The other day I was in a 20-40 game with a player who was losing to most of the field. This same player had been in a 30-60 the day before and got slaughtered by it. When I asked him about his experience in playing in that game (which was a tough line-up) he said something which I really liked. "The stronger the wind, the stronger the tree". Simply put, if you don't play against people who are stronger than you, how do you improve? How do you know you can't DO BETTER? One thing I'm sure of -- if this guy is serious about learning to play better and against tougher competition than he's used to, he will become a "stronger tree". If he simply stays at his current level, he will remain a twig. Now I don't advocate going out to be crucified by players you cannot beat. I'm simply suggesting that it's good to test that strong wind to see if you can stand up in it.