As Moneyline stated, game selection is important.
Something that I've done in the past is to check out the games for a couple days before I play (or if the game is just that good.. I'll jump into it.. but after watching it for a while).
Watching the game, I'll open up notes for the players and take notes on everything that I can. On Pokerroom, you can't see what opponents had at showdown if you weren't dealt in, but you can still get a line on how people are playing. <ul type="square"> [*]Does player X always raise-open the button? [*]Does player Y always seem to draw 2 and bet?[*] <font color="white">..</font> (As was stated by MarkGritter: "He has xxA a lot
<font color="white">.....</font> more often than he has trips".
<font color="white">.....</font> - according to SuperSystem, Table XII, the probability
<font color="white">.....</font> of a player being dealt trips is 2.11% or 46.3 to 1[/list]So if you want to play the bigger games, go for it! (Personally, I'd pick a day/time that I'm already a winner for the day. Then I'd be 'taking a shot' with my winnings ; )
Just make sure you watch the table for a while first.
PS/thought: remember that stat about the trips too! If you're raising first in, he's more likely to have the trips if he knows that you're a solid player, but if you keep check-folding to a bet from a 2-card draw, he's
always going to bet after you check. If that's the type of player it is, I'd check-call all the time with two pair, and prolly check-call unimproved at some frequency around the times that he's betting (snap off bluffs)--depending of course, harder to call if there are others to act after you.
Good Luck!