» What is the best way to improve my poker game?

Several different methods can be used to improve your poker game.  Each method has its own benefits; you will probably find a combination of these methods essential in taking your game to the next level. 

As cheesy as it sounds, practice makes perfect.  Although perfection is unattainable in the game of poker, practice is necessary to develop your game.  Simply jumping onto a play chip site - and playing your game without worrying about the outcome - will help beginners get used to situations that occur at the poker table.  Responding to these situations in a practice setting will help anyone become more equipped to handle similar situations when the pressure is on.

Imperfect practice is of little use.  Even when you are sitting at a play money table, always play your best game.  And play as much as you are able.  After all, experience is just another word for lots of practice.

Practice is also vital for players who seek proficiency in a different arena of the game.  If, for example, a successful cash game player wants to become a good tourney player, this player has to be willing to put in the work.  "Work" often means playing a good deal of small stakes tournaments to get a feel for the new game.

After practicing, players need to analyze their play.  Analysis can be as simple as discussing key hands with other poker players.  Alone, you can analyze a specific play. Examine all the other ways the hand could have played out and decide which was the correct path to take in a particular hand. Most poker sites provide a hand history option you can review or you can use software that records all your hands for later review.

Paramount is the need for players to be honest with themselves.  Too often, new players will be put in a situation similar to this: You are shortstacked in a tournament, get dealt AA, move all-in and lose.  A new player will say, 'I got unlucky, there is nothing I can do.'  A player committed to improving looks at the tournament as a whole. A student of the game tries to identify specific opportunities missed or hands misplayed that would have allowed them to accumulate more chips prior to getting AA.  Yes, maybe the player did get unlucky in this particular spot. However, an improving player must be willing to accept an error earlier in the tournament forced him into a spot he should have avoided in the first place. 

Poker training sites, poker forums and poker books are all great tools to improve your poker game.  By immersing yourself in poker information, inevitably you will pick up new tactics and techniques for the game.  Each player must decide which pieces of info are relevant for the development of his own particular game and what he is trying to accomplish. 

If a player wants to become a tournament success, a recommended  book about tournament poker can only help.  Even if the book's contents are repetitious, such study will help reinforce the positive aspects of your game.  The same goes for training sites and forums. Training sites - which may require a fee - are going to help your game, even if you only learn concepts you find do not fit your game.  Identifying what works for you as an individual is a necessity to become a better player.

The final idea that needs mentioning is probably the first thing to do - goal setting.  Setting goals can be quite useful for new players trying to develop their games.  By setting goals that suit your bankroll and skill level, you can see what areas of your game are strong and what areas need drastic improvement.   If you do not reach a goal, assess your play and figure out what can be done differently to reach this goal next time.

If you reach your goals, ask yourself, 'why?" Figure out what you were doing well that allowed you to reach your goals and build from that base.  In other words, set new, higher goals.  Raise your own bar.

When all, or at least some, of these components - practice, training sites, forums, books, self-honesty/analysis, goals -are combined, improvement in your play will happen. You can bet on it.