When I first began playing
poker online I thought I was a good player. I even took a 2nd in a $1 1,000 player donkament my very first game (ez game!!). It wasn't until I put in a bit of time, both playing & studying that I realized I had known very little about the game.
NLHE is a game that can be learned in minutes but can take a lifetime to master. (< not sure who's quote that is... maybe Doyle himself?, anyways it says alot).
How to take your game to the next level.....
Read some books (not just any books (although that'll help), find the ones that will be suited to you & where you're at).
THen, > read some more.
Play a bunch, read some more, review your play, read some more, play some more, review some more... read some more (& repeat).
Try to hook up with some poker buddies who are as good as or preferably better (more experienced) than yourself. Discuss
hands with them.
Read HH sections in poker forums.
Watch poker training videos.
Watch some of the better players playing online (rail some of the well-known online regs. ie. for myself I watch a handful of players whose videos I've watched, articles I've read, books I've read, etc.... not the 'red pros', I'm talking about the guys who are grinding out 10-30+ mtt's per day, or playing a session of 100 sngs).
Develop your own style of play on the tables. Maybe try watching a few of the players who's style of play is somewhat similiar to your own, & pick some stuff from each of them & try to adapt it to your game & your overall style of play.
Post HH's for discussion & try to keep an open-mind when sorting thru the comments (even if you disagree with some of them it'll still get you to thinking more deeply about the hand/situation).
Review your own play. Sometimes I like to use an auto-replayer and will go thru entire tournaments or sng's. Other times I will screenshot a hand (while on Fulltilt) so it's easier to find it when I go thru the HandHistory afterwards. (on Stars you can just copy/past the hand from the table).
Then....
play some more, read some more, review some more, watch other players, talk with poker buddies, etc. etc. etc.
One other bit of advice (ok.. two other bits)... I can't emphasize enoughthe importance of Bankroll Management. Another suggestion -> stick with one game until you're very familiar with it (ie. if it's SNG's... just stick with 9 player 'reg' speed and play a bunch of those before moving on to something else. Don't jump around from 9 plyr. to 27, then 180's, back to 18's, then over to Turbos, throw in some HeadsUp, etc. It's just far better to stick with one format until it's second nature).
Oh yah.. one last thing --> patience.
And lastly (lol) as far as others suggesting that maybe you're not quite as good as you might think you are. This is something to actually consider. This is normal for players to believe this. If you put in the time (serious time, with studying etc.) within a short period of time you'll be looking back & thinking, "wow.. & I thought I was good, LOL"