beardyian said:
Play at a level you are comfortable with.
Read books.
Watch games on tv.
Dont be scared of laying down a good hand if you think you are beat.
Try to find a regular game with people you can measure your game with (ie. forum games).
Play SnGs
Be Confident and make positive moves.
Oh and enjoy playing
IanT
Glad you brought up the having fun part of the game. I've know a few people who just lost that ability by being way too analytical and over critquing everything. They just wanted to get better, and forgot why they played poker in the first place. Win or lose, I still love this game.
But there's some good advice here Mike. Playing games in itself is a tool for learning The more you practice anything can only make you better in the long run. Even if funds are low, play chip games still count as scenarios that you may encounter in the future ( I still play some play chip games from time to time)
freerolls can be unbelievably long and very hard to get good reads on in the early rounds, but they do afford you opportunity to play at no cost.
With about 15,000 books on the subject out there, finding one that is written in a way that is easiest for you to comprehend should be easy enough. In almost all of them, strategy and
odds and other basics will be remarkably similar.
A regular game with competent players is a very good idea also. With 10,000 or so friends around here, finding a game where you can openly talk about your play ( after you win or lose...of course) and discussing what occured at the table could do a lot for you and your ability to analyze scenarios and
hands.
And take advantage of the fact that you belong to the best forum (in my humble opinion) for resources on the game of poker and how to improve your game. In my few months here I've met more very good poker players than I have anywhere else since I've started playing (over 20 years ago)
I hope this helps and I hope your game gets to the level that you'd like it to sooner than later!