How did YOU get good?

[weaktite]

Have played 1.2 million hands.

[Red_Diamond]

Here is a solution that has worked great for me in the past.
When looking at your past sessions, calc it this way:

#1 When you just break even, consider it a winning session.
#2 When you actualy won a few bucks, consider it a large win.
#3 When you have lost a bit, consider it as a break-even.
#4 If you take a huge loss, consider it as a small loss.
#5 When you really bust the bank, tally it as just Bad-Beats.

[agent_fish]

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Don't forget that approximately 90% of all that are playing are losing in the long run. Hopefully your not one of them. Good luck!

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It's more like 60%.

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I've always heard 90% lose in the long run too. 60% seems low.

[knife420]

personally i am a very bad poker player, i beat the games that i play, but am far from good thus i spend many hours studying and reading i have leaks and often times fail to stop and think when im grinding out a small win. imho their is no quick fix, countless hours of play adhearing to books or otherwise learned good habits is the only way to eventually be able to call yourself good

[allstarrt]

Just take in as much information as you can and apply it in the best way you can think of, find out the tricks that work for you as an individual and use them.

[7csCB]

I would guess that >90% of good players have selective memories.
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Re.: Don't be scared to go bust

Who is the better player? The extremely knowledgeable player swimming with the sharks and
achieving marginal results or the less skilled player following and jealously guarding a bankroll, regularly drawing but playing smaller tables?

[Eric Stoner]

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The only way to improve is to play poker. You can become a top player by playing and never reading, but you'll never get there by reading and not playing, as others have mentioned. I play mostly NL games. I think that it is great to read poker books, and I read a lot of them. But, to improve, you've also got to take risks. I don't know if you've played a lot of NL games, but NL is very much an implied odds game - it lends itself to profitable non-by-the -book play. Experience allows you to be more creative in how you play. . .

I remember the first time I read Super/System I thought it was garbage. But now I think it is the best book on NL hold'em. (although I haven't read Sklansky's new NLHE book yet)



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I would definitely recommend the Sklansky/Miller book. I am not discounting SuperSystem (I have that book too), but I think you will find this book to be better. I am halfway through it and I do have to re-read sections of it, and as I am a recovering limit player, I have gotten some great insight to the NL game.

[Shysti]

I read, post hands, review hands, and play play play. Also, poker tracker is a good tool to have to spot a few leaks in your game

[heater]

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I read, post hands, review hands, and play play play. Also, poker tracker is a good tool to have to spot a few leaks in your game

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You have five posts.

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[Scipio]

I have an additional Idea:

You could take a database from a good winning player and review all of his sessions.

Perhaps it is easier to adapt the style of a good player than create your own playing style.

I consider to purchase a database from a damn good player(Stoxtrader).
What do you think about that kind of training?