest()
 }
 
diff --git a/fish/src/bot.rs b/fish/src/bot.rs
index 784bb64..d8d2eb9 100644
--- a/fish/src/bot.rs
+++ b/fish/src/bot.rs
@@ -59,20 +59,12 @@ impl Bot {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Runs the bot for up to `gas` more iterations. An "iteration" is a unit of work
-    /// that is intentionally kept vague, but should be proportional to the amount CPU
-    /// time. Iterations are deterministic, so similar versions of the engine will produce
-    /// the same suggestions if run the for the same number of iterations.
-    pub fn think_for(&mut self, gas: u32) {
-        // NOTICE: The actual number of iterations may slightly exceed the provided gas due to
-        // how the bot is currently structured. This shouldn't have a substantial impact over
-        // the long run since the overshoot will be very small in terms of CPU
-        // time.
-        //
-        // Runs will be deterministic as long as two runs end on the same *target*
-        // iterations on the last call to `think_for`, e.g. "bot.think_for(5000)" is the
-        // same as "bot.think_for(2500); bot.think_for(5000 - bot.iterations());"
-        let max_iters = self.iters + gas;
+    /// Runs the bot, stopping it when it has done `max_iters` iterations since it was
+    /// first initialized.  An "iteration" is an abstract unit of work that but should be
+    /// roughly proportional to the amount CPU time. Iterations are deterministic, so the
+    /// same version of the engine will produce the same suggestions if run the for the
+    /// same number of iterations.
+    pub fn think(&mut self, max_iters: u32) {
         while self.iters < max_iters {
             let did_update = self.algorithm.step(
                 &self.arena,
@@ -98,7 +90,7 @@ impl Bot {
     }
 
     /// Returns the number of iterations done so far.
-    pub fn iterations(&self) -> u32 {
+    pub fn iters(&self) -> u32 {
         self.iters
     }
 
diff --git a/tidepool/src/main.rs b/tidepool/src/main.rs
index bb836d2..6f6c683 100644
--- a/tidepool/src/main.rs
+++ b/tidepool/src/main.rs
@@ -388,12 +388,10 @@ fn run_simulation(
             bot.start_instrumenting();
         }
 
-        // run the bot for a while; this could have been just `bot.think_for(iters)` but
-        // we limit the gas argument to prevent the thread from hanging too long while
-        // thinking.
-        while bot.iterations() < config.bot.iters {
-            let gas = std::cmp::min(50_000, config.bot.iters - bot.iterations());
-            bot.think_for(gas);
+        while bot.iters() < config.bot.iters {
+            // limit iterations to ~25k to allow us to periodically check exit_early.
+            let max_iters = config.bot.iters.min(bot.iters() + 25_000);
+            bot.think(max_iters);
 
             // send a heartbeat back to the main thread to test if its still alive
             if tx.send(Msg::Heartbeat(id)).is_err() {