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any other ideas would be appreciated as well
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your eagerness and enthusiasm (just a read) are refreshing, but i'm going to you a favor here.
it is humanly impossible, and incredibly time consuming in an attempt, to tell you how to "play better".
*read* - honestly. it's slow, painful sometimes, but there are no shortcuts. there are no substitutes for experience (unless you have a rich relative willing to fork out for professional guidance).
play within your budget, track all of your games. post SPECIFIC hands that you find troubling (bad beats are not troubling, just disappointing).
here's a forum fav thread that should keep you busy for several evenings.
linky