How to stay on top game?

[DesignProdigy]

i've been playing poker home games for a little over a year and online for about 4 months......i've won more than i've lost but at the rate i'm going..i'm sooner or later going to break even. i've thought about the big pots i've lost and how i've been losing money and they are on reckless and dumb mistakes.

i know that when i'm on my top game i could make so much more but have a problem staying on it (online). I tend to get bored and my attention span throws me off to make wrong decisions costing me the days profit. if there is not enough money involved i do something else on the computer or zone out.

I've tried moving up in stakes but the swings are too big for my bankroll. I've tried thinking about staying on my top game but by the time i realize it, i've lost a lot.

any ideas?

[beset7]

hunt for better tables while single-tabling. use PT, datamine, observe players, review hands, just dive in.

[vexvelour]

Read Zen and the Art of Poker. It will place you in the right frame of mind to be patient with your game. There was a post similar to this not too long ago and I recommended getting something to read that is short; a Garfield or Calvin and Hobbes strip comic book would be ideal. The thinking behind this is...you're entertained, but only for a few seconds at a time. You can still watch the action at the table and your opponents, but there is entertainment in those seconds that cause you to stray.

Another thing is something that I love to do. If I really want to play poker but recognize I don't want to sit here for 5 hours, I'll play till I triple up or so then get the hell out. Do something else, and if your poker itch hasn't gone away, do it again.