Ok, so you’ve decided that you’re tired of beeing the fish, but what can you do about it? There is a number of ways to improve your game and none is bad. All improvments are good and encourage further improvement. No matter who you are there is ALWAYS room for improvement!
Not in order of priority
1. Read
With the explosion of internet poker there are numerous books out there, all describing what they think is the best way to improve your game. Before I really started playing I had read at least 10 books on poker, and since, I’ve read at least 15 more. Many of them have been basic or just repeating the same information as all the others, but some of them are very good and have unique information. The books I recommend are:
1. Supersystem (Doyle Brunson) – for all there is to know about poker
2. Ace on the River (Barry Greenstein) – a new and interesting view on poker
3. Hold’Em for Advanced Players & Theory of Poker (David Sklansky) – theory and mathmatics
4. Harrington on Hold’em (Dan Harrington) – for tournament play
Of course books are not the only form of reading that is out there. Pokerforums and blogs are other great ways to obtain information about poker.
2. Watch TV/DVDs/Instruction Videos
Poker has never been more popular and with popularity comes airtime, which is great for us pokerfans out there. Today, most of the major tournaments such as the WPT, EPT, and WSOP are all aired on TV. Although these shows usually don’t show more than the final table and you miss out on “how to get there”, you can still learn a lot from watching these shows. You can also catch High Stakes Poker which is the first, but nowadays not the only show that shows poker played as a cash game and not a tournament. What is great about it is that they play with real money and you still get to see their cards. This is a great way to obtain information and learn the game. There are also lots of instructional videos out there, most of them basic but helpful to some. One warning tho, many of the hands shown on tv are “action hands” and based on reads and previous action. Be careful before you imitate your favourite pro.
3. Discuss
One of the best way to learn about poker is to discuss it with friends. When you discuss a hand you’ve played or any other side of poker and get another player’s view, you pick up helpful information that can help you at the tables. Having friends that play poker is very helpful! If you don’t have any friends that play poker you can either discuss poker at poker forums online or you can go to any casino or poker club and you’ll soon have some. Poker players are usually very friendly and love to discuss poker 
4. Analyze (PT etc)
Analyze your game! Are you really the unluckiest player out there? Is internet poker rigged against you? Not very likey. Most likely, you’re doing something wrong. What? It can be any number of things and a good way to find out is to analyze your game and try to find your weaknesses. It is very important that you are honest with yourself. Do you bet/call/raise too much? Which players are winning and why? One way to help analyze your game is using a tool such as pokertracker or pokeroffice that store information about all the hands you’ve played and help you analyze them and show statistics.
5. Stay sharp
Staying sharp is a very important part of making the right decisions when you play. There are many different ways to stay sharp and make sure you can concentrate when you play: sleeping well, working out, and eating right are a few. Also make sure you are focused when you play and not distracted by the latest fight you had with your girlfriend or that parking ticket you got earlier that day.
6. Don’t tilt!
Tilt is most player’s worst enemy in poker. Find out why you tilt and try to eliminiate it from your game. It can make the difference between becoming a winning player or a losing one.
7. Play
Nothing can take away the importance of practice! The more hands you play the more you learn, it’s as simple as that.
-amexos
