diff --git a/src/base/net/stratum/Client.cpp b/src/base/net/stratum/Client.cpp
index fe1823369..1da416928 100644
--- a/src/base/net/stratum/Client.cpp
+++ b/src/base/net/stratum/Client.cpp
@@ -234,6 +234,8 @@ void xmrig::Client::tick(uint64_t now)
         else if (m_keepAlive && now > m_keepAlive) {
             ping();
         }
+
+        return;
     }
 
     if (m_expire && now > m_expire && m_state == ConnectingState) {
@@ -754,6 +756,8 @@ void xmrig::Client::parseResponse(int64_t id, const rapidjson::Value &result, co
 void xmrig::Client::ping()
 {
     send(snprintf(m_sendBuf, sizeof(m_sendBuf), "{\"id\":%" PRId64 ",\"jsonrpc\":\"2.0\",\"method\":\"keepalived\",\"params\":{\"id\":\"%s\"}}\n", m_sequence, m_rpcId.data()));
+
+    m_keepAlive = 0;
 }