Having played poker full time for almost four years now I know first hand that it is very easy to get bad habits. If you play the same tables with the same players at the same time and the same way every day, the good players will eat you alive. For example, if you always bet your strong hands, call with your drawing hands, and fold when you got nothing you will become very predictable. You have to check-raise on a bluff sometimes even when you miss to keep your opponent guessing. Being unpredictable should be a very important part of your game.
It is also important to mix up your game in other ways. If you play poker full time, or at least quite a bit of it, it is easy to get the feeling it is just another 9-5 job. It isn’t so don’t make it one! There are plenty of ways to vary your game to avoid this. For example you can mix your online grind with some live games and tournaments to avoid doing the same thing every day. Also you can try playing another form of poker. If you always play 10-seat texas hold’em no limit, maybe you could try playing some omaha or at least 6-seat texas. Besides avoid getting bored you challenge yourself and who knows, you might also find that there is something more fun and more profitable in poker than what you’re playing at the moment. Make it a habit to mix it up!
