Operation: Play some proper poker!

Hi all,

First off i'd like to say good job to everyone who contributes to this site, it's been quite the learning experience and the strategies and tips have been invaluable.

So, a little about me: I discovered poker some time around a year ago, playing some casual home games with uni pals and the like. I started playing on Pokerstars for play money about 4 months ago and plucked up the courage to deposit my first $50 about a month ago. I started off with $13+3 one table sit 'n go's and $11 MTT's - and I guess I had a run of beginners luck - managed to place 3rd on my first MTT! So anyway after the first few days I was up to $400 and thought I was a poker genius of some variety (after reading some posts here I see that this is a common flaw of the newbie player!). It was at this point that I discovered this forum and found a well of information... So armed with my check-raise bluffs and so on I went off and spewed $300 straight back into high buy-in sit 'n go's and 0.25/0.50 ring games. I have finally come to the conclusion that I am indeed a fish at these stakes and perhaps overestimated both my ability and my bankroll!

Enough rambling anyway - my action plan is to drop stakes down to some 5NL ring games, as this seems to be the most optimal for my current bankroll ($100ish) and grind it up the hard way instead of hoping for the best at stakes I can't really compete with - correct me if i'm way off here. However, I also really like playing the 1 table SnGs and the occasional MTT - is it an error to try mastering all 3 types at the same time? And what buy-ins should I be aiming for here?

Also, I am not so big on the maths and while I understand pot odds, I find a lot of the conversation about making +EV plays rather confusing - does everyone sit at their computer with a calculator while they play!? Something I will have to brush up on I guess, but is making odds and +EV based calculations something that is crucial to being successful?

Wow, this post ended up kinda longer than i'd expected, but I suppose the core of it is that I want to play to win, not just to have fun (although that comes with the winning!). So I guess my mission statement is: Play some proper poker, make the right decisions every time and stop shoving JJ every flop just because its JJ!

Any comments and tips more than welcome, and i'm going to download Pokertracker now and hit some ring games so I can put up some hand histories for you guys to tear apart later :) Look forward to hearing & learning from you all, keep up the good work!