Throughout my college experience, I have found many students find poker as an easy source for supplemental income. I am no exception to this rule. I started playing online as a freshman, thinking I might have an advantage after grinding 1/2 and 2/5NL home games for the past two years. My start proved my theory correct, earning five figures with my first semester, winning three MTTs along with a PCA seat (which I sold because I couldn't get a passport in time). At this time, I was unaware of any bankroll management strategy as well as training sites like cardrunners. While my strategy was successful for a year, I felt the downswing during the following summer, when I had much more time to grind. I found myself winning less and becoming more fustrated, thinking that I was just getting unlucky. I went to friend TheNogre, the person who introduced me to poker, for some advice on making poker part of my college career. The one thing that I learned that I has stuck to me is that the more you study, the better your results will be. I had realized that I had been applying my strategy for school to poker. I wasn't paying much attention until I had to (test time) and I would end up sliding by with the bare minimum (much like my break-even performances). I took a hard look at my thought process and how childish it seemed. It was clear that I would have to put in more work if I wanted to be a consistent winner. I would be a fool to say that poker books don't work, but now more than ever, intellegent minds are creating poker books that teach not only basics but how to become a consistent winner. I only say this because I feel I learn more through video than text. While certain books like Sit'n'Go Strategy taught me the basics and introduced my to specific concepts, Jackal69's videos were influential in that it hammered home topics I was confused about before. Lastly, it is ESSENTIAL to talk about the game with others. It keeps your mind constantly moving, always trying to make the best possible poker decision. If anything else, talking about the game can help sharpen your edge by understanding the reasoning behind each possible option. Now I think of every session I play as a test. Everything I mentioned is all preparation. When the session is done, the results are your grade. While the +/- is a grade, the amount of correct poker decisions is a defining characteristic of being a good player. I look through HHs trying to find decisions that are questionable and reaffirm those that are good. I figure that preparing properly and making correct "poker" decisions will overcome the things I can't control in order to become a consistent winner.