What sets the good ones apart these days?

You know -- I can't help but notice the incredible wealth of information available on poker, and even moreso hold-em...therefore, I have to ask: how does anyone really get GOOD? It would appear that many folks would be armed with the same abilities, given the incredible wealth of info...

It's not like the old days where you HAD to pretty much teach yourself, or learn by example -- so what makes a good player now?

Best,
EW

Knowledge is one thing, applying it is another.

I think its almost all down to discipline. You can learn and learn but after your AA gets cracked for the second time in a night you will learn if you are a "good" player or not by how you play afterwards.

Amen to both of those replies. I just played a SnG where I was down to 400, built abck to 3000 only to get knocked out by a runner runner flush when I made Ace high straight. Makes the blood boil for a while

As for the wealth of knowledge and application, I've been playing three months now and its the application that I find the greatest challenge. In fact its MIS-APPLICATION I fear most. I feel like after three months I've learnt enough to be aware of many things in poker I never knew existed, but not able to apply them well or consistently. Pot odds, counting outs, making reads, post-flop play, importance of position, starting hands the list goes on. It amazes me how people can fit this jigsaw together and process it all in general play so effectively.

I'd love to find that perfect application method - but I guess it doesnt exist, or we'd all play like Phil Ivey

It really is discipline. Now that doesn't disregard UNDERSTANDING, theory, game selection, and a ton of other aspects. But with discipline (whatever that means to your game... to me it means playing my game as i know i should play it 100% of the time or Not Playing AT All), all the rest is profitable long term. Without it, no other information, tip, trick or technique will help you over the long haul. Eventually you'll pay the piper.

So, whatever you do... commit to doing it with discipline 100 percent of the time. That doesn't mean you don't change what you do based on situations, improving your game, etc. But whatever your game is (YOUR game) commit to it 100% of the time and don't lose discipine. If you do that you can ONLY IMPROVE over time. IFyou don't then you can NEVER TRULY IMPROVE LONG TERM.

If you do this the money you win will be from the fools with no discipline and the money you lose will be to the fools who get lucky.

GL.

Once you get all the basic - understanding of theory, disipline, odds caculation, bankroll management etc what separates the men from the boys is mainly experience