There’s so much advice out there about how to become a better poker player that it’s overwhelming.  You could spend a lifetime sifting through all of it before ever touching a card if you chose to.  That’s why I think that it’s best to simplify things when possible. 

Me personally, I try to only focus on a few aspects of poker to make myself a better player.  The first one I try to do is to pick the games where I think the most fish will be playing in.  I mean so many people think they’re way better than they are and think they are too good to play at certain limits or with some players.  Most of the money I’ve won is because the players I’ve been playing with weren’t that great.

Another thing I strive to achieve is to keep my ego in check while playing.  If someone gives me a bad beat I know that if they continue to play like that they’re going to lose money in the long run anyways.  It’s not worth sitting there and whining about it through the chat box like you’re going to get the hand back by crying excessively. 

I definitely always try to get better at reading my opponents.  It just makes the game so much easier when you can create a profile of an opponent and then use that to your advantage later on when you’re going later into a hand with that player.

The last thing that I constantly try to keep in mind is my odds and probabilities.  Knowing my opponents and keeping a level head will definitely help but I know it’s impossible to be a long-term winner if I don’t know the percentages of how often I will win with pocket kings or my chances of making a flush with two suited cards in my hand.

The better and better I get at these three skills, the closer I am to becoming a way better player.