[RustyCJ]

Thank you for this post. I started playing online poker about 2 years ago, I played off and on over the course of a year but haven't played much in the last year and I've taken poker up again recently, I now have time to read and study.

What hasn't hit me yet, and I know it's out there, is the feeling I'm moving up to the next level, that I can begin to understand the reasoning for my actions while I play.

I've been good at many strategy games I've played, poker is so different because of the variables and unknowns.

In high school I went from not knowing how to play chess to "this close" to state champion in less than 15 months. Mostly because school was easy for me and I had lots of time to study my chess books. Night after night I would repeatedly go through my books and set up the board in front of me and play out the scenarios in the book. I think the books helped me see board positions and at the state tournament I saw mate in 6 with only 3 or 4 pieces gone from the board. I was proud of myself - still am can you tell? haha

I'm going to have to patiently wait over the next several hundred thousand hands for the feeling to hit me that I'm not just a newbie anymore and I'm actually starting to "get" what I'm reading and apply it with my own game.

I know it wont' be easy and I'll be back to read your post time and again, thank you very much.