How much time did it take you to become successful?

[Innocentius]

I read Lee Jones book, which I borrowed from a friend, before I played my first hand of holdem on the internet about two years ago. My first year I played very rarely, and broke even (thanks to bonii). After that I became more serious, improved my game, and started winning a little.

It takes some time. For me it took a long time because I didn't play a lot. Play many hours, and play conservatively, until you start to understand what you are doing. And keep one thing in mind: everyone says you should play tightly, and you should. On these forums, as well as in SSH, there are recommendations which are less tight, and therefore appealing to a beginner, since the natural inclination is to play many hands, but these recommendations are made with the assumption that you are a good, experienced player. Until your postflop game is up to scratch, you have to be tighter to avoid losing money.