[scotty34]

I'll give my situation just to outline a scenario for this thread, but this doesn't apply to me specifically, and I think everyone can benefit from this discussion.

I've noticed since beginning my poker career, my game has gone through a couple different stages. I began reading 2+2 before I actually started playing limit hold'em online, so when I started playing I had some idea of what I was doing. I wasn't particularly good, and started playing around the 28/6 range for full ring. I basically just played my hand, and really didn't pay attention to who else was at the table.

Stage 2, I became somewhat of a regular in the micro forum. I had downloaded PT and GT+, and bought and read SSH. Very quickly my game started to improve immensely. I started to use reads in my play, became tighter and more aggressive. As I became more experienced, I got the SSH concepts down better, and basically played very ABC good poker at the low limits, which is good enough to kill those games.

I moved to 6-max play, but stayed in the micro forums. For my first 10K hands or so, I was too tight and not aggressive enough, playing a 20/12 style. I got myself to start reading and contributing to HUSH, and my game jumped by leaps and bounds again. I began to learn the importance of aggression, blind stealing (ex: I used to fold JTo on the button when folded to me), and blind defense. I became looser and more aggressive (currently 26/19). I learned all sorts of good new lines and plays to make in different situations.

Well now I'm playing 5/10, and I'm not finding it too difficult, but certainly not as easy as the 3/6 or 1/2 games. I feel like I'm an average winner, probably somewhere in between 1-2 BB/100. The trouble is, I don't want to be average. I want to kill these games, I want to be making 3BB/100 and I want to feel very comfortable when I move to 10/20.

My game seems to have come to a bit of a plateau however - I don't feel I'm getting significantly better anymore. Sure, I read and post hands, and contribute to threads, but I don't feel it's doing as much for my game as it used to. So what can I do to bring my game to 'the next level'?

I've read SSH (once) and TOP, and I own HEPFAP but have only read a few sections (such as the SH part). I've done a hand reviewing session with another poster when we both moved up to 3/6 which I found helpful.

For those who do find they can kill the 5/10 games or higher, what types of things have you done that you found really helped your game? For everyone else, what types of things are you doing right now to elevate your game? I'm sure I have probably skipped some important steps along the way, as I have moved up fairly quickly relative to the number of total hands I have played. Are there any books out there that have made significant impacts on your game that I haven't mentioned already?

Post your thoughts and advice.